Experts have found that the gendering of toys can have a far-reaching impact on children, especially in regards to future occupation and roles in society. Becky Francis, a professor at Roehampton University in London, conducted a small study about the gendering of children’s toys and found that boys were often given toys involving action and construction or machinery, while girls were given dolls and things more in line with “feminine” interests (Francis). Francis learned that “Boys toys tend to contain didactic information, with technical instructions and fitting things together with Lego and Meccano, whereas girls' toys tend to be around imaginative and creative play, which develop different skills,” (Barford). So not only are gendered toys marketed to be more pink or blue, but they are actually encouraging different, often stereotyped, skill sets.
In a 2013 Christmas toy study, Argos (a company based in the UK) found that not only does more than one in 10 parents admit to buying specific toys to help foster certain vocational skills in their children, there is also a link between the play adults enjoyed and the jobs they currently hold (Argos). According to the study findings, over 60 percent of adults working in design-led jobs — architects and designers — enjoyed playing with building blocks as children, while 66 percent of those in maths-related roles — accountants and bankers — loved puzzle-like toys as kids. This is similar to the numbers seen in occupations held primarily by men and women in the United States in 2014 (U.S. Department of Labor). The top most-commonly held jobs for women employed full-time were, by and large, secretaries and administrative assistants, elementary and middle school teachers, and registered nurses, with all three occupations being 75 percent or more held by women overall. In 2012, men held more jobs in retail and wholesale trade, manufacturing, construction, transport and warehousing and mining and logging than women in the United States, according to NPR (Vo). Additionally, in the UK in 2013, men far out-represented women in science, research and engineering jobs, and in skilled trades, like construction, mechanics or IT (Jenkins). Women and men are already often pigeonholed into certain vocations and areas of study, simply because some are perceived as more “manly” or feminine.” However, according to much of this research, through certain marketing and buying of children’s toys, this push into certain vocations is starting when parents are choosing to buy the pink and white play kitchen set for their girl, or the black and blue tool kit for their boy.
The idea that baking and baby care are only for girls, when everything is pink and flowery — which are two more things that have been a tool of gendering in society’s marketing, that haven’t always been that way (Maglaty) — is only going to tell boys (and men) who like those things that they are
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The impact of toys on kids' futures
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doing the wrong things, or that they are not what society believes they should be. When the colors black and blue, and trucks and cars are for boys and men only, girls who like those will be judged for not being the feminine models that society believes “real” women are. But there are people, including parents, thinking about this more dysfunctional side of society, including Carolyn Danckaert, co-founder of a Washington, D.C.-based empowerment resource site A Mighty Girl. Danckaert says:“When parents explain that some people think only girls or only boys are good at something but their family disagrees, children can recognize stereotypes for what they are” (Hains). More neutrality has been coming back into the children’s toy marketing world, as stores like WalMart, Toys R US and Target have either toned down their gendering of boys and girls, or have eliminated the labels altogether (Robb). Education is the key to keep anybody feel like they have to be a certain something, which is unhealthy, but this education, awareness and change needs to start on the lowest level: with children.
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