Thesis on "Toy Store Visit to Compare and Contrast Boy Toys Versus Girl"

Thesis 7 pages (2572 words) Sources: 2 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Running Head: Gender in a Toy Store

Gender in a Toy Store

Name

University

Abstract

One of the longest and most vociferous debates in the social sciences

is whether nature or nurture has a stronger impact on human development.

In the area of gender and sexuality development, some proponents of

absolute gender equity have suggested that, prior to puberty, there is no

innate difference between male and female children, and that all behavior

that society recognizes as gendered is the result of treating those

children in a different manner. Although the resolution of that issue is

beyond the scope of this paper, a visit to a local toy store does reveal a

tremendous disparity in how products are marketed to male and female

children. The products marketed to girls are characterized by pastel

colors, particularly pink, focus on social or nurturing activities, and are

generally focused on sedentary activities, like imaginary play. In

contrast, the products marketed towards boys are characterized by bright

colors, focus on society-neutral or anti-social activities, and are more

likely to be active than toys marketed towards girls.

Introduction

Thirty years ago, when the author was a young child, people in the

general public were just beginning to pay attention to gender differences,

and really wondering whether toy choice and other forms of socialization

helped form gender differences, or whether those differences were innate.

As a result, some people began to push for gender-neutral toys and toy

marketing. While some parents and smaller specialty toy stores may have

adopted a more gender neutral marketing scheme, the author's childhood

experience reflected a fully gendered approach to playtime. Young girls

were expected to play with traditional girl toys, such as baby dolls,

character dolls like Barbie, and kitchen sets. On the other hand, young

boys were offered cars and trucks, guns, and action figures. However,

while toys may have been marketed on a gender basis, the reality is that

children played with toys without regard for their specific targeted

gender.

In fact, one of the salient points about gender -play research is the

fact that, though researchers consistently find differences in male and

female play preferences, individual within-gender differences are

oftentimes greater than between-gender differences. "Although gender

differences in toy preferences consistently appear at the group level, it

is likely that the distributions are overlapping and so, for example, some

girls prefer 'masculine' toys more strongly than some boys do." (Green,

Bigler, & Catherwood, 2004).

Some people may wonder why researchers are so focused on whether

children show a gender preference in their play. The answer to that lies

in patterns of human development, and a belief that attitudes and behavior

that are shaped during early childhood are very difficult to distinguish.

Therefore, if gender toy preferences are not innate, or, if innate, are

malleable, maybe that would provide an opportunity for parents to raise

their children with more gender-neutral attitudes. Furthermore:

Levels of variability within individuals may impact the degree to

which early patterns of gender differentiation are linked to later

developmental outcomes. High levels of variability within individuals

and genders may, for example, reduce the power of early gender

differences to predict later developmental outcomes. Data concerning

individual and within-gender variability are also likely to impact

nature versus nurture debates. For example, patterns of high

variability may indicate different underlying biological mechanisms

than are indicated by patterns of low variability. Finally, the degree

to which children's gender-typed toy play is variable should impact

the efficacy of interventions designed to reduce children's gender-

typed behavior. Behaviors showing high variability should, for

example, be more conducive to intervention-induced change than are

behaviors showing low variability. (Green, Bigler, & Catherwood,

2004).

Furthermore, when toys marketed to both genders are available, boys

tend to choose toys that are marketed towards boys, while girls tend to

choose toys that are marketed towards girls. Although there is

considerable in-group variation, this generalization holds true across

groups. These behaviors are important because these activities "may

establish habits that last into adulthood." (Cherney & London, 2006).

Furthermore, when children choose to only play with gender "appropriate"

toys, they may be limiting their experiences and establishing negatively

gendered patterns that last into adulthood. This is due to the fact that

different types of play are associated with different types of toys. While

adults may view play as frivolous, one must always keep in mind that, for

children, play is serious business. It is through play that children learn

how to behave. Therefore, when certain types of play are associated with

learning different skills, limiting children to play with gender-

stereotyped toys may actually be hampering their learning ability.

Research shows that certain types of play are linked to learning different

skills: feminine toys require more complex play than masculine toys;

spatial manipulation may help increase creativity; male-stereotyped toys

may help develop both spatial ability and aggression, while female-

stereotyped toys male help develop verbal ability and nurturance; finally,

play helps develop problem-solving skills, and gender-stereotyped play

helps develop gender-stereotyped skills. (Cherney & London, 2006).

Given that gender-stereotyping in toys may have a lifelong impact on

children; one would expect modern toy stores to be gender neutral. By

gender neutral, the author does not mean that the toy store would not

contain toys that are stereotypically associated with either gender, like

toy cars or baby dolls, but that these toys would not be marketed in a

gender specific manner. Instead, one would expect a modern toy store to

reflect the idea that children are free to play with any type of toy,

regardless of its gender stereotype. In order to test this hypothesis, the

author decided to visit a modern toy store and examine its layout and in-

store marketing to determine whether or not toy stores still employ gender

stereotyping in their marketing schemes.

For the purposes of this study, the author looked at prior research

and into the author's own childhood experience to determine which toys are

gender stereotyped. The author determined that play kitchen and food sets,

baby dolls, and character dolls were traditionally associated with female

stereotypes. The author determined that toy trucks, toy guns, and action

figures were associated with male stereotypes. Furthermore, the author

determined that some toys, such as Legos, blocks, and bicycles, were gender

neutral, because all children seemed to enjoy playing with them, and they

were not marketed specifically towards boys or girls when the author was a

child.

Methods

The author walked through a major toy store, Toys R Us, to determine

whether the store employed gender stereotyping in its in-store display and

marketing of the targeted toys. The analysis looked at where in the store

the toys were located, the colors of the toys, and any pictures or other

marketing material depicting children using the toys. Because the toy

store was clearly organized in a large square, the author conducted a

thorough investigation of the store by examining each part of the square,

working from the outside of the square towards the inside of the square.

The author visited the store at opening time on a weekday morning, assuming

that there would be little customer traffic at that time, so that the

author could look at toy marketing without being distracted by shopping

customers.

Results

Walking into the toy store, the author saw that it was organized in a

large square with a path approximately 25 feet away from the stores

perimeter, and aisles going from the path out to the perimeter and more

aisles located from the path to the center of the square. That arrangement

allowed for the creation of different sections within the store. Walking

the pathway in a clockwise direction around the square, from the entrance

to the exit, the exterior sections were as follows: a kiosk for selecting

tags for large items like swingsets, outdoor toys like swings and

sandboxes, clearance and holiday merchandise, little girl clothing, little

boy clothing, shoes, baby clothing, baby toys, large furniture and

furniture toys (like rocking horses, and toy boxes), ride-on toys, balls

and others sports equipment, bicycles, cars and trucks, action figures,

video games and other electronics, and the cash registers. Walking the

pathway in a clockwise direction around the square, from the entrance to

the exit, the interior sections were as follows: sale merchandise, board

games, Legos and blocks, toy trains, puzzles, wooden toys, books, preschool

toys (such as Fisher Price and Playschool items), baby dolls, toy kitchens,

pop-up playhouse merchandise, character dolls, themed play sets, dress-up

sets, videos, wrapping paper, cards, and candy.

Looking at specific toys, the author specifically looked at three

toys that the author had characterized as gender neutral prior to entering

the toy store: Legos, blocks, and bicycles. Legos and blocks were located

near each other, in a section that was broadly devoted to building toys and

educational toys. Furthermore, that section was sandwiched between other

gender neutral areas: board games and puzzles and wooden toys. In

addition, Toys R Us has placed some marketing materials for… READ MORE

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