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Sociology Study on Kids Toys

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Sociology Study on Kids Toys
February 16, 2013
Sociology: Toys and Cards
Page 1
Toys and Cards

Today kids no longer play with only simple items for their entertainment such as homemade dolls or hand carved wooden swords. It is apparent that a cultural swing has developed in modern times to adapt with the ever changing mega industries of child entertainment. From Hasbro board games, to Matell’s diverse Barbie doll collections, and all the way into the virtual interactive video games of Nintendo, society has been latched to the ideas, assumptions, and norms of what boys and girls should engage interest for entertainment as they grow. Walking through almost any toy store today, the first thing to be noticed would be that there are two main sections. One, displaying an immense amount of colors from pink, yellow, to purple. Glitter and frill were not absent among this section that held children’s toys ranging from dolls, stuffed animals, plastic play houses with kitchens as well as telephones, and common feminine characters scene on young television channels. Looking at the bikes or toy motor cars here, the same color variations appear only along with streamers and prominent words such as “princess” or “sparkle”. Looking more closely at the toy dolls, there is a very common attribute in almost every one having blonde hair, blue eyes, and large breasts. These can be found more often then dolls portraying ethnicity of African American or Hispanic denomination. Stuffed animals are often seen with name tags such as “Candy” or using the prefix of “Miss” before their
February 16, 2013
Sociology: Toys and Cards
Page 2
Toys and Cards names. In the society of today, a person most likely entering this toy section would presume that it focuses upon young girls.

In the second section, also seemingly larger in size and variety, a not so vibrant color scheme appears using black, red, and lots of blue. The assortment of toys usually is vas compared to its counter part area of the store.

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