A Dolly For Who?

A Dolly For Who?

When looking for toys at a toy store, we still consistently see the divide in what is gendered toys. Where it is blue, it is for the boys, meaning trucks and action figures. Where it is pink, it is for girls, and usually includes baby dolls or kitchens. What do our toys that are children play with say about our society and gender today? And do toys have to be specifically for a certain gender? 

To begin, we must look at the marketing of toys to children. A study done by the British group Let Toys Be Toys, looked at how toys are cataloged and found that boys are four times as likely to be shown playing with cars, while girls were twice as likely to be shown with "domestic" objects like baby dolls are kitchens.Most commercials for Barbie still only feature girls (except for this one ad done for Moschino Barbie, which was very controversial). And Hot Wheels commercials only include boys in them. We need to be more inclusive in these ads and commercials because more than just boys play with cars. Like this Moschino commercial, we need to start incorporating the other gender to allow them to play with what they want to play with. And not put our standards of gender on them.

Speaking of standards, research done by NAEYC had shown that most girl's toys revolved around physical attractiveness and domestic/ nurturing skills. While boys toys were more violent, competitive, and a little dangerous. And the most education toys that actual develop children's cognitive and artistic sides were either neutral or leaned more towards marketing for boys. So, even if we are striving towards women's rights, still the little girls have to play in kitchens or feed and change the baby doll. For some reason women's rights never included how Barbie could effect their perception of beauty as teen magazines do to teens.

It shows that as a society, we still are not over gender roles fully. We are over some, like women being able to work and men taking care of the house. And we are working on the whole gendered clothing and gender neutral clothing piece, but where do all these ideals come from? They come from us as kids! Through ads, through our friends, and through our parents.

Children understand this messaging, and will change their interest in the toys they like to fit that messaging. Based on Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of Gender identity development, we are able to figure out what gender we are around two and three. And through our environment, through the toys we play with, the kids we interact with, and how those things effect our surroundings, helps us identify ourselves.

I saw this when I was growing up. I always liked to play with Barbies, which was known as a girl's toy. And I was heavily bullied for it by the boys for that reason. They all played with Star Wars action figure or G.I. Joe, while I dressed up Barbie. From a young age they were taught that that was a girl's toy, through ads, and most likely their parents (through reinforcement or yelling or being told not to play with it). I wasn't. I was never told I couldn't play with it, and while I saw that boys didn't play with them and that I wouldn't be in Barbie ads unless it involved Ken sometimes, I was ok with that.

We are still imposing ourselves on to our children. Forcing them to believe what we believe when it comes to our gender and how we function as a society as that gender. People may say it is just a toy, or that it doesn't reflect that much on us as kids, but to that I say let your kid play with the other gender's toy. If it really doesn't mean much, then why would them playing with the other gender's toy effect them. It shouldn't right? Well, it does.

Toys teach children skills that facilitate how to function in society. Masculine toys are known to encourage visual and spatial skills, while feminine toys encourage communication and social skills. So, we don't have to get rid of cars or baby dolls, we just need to open them up to all children. If a child only plays with one, they are missing out on the other. They also limit their interests and scopes of futures. And stereotypes that are shaped and reinforced as children can limit or strain on things like education goals, and our social development.

We can start by not calling them girl's or boy's toys. We can try calling them masculine or feminine, because people (either gender) can be masculine or feminine. We would also have to then deal with masculinity and society's favoring of it. But that would allow more room for children to pick what they want to play with without some standard put on them for choosing that toy. They can decide what they want to play with and it then helps educate them on different skills, so we can be well-rounded as they get older. They can also be more open-minded and more accepting of different ideas and people.

So, if and when you have a child and you take them to the toy store, or go online to shop for toys, let them decide what they want to play with. Don't put a standard on what they can and can't play with because it only constricts them in the end. And who knows, you may end up with a princess who loves to throw her trucks in the dirty or a ninja who can make a cake as fast as three flips!



Work Cited


“Early Childhood Gender Identity And Sexuality.” Mental Help Early Childhood Cognitive Development Language Development Comments, www.mentalhelp.net/articles/early-childhood-gender-identity-and-sexuality/.

"Let Toys Be Toys." Gender Stereotypes and Toy Catalogues, http://lettoysbetoys.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/LetToysBeToys-Catalogues-report-Dec17.pdf.

“NAEYC.” What the Research Says: Impact of Specific Toys on Play | NAEYC, naeyc.org/resources/topics/play/gender-typed-toys.