Have you noticed? Toys have become more gendered than ever!

Kids’ Toys: More Gendered Than Ever
Writing for the Ms.Blog, Ponta Abadi writes: “If you’ve been to a store that sells toys in the last decade, you’ve already seen it: Toys today are often separated into blue and pink sections for ‘boys’’ toys and ‘girls’’ toys. ‘Boys’’ toys tend to involve aggression, such as toys that make punching or crashing sounds, while ‘girls’’ toys often revolve around beauty and domesticity.”  Abadi says this practice— by both the makers of toys and the sellers of toys, who shelve and display them according to gender— seems out of place at a time when mothers are the main or sole breadwinners in 40 percent of U.S. households with children.  Related Reading:  Abadi  points to a campaign in the United Kingdom that is working to change things. It’s called “Let Toys Be Toys,” and it is well worth a visit to the campaign’s website.  See also an earlier article on the Ms. Blog, written by Emily Rosenbaum, who shows that gendered toys limit the options, experiences, and cognitive and skill development of both girls and boys. The article is titled “Gendering Toys Is Good for Nobody.”

Lettoysbetoys 

Letha Dawson Scanzoni is an independent scholar, writer, and editor, and is the author or coauthor of nine books. In 1978, she and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott wrote Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?, one of the earliest books urging evangelical Christians to rethink their views on homosexuality (updated edition, 1994, HarperOne). More recently, Letha coauthored (with social psychologist David G. Myers) What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage (HarperOne, 2005 and 2006). Another of Letha’s most well-known books is All We’re Meant to Be: Biblical Feminism for Today, coauthored with Nancy A. Hardesty (Word Books, 1974; revised edition, Abingdon, 1986; updated and expanded edition, Eerdmans, 1992). Letha served as editor of Christian Feminism Today in both its former print edition (EEWC Update) and its website for 19 years until her retirement in December 2013.

1 COMMENT

  1. Yes, I have definitely noticed that toys have become more gendered than when my sons were growing up. I thought it was hard to find non- aggressive toys then but even harder to find them now for my grandsons. It drives me crazy. Even the Legos are pink and blue. Thanks for these links!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.