Preview

Describe Gender Roles

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
780 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Describe Gender Roles
While growing up, I was subjected to many things that have influenced me and shaped me into the person I am today. From my parents divorce to being bullied in middle school, but one event I did not realize influenced me as much as it did was my choice of toys. From the day we are born we are forced into gender roles. Girls are swaddled in pink blankets while boys are swaddled in blue. From here on out, it only gets worse. To clarify, the article I read, “Boys and Girls, Constrained by Toys and Costumes” was an article, in summary, about the confinement children receive from gender based toys. From toys being certain colors for boys and girls to toys portraying certain occupations towards a gender. These toys place barriers around …show more content…
For example, a child who is told that he can only play with manly toys that promote action and violence may grow up to not have good relationships with women because he does not know how to show his softer side. Boys are often told not to show emotion because “boys don’t cry,” or so they say. Another example of gender labelings effect on children is how a girl who is told she can not get dirty or do anything that is too hard , forms ideas on what she should be as she grows. She may become dependent on someone else to care for her and lose her independence. Gender labeling is very damaging to children and their perspectives of themselves and the world around …show more content…
The simplest definition of cultural shock is the disorientation that people feel when they come in contact with a different culture. Our society today has a perspective now that is relatively new and is changing everyday. We use to generalize the public as boy and girl with their specific roles. Now, we understand that there are many variations. When the changes started to occur, gender neutral toy stores for example, the general public felt cultural shock because their world was changing. This change has caused our society to be more open to those who are different from our

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The passage "Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls" by Katha Pollit is mainly about society and stereotypes. Which include how girls tend to ne feminine and usually play with dolls, clothes and pink shoes that are usually for girls. Others find this hard to believe that boys might not understand that their toys consist of just trucks and action figures. Others fail to see that there was a women’s movement and many people were against it. People are not just born with the connection to a certain color or even to a certain toy; it is something that we are taught by our parents and even by society.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gender Neutral Toys Dbq

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis: Most adults live in the era where toys were still perceived and advertised in a gendered way. It is hard for them to have a dramatic change in such a short timing.…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article, Learning to be Gendered by Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet, the effects of upbringing and society on a child’s gender identification are analyzed. Throughout the child’s development, they are often guided by the world around them into gender classifications. Society decides on norms for the child to follow based on their gender, then they would grow up to better match those ideals. This is important because if society pushes us towards these labels, it limited our ability to decide on what we perceive ourselves as without outside forces acting upon us. Some studies on the development of gender identities in children seem to show evidence towards the nurture side of gender. Often parents would speak to their child differently depending on their physical gender (740) or set their playing tendencies around gender specific toys (743). This sort of mentality seems to be heavily ingrained in our societal conventions, even those who attempt to do away with these patterns fail to overcome them.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Some examples would be Teen mutant Ninja Turtles action figures with playset, Pokémon cards and stuffed animals, Marvel Avengers action figures and Jurassic world Tyrannosaurus rex figure that are typically designed for boys. For girls it would include Bratz dolls, Frozen Elsa sing-a-long, Princess Character dolls, my little pony and Barbie movies with doll dream house with accessories. In general the toys most associated with boys were related to fighting or aggression and the toys most associated with girls were related to appearance. In the data I included, the toys that seem to be neutral gender are games like candy land, connect four, twister, rubric’s cube and hungry hippo which helps develop cognitive and social skills. The toys rated as most likely to be educational and to develop children’s skills were typically categorized as neutral. This data didn’t surprise me when just by looking at the toy aisles you can tell their gender segregated. The toy aisles meant for girls are covered in pink and vice versa for boys with blue. Also movies meant for boys tends to be more action type while girl movies for children tend to be based on…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is said that girls generally gravitate towards the toys labeled as girls’ toys and young boys always choose trucks over dolls. This way of organization makes it easy to find the right plaything for each child. When given the choice between a doll and a truck, female infants are most likely to choose the doll, and male infants choose the opposite (Cherney et al., 2003). Girls seem to be attracted to pastel colors and role play toys such as dolls. Boys automatically want to play with guns and toy soldiers, things that are aggressive in nature. The separation of toys has never had an effect on children or their future. They have been marketed in this way for years without trouble, so why change these…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gender plays an important role in the way children are raised in today’s society. The common stereotype that feminine toys are for girls and masculine toys are for boys is prevalent, even with all of the political advancements our society has made to try to free the world from these stigmas. It starts as early as when a child is in the mother’s womb. Most women will celebrate the arrival of their bundle of joy with a baby shower. Pink colors will be used for baby girls and blues for baby boys. In toy stores you will find aisles filled with toys separated by gender: baby dolls for girls and action heroes for boys. During ages three to five children enter their peak playing ages where their minds are most vulnerable to absorb everything and anything at once. Due to a failing economy, many more families are depending on early childcare programs to care for their children while they are forced to have both parents enter the workforce. During this sensitive, and impressionable time in a…

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gender bias through a child’s toy can have a large effect on their behavior. Children model the behavior of adults around them, something from TV, or even a toy. A young boy has the imagination to see his action figure in…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Barbie Stereotypes

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Young boys and girls are influenced by their respectable toys in a manner of ways. While girl’s toys promote an unrealistic version of…

    • 580 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    english 1c paper

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Through the process of gender socialization children learn how to act according to their sex with different gender roles. Gender roles can be defined as certain behaviors and attitudes specifically classified as something a male or female distinctly does. If a girl suddenly burps in front of a friend, she might get a response like “ugh, that’s so manly!” This is a prime example of how gender roles have been fused into our society and daily life. Women are generally expected to be housewives that look pretty, cook, clean, and nurture their kids. On the other hand, men are understood to make the money for the family. Girls play with dolls while boys play with action figures. These gender codes are typical for the average American family, and are taught to children through several implicit tactics. In our society there are many hidden signs that secretly teach children how to behave within their distinct gender role. Specifically, gender socialization is most commonly learned through children’s toys which are colored, marketed, commercialized, and distributed by parents in ways that promote gendered behavior. When playing with toys kids learn the stereotypical gender roles categorized for each sex.…

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unfortunately, in the present days, in the contemporary era, toys have a great influence in gender roles. This influence creates a lot of pressure in the little ones who are forced to buy ‘’girl’s’’ toys and ‘’boy’s ‘’ toys. However, if a boy buys a toy that are labeled and directed for girls, such as Barbie dolls, pink bicycles and Polly’s, they are very likely to suffer bully from their colleagues at school. That can lead into severe mental problems such as: depression, high levels of insecurity and anxiety.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sociology

    • 1151 Words
    • 5 Pages

    My paper titled toys and gender, is based on the toys of today and how they relate to gender socialization. I decided to go to the local Wal-Mart in Cookeville, Tn. I chose this store because it is a worldwide known large retail store. I concluded that it would be a good store to analyze because it is thought of as a family store where many families go to shop. Therefore, I knew that there would be a wide variety of toys to analyze and collect data. I went to Wal-Mart December the 3rd. I analyzed the toy sections of Wal-Mart and how the toys are associated with gender, color sound, types of play they encourage, types of interactions they cause, and what they prepare children for. With the exception of preschool toys that were sometimes offered in gender-neutral packaging, kids’ toys were largely segregated into different aisles according to gender. And within those aisles, the markings of gender were clear. The “girls’” section resembled the aftermath of an explosion of Pepto-Bismol. In the “boys’” section, there seemed to be a profusion of aggressive, hyper-muscled, weapon-wielding action figures. And in both realms, the majority of toys seemed to be explicitly tied to movies and television…

    • 1151 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although changing one’s sex is a biological process and often unchangeable, changing one’s gender is a fluid social process. It is hard to distinguish so-called natural and social qualities of one’s gender or sex since culture strongly impacts what society believes to be natural (TAW Social construction of gender 26). The social construction of gender is important to note when thinking about domesticity, because girls are taught from young age to believe they are naturally better suited for family work rather than market work. For instance, toys for toddlers mimic gender norms as toys directed for girls involve care-centered play, such as pretend vacuums, kitchen sets, and baby dolls. On the other hand, toys for young boys involve science experiments and building blocks, toys that help to develop cognitive skills (39). The differences in toys relate to the different skills boys and girls learn at a young age; girls tend to learn nurturing skills while boys tend learn motor skills. As a result, the difference in toy design, as well as the fact that there are toys made for one gender over the other, are examples of how domesticity pervades US society. Girls grow up to believe that they are more suited towards…

    • 2405 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gender Roles

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gender roles are affected by the typical roles society expects both men and women to fit into because they determine how we should think, speak, dress, and interact within the context of society. Whereas I believe that men and women should be who they want to be.…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gender Toys Essay

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Bruno Bettelheim, a child psychologist, children’s play pattern is not innate; it is not dependent on their sex but, peer pressure and media advertisements may have drastic impact on kids. “The toy industry markets boy toys and girl toys, and girls have fewer options.Almost everything for girls has hair and a comb and brush, as if girls have nothing else to do” said Ms. Oppenheim who is a writer, researching toy industry for nine years.She urges parents to become cautious about their children’s toy preferences in order to draw the attention to manufactures who are releasing such gender stereotyped…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sex, Gender and Toys

    • 1915 Words
    • 8 Pages

    According to the book “Core Concepts in Sociology”, authors Lindsey et al. (2006), socialization is defined as, “the lifelong process by which we learn our culture, develop our sense of self, and become functioning members of society” (Lindsey et al., 2006, p. 56). Today, social scientists define gender and sex as two very distinct realities (Lindsey et al., 2006, p. 114). Sex is defined as the biological traits that differentiate male and female while gender is the psychological, cultural and social traits that are in relation to male and female and identify people as masculine or feminine (Lindsey et al., 2006, p. 114). Gender stereotypes are common ideologies concerning what constitutes as feminine and masculine (Nelson, 1999, p.13). They wield a strong influence over our perceptions, expectations and evaluations not only of ourselves but of others as well (Nelson, 1999, p. 13). Our outlooks on gender are descriptive in the sense that we define what others are like and they are also prescriptive in the sense that we identify what others should be like (Nelson, 1999, p.13). These gender stereotypes are widely reinforced through the mass media, especially through children’s toys (Wagner-Ott, 2002, p. 246). Socialization begins from the day we are born and will continue until the day we die and since toys take place in children’s lives from the day they are born; it is safe to say that they play an important role in a child’s gender socialization (Wagner-Ott, 2002, p. 246). The nature of this project will be to compare and evaluate children’s toys on the basis of gender. I will be discussing the differences that are portrayed amongst children’s toys and what those differences suggest to the children. It is important to look at the agents who give these toys meaning because toys are after all merely objects. Do children’s toys portray gender specific messages? At a young age, girls are given dolls and kitchen set toys which gear them towards motherhood, while boys…

    • 1915 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays