In general, girls toys tend to revolve around feminine stereotypes including nurturing, motherly, domesticated, etc. Boys' toys align with masculine stereotypes including aggressive, athletic, energetic and logical. Because of gendered toys, these stereotypes are introduced to children at a very young age. As girls and boys begin identifying themselves by gender, they are subject to choosing what time of activities they partake in. A simple trip to a toy store leads them to believe that if a child is a female, she should shop in the girls aisle.
Some department stores are reacting to this issue in a positive manner. For example, Target announced that they will be removing gender specific aisles from stores. In August of 2015 the company stated they would remove the gender labels for toy departments and other child related departments including bedding and entertainment. They also plan on eliminating the pink and blue decor that emphasizes the gender specified aisles. These are important steps that many toy and department stores should take because it prevents children from being exposed to the gender stereotypes. Children should have their own right to choose what they want to play with without any external pressures.
Very interesting, I never even thought about gender labelings on websites and in the store itself. Realistically, these labels are not even necessary as gender roles are so engrained in people. So much so that without labels, people would still be able to decipher which is the girls and guys aisle. I was not aware of the fact of the movement of stores, namely target, against gendered labeling and packaging. It will be very interesting to see if this is successful, because for many decades, retailers have experienced great success catering to specific genders. However, it is certainly a move in the right direction, and nice to see.
ReplyDelete