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Toys and Masculinity
Because toys are one of the first technologies that children come in contact with, it is crucial to recognize their ability to transmit cultural views of appropriate gender relations within a particular cultural context. This can specifically apply to the framework of masculinity and the perception it imposes. Boys’ toys have a tendency to be machine-like, subtly emphasizing violence as well as the expectation to work with machinery as a male.

The effect of men interacting with machinery persists far passed childhood. When examining cultural phenomenon such as NASCAR, the perpetuation of men interacting with machinery is still eminent as adults. The competitive car races promote similar ideas of masculinity, competition and rough play that the stereotypical gendered toy might also encourage.

Toys in Entertainment and Advertising
In a study done by sociologist Elizabeth Sweet, the history of toys marketed by gender was analyzed in Sears catalogs from the 20th century. In this study, advertisements published from the 1920s to the 1950s often promoted stereotypical roles of men and women to boys and girls.

During the Reagan Administration, the regulations limiting advertisers’ ability to reach children became dismantled. Shows such as My Little Pony and Transformers were created to both entertain and advertise simultaneously – a revolutionary change for the toy business. According to professor of education Diane Levin, this pattern for companies escalated so as by December 1985, 9/10 popular children’s toys were associated with television shows.

In 2012, sociologist Carol Auster analyzed Disney’s retail website and realized toys were specifically listed as “girl” or “boy” toys. Currently, Disney cross-lists its toys under each section yet less than 23% toys appeared on both lists with the majority cross-listed colors more typically associated with boys perpetuating masculinity as the default of gender-neutral children’s toys.

Daly, Natasha. “How Today's Toys May Be Harming Your Daughter.” National Geographic, National Geographic, 15 Dec. 2016, www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/gender-toys-departments-piece/.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/gender-toys-departments-piece/

Background
Toys are influential to all children in the way that they promote optimism and imagination, as well as inform proper societal relationships. When toys carry messages about gender, relationships, class and who is assigned to what kind of technology, issues of establishing an equal worldview becomes difficult at a very young age. Toys can be great utensils by parents to explain positive gender relationships, but also can hinder these relationships through explicitly gendered toys.

In a 2018 study done by developmental psychologist Dr. Lauren Spinner, the effects of images of children playing with stereotypic or counter-stereotypic toys was analyzed on kids age 4 to 7 years old. After the subjects were shown one of the images, they were asked to pick whether a boy or girl would play with a selection of toys such as a baby doll, jet fighter, tool kit, tea set, etc. Children who were shown the counter-stereotypic photos were more open to the idea of boys and girls possibly liking toys usually geared toward the opposite gender. However, seeing the photos did not change the child’s own opinions about which toys they would select.

Klass, Perri. “Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Toy Box.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/well/family/gender-stereotypes-children-toys.html.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/well/family/gender-stereotypes-children-toys.html

Annotated Bibliography
Daly, Natasha. “How Today's Toys May Be Harming Your Daughter.” National Geographic, National Geographic, 15 Dec. 2016, www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/01/gender-toys-departments-piece/.


 * The interaction between entertainment/advertising with toys is an important cultural factor to note. It has an extreme impact on the child's mind, and is something our government has allowed to happen. The abundance of the material helps to promote unfortunate gendered stereotypes.

Horowitz, Roger. “Boys and Their Toys? Masculinity, Technology, and Work.” International Labor and Working-Class History, no. 54, 1998, pp. 132–135. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27672506.


 * The idea of how men interact with machinery past childhood was examined in this source. As a result, this journal provided an extremely fascinating correlation between boys and their toys and men and their adult machines.

Klass, Perri. “Breaking Gender Stereotypes in the Toy Box.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/well/family/gender-stereotypes-children-toys.html.


 * This study was an extremely interesting insight into the child's mind while selecting toys. Specifically, it demonstrates how girls may be more flexible in their opinions, further perpetuating the masculine stereotype.

Varney, Wendy. “Of Men and Machines: Images of Masculinity in Boys' Toys.” Feminist Studies, vol. 28, no. 1, 2002, pp. 153–174. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3178498.


 * This source was a good resource regarding what the association of masculinity is in regards to toys. It provided interesting insight into how boys interact with machine-like toys as well as a general overview of why this problem is important.