Toys R Us: Gender Stereotypes

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As Renzetti and Curran note in Men, Women and Society, “ Children express gender-typed toy preferences as early as one year of age. Gender-typed toy choices are further reinforced by the toy catalogs… and by the way toy stores often separate sections for boys and girls” (82). Children are exposed to gender stereotypes at a very young age, in which they then begin to possess these perceptions of gender roles, through color, outdoor/indoor play and personality characteristics. Two recent visits to the Toys R’ Us on Leesburg Pike in Falls Church Virginia, showed just that; there was an obvious gender based division in the store. Giving off the impression that society still likes the idea of a gender based society, where things are targeted specifically towards one gender and one gender only. The red, orange, green and yellow colors of the large playful Toys R’ Us logo on the outside of the store gave off an impression, as if the store was gender neutral, in other words didn't have gender divisions. I began walking…show more content…
The packaging on the girl toys use adjectives like “ Beautiful Bedazzled Jewels,” and “Blissful lovely body mist.” Rough, loud, and obnoxious these words describe the atmosphere of the boys section at Toys R’Us. the packaging on the boy toys use adjectives like “ Extreme loud crashes,” and “muscle man.” The words used on the packaging labels are targeted toward one specific gender, meaning that one toy isn't meant for play by the opposite gender. I believe the words on the packaging and the atmosphere of the toy sections stop children from choosing toys from the other section. Not all girls are delicate and not all boys and tough; although I did see quiet gentle girls and loud boys at Toys R’ Us I saw some that weren’t. The toy manufactures and Toys R’Us itself is being too stereotypical. This holds back children from exploring other
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