Toys Can Expose Children To Gender Stereotypes

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Amanda Aguilar Adv. Writing & Research October 28, 2010 Paper #2 Toys Can Expose Children to Gender Stereotypes “Spiderman” action figures, “Legos”, and “The Care Bears” all represent popular toys from the past. Today, toy stores divide the many toys, games and movies into two different categories: boy and girl. After going into Toys R Us or any toy store, one can conclude that the toys children play with, pass down stereotypes of gender roles. Through their gender-biased toys, typically, boys learn "warrior-like" roles and girls learn to nurture. Girls’ toys stress physical beauty and appearance while boys’ toys focus on respect for their physical abilities (Campenni 122). Gender socialization, through toys, teaches and reinforces stereotypical gender roles. In order to understand the influences today’s popular toys have on our younger generation, it is important to first understand gender socialization. "Gender" refers to the socio-cultural dimension of being female or male (Maccoby 6). Authors Bryjak and Soroka say, "Human beings are not born with any pre-existing knowledge of, or orientation to, their world. What we come to feel about life and about ourselves, we learn through socialization, the social mechanisms through which gender developments occur" (214). Beginning in the hospital room, babies encounter gender socialization when the nurses place traditional "blue" or "pink" caps on their heads. Sociologist, LaFreniere states, "By the time children are 3 to 4 years old, they have already formed an image of themselves as boy or girl" (Bryjak 214). Children form these images from parents, teachers, societal members, and the toys and games with which they play. O’Brien considers that, "Preference for play with same sex stereotyped toys is considered to be the beginning of sex role development in young children" (1). Bryjak and Soroka also
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