What was your favorite toy when you were a kid?
This was mine:
Yup, that’s exactly what it looks like - a wooden iron and ironing board made for a child. And I loved it. I would spend hours ironing my father’s handkerchiefs, singing songs about being some sort of Cinderella or washerwoman, and imagining that I was a character in a fairytale.
Today, my real-life adult ironing board and iron is shoved into the closet with my washer/dryer and in the last year I have been more apt to throw my clothes into the dryer to get wrinkles out than to iron.
But, that’s not to say that the gendered rearing of children doesn’t have an effect on how we do gender as we age. In fact, how we play as kids is an important contributor to how we develop cognitively. We know that gendered toys have long-term consequences for our later cognitive and social development and because of these consequences, the media and the family (as institutions) reinforce gendered play consistently.
Girls play with toys designed to foster nurturing and motherly role-play, while boys play with toys designed to foster activity and manipulative play. Gender stereotyped toys reinforce gender roles through these stereotyped activities and roleplay.
So does that mean that all girls have to grow up to be princesses or mothers or shop-til-you-droppers? (I’m reaching into my murky memory for childhood toys and games and I keep thinking of Mall Madness, forgive me.) Or that all boys have to grow up to soldiers or train engineers or ninjas?
Clearly not. But that doesn’t mean the marketing for gendered toys isn’t out there. Check out this little girls awesome rant about gendered marketing.
The thing is, though, that even though me and this little girl know that all this marketing gender roles stuff is bs, it’s still out there. And it’s kind of tough for us not to give in. I mean, Riley’s giving this rant while carrying a baby doll and I’m writing this blog while wearing high heels and a push up bra (I also have clothing on, don’t be alarmed). Clearly both of us have given in to gender roles a little bit.
Is that from how we play as children?
For me, the answer is yes. Every time I put on a pair of heels, I remember back to those tiny Barbie high heels. Every time I put on a pair of flats, I think of poor Skipper and her flat feet.
Can we ever move away from gendered play? Or will Cinderella continue to eat our daughters?
What do you think? Are gendered toys necessary for child-rearing? Do you use gendered toys with your kids? Why or why not?
As manier philosophers like Karl Marx said that the environment that we grow up in nurtures who we become in future.. And also plays a very key role in gender preferences when we grow up.. In many times the question Ive asked myself is, who came up with the concept of girls being recognised or defined by the colur pink and with boys the colour blue?.. And most of the time my answer would be, that the society we live in has made sure that they use objects such as toys to channel a girl or a boy in a certain gender that they the parents (not the kid) prefers them to be given by the pressures of society the patriarchal society which relates pink with weakness and blue with strength.
In my opinion I would never use gender toys as they supress kids and not let them have a choice of what gender they would like 2 be.. And would not want them to be conformists of what the patriarchal society dictates
I fell in love with this little girl from the moment I saw her about 6 months ago. If this is the future, I am encouraged.
Gendered toys are soooo not necessary for child-rearing. I have no idea why anyone would think so – my favorite toys as a child were stuffed animals – tigers, bears, bunnies, turtles, etc. They had names and personalities and were my imaginary wonderful friends. None of them were pink, and I never had any Barbies, and I turned out just fine. I’m even pretty good at performing femininity for fun and profit! Go figure.
I agree with Sarah and Erin (cutiepie that she is!). Gender specific marketing with regards to children’s toys is not only unnecessary, but also dangerous. In my opinion, it tells boys that they don’t have to be nurturing parents (it’s the girls’ jobs); and girls are limited to nurturing children and shopping (you know, “girlie” things).
I, too have hope for the future (if Erin’s video rant is any evidence of a good change); however, it will be a V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W change.
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