Gender Sterio-Typing Advertising Of Children Toys

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Soc 101 Gender Stereotyping in advertising for children’s toys Gender stereotyping is formulating an opinion based on the gender of the individual without having an understanding of his or her morals, values, or ethics. This kind of stereotyping is frighteningly typical in the advertising of children’s toys. My initial reaction that subliminal and supraliminal techniques being used in advertising for toys caught me off guard. I didn’t think of how deep the cognition of advertising went. Subliminal techniques are used earlier in the childhood where supraliminal is used more on older children. An example of subliminal advertising is when a child associates the toy being fun or interesting based on simple factors. These factors could be the colors, shapes, lights, or sounds the toy incorporates. An example of supraliminal advertising is enlarging the box, or enlarging the brand name on the toy. I walked into my local Toys R Us and first noticed that the seasonal toys were up front. Second I noticed that infant toys were first on the path, then gender neutral toys, thirdly were the educational toys, and lastly were the boys and girls section. I noticed that most of the time the most expensive toy is on the bottom shelf. Obviously to be in the child’s view of sight. I also noticed that on the middle to the upper shelves were the educational toys. On most of the products the mom figure was used more than the dad. Also white children were used more than any other race. Both genders, all races, and all ethnicity backgrounds were seen throughout the store. The scene used to market the toy was usually the toy in motion or a child holding the toy with a smile or laughing. Typically I did not find gender stereotyping in the scene itself on the toy. I found the stereotyping on a broader level. Boys were encouraged to take on the strong role as the girls were

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