Essay on Gender Roles and Kids Toys - 806 Words

Gender Roles and Kids Toys In David Barrys article, Guys vs. Men, he discussed the differences between guys and men. This article made several valid points, including that guys will try and out perform each other where sports are concerned and that the space shuttle is the ultimate guy toy. My question is why do only guys play with all the neat toys? Part of the answer to this question might be that men are encouraged to play with hi-tech toys while girls are given a Barbi doll or a toy oven. The best time to see how these differences are encouraged by our society is during the Holiday season. The toys I have seen for boys are mainly Star Wars action figures or Nintendo 64 games. The toys advertised for girls were mostly easy†¦show more content†¦In the 1950s that was a logical assumption, but in the 1990s more women work outside of the home. In 1959 the percentage of women working that were 20 years or older according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor was 36.3%. In 1997 the figure is 58.5%. For men in 1959 the figure was 83.3%. For men in 1997 the figure is 74.2. With the increase of women entering the work force it would be more logical to focus on toys that might encourage the child to develop an interest that could turn into a career. Even though I would encourage young girls to play with other toys besides Barbi, I am not recommending that boys be encouraged to play with dolls. Even computer games are designed with gender in mind. A new computer game that was just released is a Barbi game where the girls go shopping with Barbi and she can be programmed to call them by name. I absolutely shudder every time I see this game advertised on T.V. The games that are aimed at the boys are football, hockey, or Star Wars games. As boys grow into men and girls grow into women the computer gaming industry begins to focus more on the male population. It is challenging to try and find a game that is not directed at men. The type of bias can simply be having a male figure that is designated as the player, this is a technique that The 7Th Guest employed, or a game that thrives on violence and has very little plot line. The one game that I came across that actually hadShow MoreRelatedHow Toys Play A Role On Gender Socialization1229 Words   |  5 Pagesunusual for their gender. Toys are a prominent factor in this socialization, because they are typically presented for one gender and are unacceptable for the other. To assess how toys play a role in gender socialization, I made a trip to Toys â€Å"R† Us in College Station and was surprised by how the store was organized. The first thing that went through my mind when walking into the store was to look for the Girls and Boys signs that would indicate to me which section was for which gender. 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