How Toys Relate to a Boy's Gender Role in Society

“Dad can you get me a new video game, all my old games are boring. My best friend Nick just got the new Batman game and it is so cool!” Many parents all over America might find there beloved children frequently making such demands. In today’s world the media plays such a tremendous impact on children’s lives. For instance, toy companies use television commercials to brainwash children to buy their product and nearly every product on the market is advertised towards a specific gender. “Toys and games that parents provide for their children are an influential source of gender information” (Newman 112). When shopping for toys for your son, it is rather easy to determine which toys are marketed for boys and which are marketed for girls. Generally speaking, girls’ toys accentuate clothing and fashion while boys’ toys revolve more around action and competition. Thus, various types of toys that children are exposed to during their adolescence, helps shape what these kids perceive to be their gender role in society.

To help get a better understanding of the role that toys play in the gendered socialization of children, here is a list of four toys that a stereotypical 10 year old boy would beg their parents to buy. This wish list goes as follows: Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure, Nerf Vortex Mega Howler, Nerf N-Strike Recon Cs-6 Dart Blaster, and Mario Kart Wii. The remainder of this blog post will analyze these four toys in greater detail in relation to a boys’ gender role.

The Hasbro Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Figure is a stereotypical action figure. Action figures have been a common toy for boys to play with ever since the GI Joe was introduced in the 1960s. At the toy store, these action figures are placed in their own isle where various other toys for boys are placed on the shelves. Online on a site such as Amazon.com, these types of toys can be found under the category, “Boy’s Toys.” A Transformers action figure teaches young boys to be aggressive, imaginative, and competitive, all of which are dominant traits for a successful male in today’s society. It is not normal to find a 10 year old boy playing with dolls, the female version of action figures. “Unfortunately, children whose behavior doesn’t conform to generally accepted standards of gender are subject to ridicule or worse” (Newman 115).

Similarly, the Nerf Vortex Mega Howler (a kid’s version of a football) is a popular toy amongst young boys because it encourages them to be active and partake in sports. This toy is directly marketed at boys ages 5-10 and is often shown on TV commercials and magazines, where a father is having a catch with his son. Sports teach kids to be competitive, physically active and work together as a team, all of which are dominant gender traits for males. “Thus sex-segregated activities such as organized sports….provide the context in which gendered identities and separate ‘gendered cultures’ develop and come to appear natural. It became ‘natural’ to equate masculinity with competition, physical strength, and skills” (Messner 128). The Nerf Vortex is a great way to introduce your son into sports at a young age, and encourage him to join an organized sports team with the other boys in the community. When shopping for this product it can be located in the sporting goods section of a toy store, where tons of other boy’s toys of similarity can be found.

The Nerf N- Strike Recon Cs-6 Dart Blast is another excellent example of how many boys’ toys encourage aggression and violence. This product promotes action and violence, which are normative gender characteristic for a toy marketed for 10 year old boys. This toy is recommended for kids ages 6-12 and is a highly masculine product. A young girl would rather play “mommy” with her dolls then be frightened with the power of the Recon Cs-6 Dart Blaster. However, boys get an adrenaline rush from shooting Nerf guns at each other and it’s what they consider to be fun. Though controversial in some parents’ eyes, a violent toy like a Nerf gun does have positive effects on their sons; it teaches them to be adventures and have fun. Boys are highly encouraged to explore the world and it through toys like a Nerf Gun, where these children develop what they perceive as their gender role in today’s society.

Even such seemingly gender neutral games as the Mario Kart Wii, are primarily marketed towards young males. Video games are both popular among boys and girls because they are strategic and put your mind to work. However, the majority of video games promote masculine identities such as sports, violence, aggression and competition and it’s these types of games that boys indulge in.

It is evident that the toys your children are exposed to, even at young ages, play an important role in there livelihoods. Boys thrive on competition and adventure, so the media markets their products directly at these and various other gender traits for different age groups. If a 10 year old boy was playing with dolls instead of action figures, it would not be considered normal. It is important for young males to learn about masculinity and their gendered role in society. Males are typically supposed to be dominant, competitive, adventurous and aggressive and it is through toys like the ones mentioned above, that young boys are exposed to these traits.

Works Cited

Messner, Michael. Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography: Sage Publications, 1990.

Newman, David. Identities and Inequalities: Exploring the Intersections of Race, Class,
Gender, and Sexuality. New York: McGraw Hill, 2007.

Photos

http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-56670-Nerf-Vortex-Howler/dp/B000H2W6US/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1216849142&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-Transformers-Ultimate-Bumblebee-Figure/dp/B000OKXRQ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1216848482&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Mario-Kart-Nintendo-Wii-Additional/dp/B001A3IHAQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1216849628&sr=8-3http://www.rubicongames.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/9231_mario_kart_wii-orig.png

http://www.amazon.com/Nerf-N-Strike-Recon-Cs-6-Blaster/dp/B000XTPOLS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1216848055&sr=1-2