This study focuses on the gendered toys and perceptions children as well as their parents hold concerning the toy types. It aimed at investigating the children’s way of reasoning concerning gendered toys and also looked to establish if, by any chance, there are links that exist between perceptions held by the parents and toys the children prefer. The term gendered toys refer to the toys that are believed to be preferred and suited for a particular gender over the other, for instance, the wheeled toys are thought to be suitable for the male child while dolls are best preferred for the girl child. In this task, the typical gender toys are used to describe the toys that are traditionally considered to be most applicable for sex choosing. In that regard, the term was traditionally used to refer to a child of the opposite gender to the sex of the kid that chooses them. In the modern day, children are continually subjected to gender-stereotyped toys to an extent more than it was in the past ( Gender Socialization, 1999).
Notably, people get to know their gender as soon as they are born. This is a course that strengthens with time. The fundamental reason behind this change is the environment which characteristically include parents and teachers. As such, toys have been found to be of the essence in gender discrimination. This is founded from the different colors that are taught for girls and boys I various respects from the time they are born. This is also true for toys. This is demonstrated by the fact that dolls are often given to girls while in their tender ages while boys are known to fancy cars and sometimes balls ( Gender Socialization, 1999).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
There are various reasons why different toys appeal to the various groups depending on gender. Firstly, the discrimination prepares the children for future responsibilities and duties. In some respects, it helps in deciding a place of for which either gender should fit in the society. For instance, though chauvinistic in approach, decides that home is the place for women while workplace is meant for the man. It is of key importance to note that there are gender differences that are mostly based on ability and behavior. This is best illustrated by psychologists who hold that girls are smarter and better at verbal skills as well as in writing skills whereas boys are known to excel in such areas as numerical skills that mainly include math and physics. This, therefore, is enough reason for the parents to choose different toys for purposes of preparing their children. It is also believed that boys are more active than girls ( Benton, 2013).
In the current society, there are various guidelines put in place to show how people should act and be. Gender socialization refers to a process through which people take on feelings pf gender roles, gender behaviors, and gender ideas. At a tender age, girls and boys are taught how to conduct themselves regarding behavior and actions, and this is drawn from the societal norms that define gender roles and behavior. There are various articles that have been documented and which provide many insights into the manner in which socialization gets conditioned through toys at a very tender age which also entails teaching the children and reinforcing them with stereotypical gender roles and duties through occupation, appearance, and traits ( Berg et al, 2003).
Particular toys are associated with some specific genders and tend to generalize the role boys, and girls should have and uphold in the society. The male characteristics are always thought to be strong, tough and able to demonstrate might whereas girls or female roles, in general, are known to be weaker in the sense that they are charged with such roles as nurturing, supporting and caring. Evidently, young women who tend to enjoy playing with dolls are often thrilled by the notion that they should grow up taking after their mothers in future. Some of these girls emulate their mothers to an extent that they mimic their behavior. Some even apply lipsticks so as to appeal to a woman in her prime age. To this end, it is clear that children are easily influenced by the toys with which they play. It is this account that stereotypically places males as the active members of the society. It also states that males should bear courage, strength and possess such things as muscular physique, competitive minds as well as their aggressive nature.
Parents are on record demonstrating that their children preferred some toys to others and that their choice is informed by the experiences they derive from the toys. They have demonstrated that they have a clear opinion of what toys they deem most suited to them by gender. The gender stereotypes and the gender stereotypic behavior making up the childhood development have become an interesting issue that has created gender notions that go to an extent of defining career choices for these children in their adult life. Furthermore, the choice of toys is an important concern in research that has had an immense impact on these children. For example, they are known to sharpen certain useful skills among them, though some seem to vary depending on the type of gender the toy is stereotypically aligned to ( Benton, 2013).
It has also been argued that toys that are stereotypically targeted towards a given gender are known to foster unique social and cognitive skills, with boys acquiring and developing problem-solving skills while girls are developing the nurturing aspects and caring skills. It, therefore, goes without saying that the toys that these children use are very important and bear long-term impacts on the life of the children as far as their adulthood ( Blakemore et al. 2009).
There are many theoretical perspectives concerning how children tend to acquire gender stereotypes and the gendered behaviors. The social cognitive theory, for instance, postulates that children acquire gender norms as well as the gendered behaviors by way of observing their surroundings and the people in it, meaning, the observe the behavior of such persons and tend to replicate them. The gendered behavior is often reinforced by way of reward and punishment, whichever deemed fit. This is, however, determined by the individual experiences of the child. It, therefore, holds that the concept of gender and the process of acquiring gendered behavior is a social construction phenomenon. As a means of digression, some research conducted on primate demonstrated that the gendered behaviors were also displayed among young monkeys, similar to those of their human counterparts. This point could then dispute the social theory of gender stereotype behavior and cognitive development as it clearly shows that the gender stereotypes so referred to herein are a reflection of the biological disparities between the sexes, rather than the social aspect ( Engstrom, 1999).
Despite the documented shreds of evidence that suggest how children may be biologically predisposed to their gender stereotypes in their toy preferences, the paper is underpinned through the hypothesis that the social interactions of children with their peers and especially their parents are very influential in their choices and perceptions when it comes to toys.
The overarching methodology of this study is that of a case study that employs document analysis, questionnaire and interview techniques through data collection. The primary research question of the study was, “How do parents and their children perceive gendered toys and if any, what is the correlation between the perceptions in question with the preferences of the toys by the children.” ( Kimmel, 2013).
The four aims of this study were faithfully met by way of formulating four research questions with a view of answering the central research question. The four research questions were:
• What are the children’s preferred toys, if at all, are the toy preferences connected to the gender of the child?
• What is the children’s argument and reason when it comes to toy choices when settling on a toy they wish to play with?
• What are the perceptions of parents on the suitability of the gendered toys?
• Are the perceptions of parents on gendered toys in any way linked with the toy choice of the children?
It has also been documented that children’s toy preferences are not a true reflection of what the children would choose in real life. Down for instance argues that initial experiments were somehow too restrictive in approach and only offered very little choices between the small collections of typically female and or male toys and rarely offered gender-neutral choices. He also asserted that most of the toys chosen by the children at the elementary school level were not in any way traditionally gendered but were only gender neutral. In his concluding remarks, he held that both boy and girls preferred typical gender toys to gender atypical toys, a belief that has received support from other studies by Cater and Levy, 1988 and Eisenbud and Rose, 1995.
In the most recent times, it has been postulated that the even the youngest of children, infants that are between 3 and eight months show preferences for gender-stereotyped toys. By the use of an eye tracking technology, children of the age were found to have preferences for dolls while the boys spent most of their time on trucks ( Platt, 2002).
Toys also promote gender appearance. The male appearances are mainly characterized by physical fitness, and strength while females are characterized by beauty, nurturing and feminine attributes. Most attributes considered to be feminine include slender, and stylish, a trait that most females want to associate with. The appearances of ladies as shaped by the society is in itself a norm that is presented in such toys that provide certain hidden messages. Sports have also played a great role in shaping gender roles in the society. The gender roles are also known to be defined by occupation. The stereotypes are of the opinion that males are mainly involved in social and professional roles that are outside homes while ladies or females are many times involved in such activities as can be found in homes and within the compound. Through this, many female counterparts go to occupations with a general consideration of women. Such include nursing, modeling and flight attendance. This is however not meant to rebuke or discredit a few female-dominated fields such as the police officers, lawyers, and doctors. It is a common trend among men that they always want to be superior and exceptional ( Tsakalis, 1998).
Research Methods
The overarching research approach of this study was that of a case study. This is best-preferred approach as it offered real life participation in a real life situation. The phenomenon of this research was focused on the gendered toys and gender socialization. It investigated how children as well as their parents perceive of such toys and also aimed to establish if, by any chance, there are links between perceptions of parents and preferences of the children.
This study made use of three data collection techniques which included documentary research, questionnaire, and interviews. These methods were specifically singled out to offer some triangulation in the study.
Conclusion
Gender socialization is an evident aspect that is clearly shown in ages of one’s childhood. Children are known to derive their traits from the toys and their roles and gender as well as their behavior in the society. The various appearances depicted in sports and toys are a true definition of the baseline upon which people in the society are expected to derive their norms.
The conclusion the study can draw about the children’s preferences lies in line with the other research conducted to establish the children’s toy preferences. This, therefore, maintains the standpoint that children prefer toys that are considered appropriate for a given gender, and this is stereotypically motivated.
References
Gender Socialization. (1999). African American Children: Socialization and Development in Families, 103-128. doi:10.4135/9781452220666.n5
Benton, B. H. (2013). Gender, Games, and Toys: Role Communication and Socialization through Play. Communication Teacher, 27 (3), 141-145. doi:10.1080/17404622.2013.782416
Berg, L., Nelson, A., & Svensson, K. (2003). Toys in educational and socio-cultural contexts . Stockholm: SITREC.
Blakemore, J. E., Berenbaum, S. A., & Liben, L. S. (2009). Gender development . New York: Psychology Press.
Engstrom, E. (1999). Toys and Games: Gender Socialization. Encyclopedia of Gender in Media . doi:10.4135/9781452218540.n162
Kimmel, M. S. (2013). Sexualities: Identities, behaviors, and society .
Platt, C. (2002). Babes in Toyland: Gender-specific toys and the gender socialization of children .
Tsakalis, G. (1998). Memory work and gender socialization .
