Gender is a socio-cultural construct made through experiences and interactions with others throughout one’s life. In children, gender stereotyping can be seen in preference for ‘male-typical’ or ‘female-typical’ toys, playmates, and playing practices (Li, Kung, and Hines, 2017). Female and male children tend to segregate away from each other at a young age and often refuse to play together due to preconceived beliefs about the other gender. Commercialization of toys promotes gender stereotyping by using male-heavy or female-heavy themes in their advertisements. This promotes an increase in toy and other product purchases in parents with children of different genders, as they are pushed to buy differently gender-stereotyped toys for each of their children.
Today’s sociocultural contexts continue to change and gender stereotyping becomes less prevalent, leading to the commercialization of toys and products for children to begin to move away from gendered advertisement. This opens a wider array of opportunities for children to play with what they factually want as opposed to what they are societally pressured to believe they should play with. Despite this, it will be long before gender norms are fully removed from today’s society. The negative effects of gender are seen most strongly in populations that do not identify with a gender or identify with more than one gender throughout their life. Such individuals lack representation within the heavily male-or-female commercialization of toys, thus forcing them to conform to one or the other. This may lead to identity-related confusion in a child that will transition to identity issues in adolescence and young adulthood. A heavier emphasis on gender-neutral toy marketing will allow for a greater range of play opportunities for children of all gender identities, thus expanding the potential for growth and development.
Reference
Cislaghi, B. and Heise, L. (2020), Gender norms and social norms: Differences, similarities and why they matter in prevention science. Sociol Health Illn, 42: 407-422. Web.