http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/24/living/gender-neutral-toys-marketing-feat/index.html
For my first blog, I chose to write on gender-neutral
marketing for toys. Recently, Target
Stores removed the signs in their aisles designating what were “boys” and what
were “girls” toys, books, electronics, and bedding. The move has made polarizing opinions from
groups and parents; from praising the company for breaking down stereotypes, to
criticisms about how “boys should be boys, and girls should be girls.” In the CNN article, Emanuella Grinberg reports
on the science of the gender-neutral marketing of toys and items, and whether doing
so has an impact upon a child’s choice to play with it designates their
developmental state of what makes a boy into a man and a girl into a woman.
One of the arguments about children playing
with toys based upon their gender is that simply boys and girls are far too
different. In the article, Grinberg
cites various studies that assessed the impact of gender on traits that define
our personalities. The obvious fact is that
men and women are biologically different, but psychological traits and
abilities, evidence has suggested that women and men, along with girls and
boys, are not very different and are very alike. The results over the decades have shown that “78%
of the magnitude of gender differences were in the small to close-to-zero range”
in relation to those traits that impact and separate gender.
Studies were also conducted where
designated “boy toys,” i.e. monster trucks painted pink and purple, along with “girl
toys” like fairy wands in pink or blue.
The study showed that regardless of color, most children were
uninterested in playing with supposed “opposite” gender toys. Children are exposed to gender labels from an
early age- from parents and grandparents, siblings, peers, and until most
recently, the toy aisle themselves.
Developmental psychologist Erica Weisgram of the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point suggests that “children should be free to follow their
interests, without gender labels and stereotypes swaying them”.
As a child, I loved toys, action figures,
LEGOs, swords, guns, everything. G.I.
Joe was my absolute favorite, remains as such.
The fight between the Joes and Cobra, a “ruthless terrorist organization
determined to rule the world” as the cartoon intro described them as. As a child, I dressed as more G.I. Joe
characters for Halloween than any other type of characters over the years. I also loved Marvel and DC Comics figures and
He-Man. Then for a short time, I also was
really into Barbie dolls.
When I was five years old, we moved into a
house in Pacoima, California, and our next door neighbors were named Mike and
Bill, introducing me to the homosexual lifestyle (which a discussion is and
will not be included in this blog). Mike
and Bill were great people, and each had their varying hobbies. Bill built model airplanes and cars, which my
older brother was very much into as a hobby, also. Mike, on the other hand, collected Hot Wheels
and Barbie dolls. I took an interest in
the Barbie dolls because I liked toys, and decided I wanted some of my own and
asked my parents for some. So my parents
took me to Target (which fits well into my story, coincidentally) and bought me
a Barbie doll. I remember she had a gold
bikini in a fabric I found interesting.
I then got a Ken doll. Mike started
giving me Barbie dolls and accessories as gifts at holidays and my birthday, or
old ones he decided he didn’t want to keep any more. This lasted a while, and I had a bunch of
Barbies and Ken. My parents never called
me a sissy, or scolded me for wanting to play with dolls; they were toys and
they allowed me to explore. One day, I
decided that Barbie simply didn’t have enough guns and swords, so I stopped
playing with them. I don’t remember
where they went, but I imagine they were taken to the Salvation Army or given
away at church. I then asked my parents
to tell Mike to stop giving me Barbie stuff because I was bored of it. All through it, I didn’t feel like a little “homo”
or something was wrong with me; I simply was playing with toys.
I need to include a Biblical reference with
this blog post, so I will. The verse
that comes to mind is Genesis 1:27, “God created man in His own image, in the
image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” God did create men and women to be different,
but they are not too different as to be isolated from one another. Through my time of playing with Barbies, I
still played with those G.I. Joes, Marvel and DC heroes, and He-Man figures. I didn’t see a differentiation of the two as “boy”
and “girl” as in negatives. I did know
that Barbies were “girls” toys, but I didn’t care; I could dress them and brush
their hair and pose them and have them do cooler things than have them go to
the salon, or drive in Barbie’s Corvette, or hang out in her Dream House. I did incorporate those things, which did
help develop what I believe to be a “softer” side to my personality, but they
still did karate, kicking and chopping.
Barbie’s hands looked like the perfect karate chopping hands, so I
remember I would have her break bread sticks like trees. I was a kick ass kid.
I was a kid that didn’t care about gender
labeling, supported by parents who allowed me to explore my world in a
non-threatening manner. Because of that,
I developed into a man that does enjoy explosions, heads exploding, good versus
evil, but also taking care of a family, cooking and other things. So with that all said, I am in support of
Target removing the gender-specific signs from areas. I do not believe that it will create “gay
kids” or “confused” children, but boys able to process their emotions better,
and girls who use creative toys to create and overall better adults.
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