Essay on Gender Stereotype Gender in The Toy Store

Envision yourself entering a toy department and noticing numerous diverse aisles. In one aisle, you encounter toys packaged in complementary and color triads colors that include building sets (such as â€Å"LEGO†, â€Å"LEGO Super Heroes†, and â€Å"Angry Birds†) and a wide selection of action figures—Spider Man, Transformers, The Dark Knight, Power Rangers, etc. In the next aisle, adjacent to the aisle with complementary and color triads colors, you find toys packaged in shades of pink and purple. These toys range from â€Å"Hello Kitty† dolls to â€Å"Barbie Dream† house play sets. Inside a toy department, such as Toys R Us, it is extremely difficult to retrieve a toy that is not marketed explicitly or subtly by gender. If toys were marketed only according to†¦show more content†¦This brings light to what author Santrock discusses in the book as gender roles, which is â€Å"a set of expectations that prescribes how females and mal es should think, act, and feel† (p.163). In the world of toy marketing, choices are made with direction put in place for both genders (girl and boy). For example, as I walked down each toy aisle, I felt the gender conformity among the parents as they were with their children. With multiple aisles and two dominant colors (pink and purple) designated for girls, the message (in my perspective) marketed on the toy package yelled: â€Å"Your ambition is to be stylish, while a nurturing mother who partakes in domestic works!† In addition to the toy packages being in pink, the words (on the toy) were predominately frivolous and amusing. On the contrary, the boys’ aisle contained wide varieties of colors, although the color blue caught my eye the most. The boys’ toys entailed sports, building sets, as well as action figures. Conversely, the message in my perspective, marketed on the toy package screamed: â€Å"You have the power to do whatever you want; however, it is imperative that you build yourself physica lly, as well as train yourself in order to properly excel.† This type of act, referred to as the social role theory—â€Å"a gender difference that mainly results from the contrasting roles of females and males† (p.165),—gives a great cause of difference in gender regarding power, nurture, andShow MoreRelatedShould There Be Gender Specific Toy Aisles Lining The Rows?992 Words   |  4 PagesShould there be gender specific toy aisles lining the rows in stores? How much does this reassure the sociological idea of gender itself? Does putting restrictions on kids’ toy decisions effect them in a negative way? Research has shown that it is natural for kids to want to experiment with different toys and identities. 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