Christmas and gender stereotypes

Night_Sprite · November 2009

Do you buy into the logic that the toys we buy children encourage gender stereotypes like trucks and tools for boys and dolls and vacuums for little girls? Should we buy little girls trucks?

J&K10910 · November 2009

I think you should buy little kids whatever the heck they want to play with. When I was a kid I had dolls, barbies, trucks, matchbox cars, legos, sports stuff. I had a pretty good mix.

louisvillebride21 · November 2009

Yes, I buy into that. However, that alone is not enough to enforce the sterotype. Their friends most likely have their gender appropriate toys. I like buying gender neutral toys like musical insturments or Elmo or things like that.

RachNRich · November 2009

POST HOAR!!!

MeaghanandMichael · November 2009

Yes, definitely, but then again they are advertised that way on children's television programming and reinforced by kids who don't have parents with broader thinking.I plan on buying my kids whatever they want to have. My sister's son wanted a bedazzeler, a cookbook and a football for Christmas last year. She gladly bought him all. You don't know how many horrible comments she got from other parents.

ScarletGem · November 2009

Ditto J&K - When I was little my brother and I both played with a whole range of dolls, stuffed animals, ponies, trucks, action figures, legos, etc.

thesuninherhead · November 2009

My brother had dolls and trucks, although I must admit he wasn't too interested in the dolls. I had dolls and my brother and I shared little toy car set things that we both loved. I'm for buying kids whatever they would like to play with, and if they're young, whatever you think they'd like- regardless of stereotyped gender roles.

Night_Sprite · November 2009

Two posts does not a post hoar make. Ask Fishy.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · November 2009

I had all sorts of toys. I also had a brother, and I loved playing with his teenage mutant ninja turtles. I sort of wanted some of my own. If I had a girl, I would not buy her barbies. Or Bratz. I'd buy her dolls, but I'd buy her traditional "male" toys too. Ditto for boys, though it sucks that most "girl" toys come in pink and purple only - like kitchen play sets. Then again, I'm not big on ascribing color to gender either, especially with really young kids.

louisvillebride21 · November 2009

Ditto to J&K. I was more likely to pull off the barbie's head. In fact, I made my dad take back my pink barbie car and get me the boy's Jeep because it went faster. I was a huge tomboy. Yet, I still ended up pretty girly sometime in highschool

RachNRich · November 2009

But seriously, I hate the idea of gender sterotyped toys. That being said, I probably would buy said toys for said gender--because there isn't much gray space for toys. It's either one, or the other. I really don't want to raise my own kids like that though...

ScarletGem · November 2009

edit: My brother played with dolls, but usually he just cut off all their hair, which made them look a little butch, or popped off their heads entirely. Luckily he didn't decide this is a good way to treat the real women in his life.

laurenclaire1386 · November 2009

I have a brother who is sixteen months younger than I am, so I always had access to all the boy toys (no pun intended) I wanted. I played with both my barbies and his legos equally I think. He also wanted his fingernails painted when he was three because my mom painted mine. So my mom painted his too and my dad shiit a brick.

sarah0725 · November 2009

I'm all over the place on this one. My brothers had Playmobil dollhouses and figures, and they mostly used them to play war stuff. My sister and I had matchbox cars, and we made up stories about the people who might be driving them and what their lives were like. We did the same thing with the little people on the train platform. So in other words, I think no matter what toys you give kids, they will play with them in ways that are appealing to them. I loved my dolls when I was a kid.Just don't give them video games and rot their brains. Anything creative = good.

sarahmk5 · November 2009

Just buy them what they want. Honestly, when I was younger, I had no interest in "boy toys," and it wasn't because of lack of access. I went to preschool and didn't enjoy the trucks. I'll just buy my kids whatever they want. If the boy want's a doll, I'll get him one. Same goes for the girl and her trucks.

sucrets4 · November 2009

But where does it stop? My mom's friend's grandson has all sisters, so he loved to play dress up with them, clad in girl's clothes. He would be crucified at school if he said that he loved playing dress up with his sisters.I plan on giving my kids what they enjoy playing with, but stereotypes got to be that way for a reason.

[Deleted User] · November 2009

When Ben was a toddler, he loved cooking and dolls. I gave him several cookings and he loved them. My dad always gave me the side eye, but I didn't care. When he was 3, he became more interested in cars, trucks, trains, violence, etc. It was just a natural progression.

Gwenosaurus · November 2009

I think the fact that certain toys are marketed to different genders encourages those stereotypes, as does forcing a kid to play with "gender appropriate toys." I think kids should be able to play with whatever toys they want. My favorite toys were Legos and plastic dinosaurs, but sometimes I asked for dolls as well.

crfische · November 2009

I'm an all around hoar. Two posts does not a post whore make. True. And I hated dolls and crap. I wanted he men, hot wheels, and thumb wrestlers. I'm fairly well adjusted.

ootmother2 · November 2009

No. I always bought what M said she wanted. A big dump truck for the sandbox and Cabbage Patch kids, barbies, a drill set, a stove, etc.I've never known a parent who insisted on gender oriented toys

laurenclaire1386 · November 2009

Sucrets: I'm with you on the stereotypes thing. Stereotypes exist for a really good reason: they're (unfortunately) usually pretty accurate.

crfische · November 2009

What is the reason they exist then? Enlighten me. Because women can't drive trucks? Because men can't be chefs? Puhleez.

MeaghanandMichael · November 2009

Stereotypes exist for a really good reason: they're (unfortunately) usually pretty accurate.Could you clarify this? Because where I am sitting here it sounds mighty dumb.

Night_Sprite · November 2009

I saw a catalog and was curious what people think. Even something like dolls can be thought about because my brother had lots of HeMan figures, but I had lots of Barbies. I made him mad when I would take his cute HeMen to marry my barbies.

sucrets4 · November 2009

Stereotypes on exist because there's a foundation of truth to them. Sure, not every female loves dolls and clothes, but since many do, it has evolved into a stereotype.

crfische · November 2009

Eye to eye, hot meghan. eye to eye.

RachNRich · November 2009

They exist not because they are right, they are right because we have made them that way. We have continually reenforced the idea that boys are strong, girls are weak--boys are the breadwinners, girls are the stay-at-home-moms. Sure, these kitchen sets sold for little girls seem accurate. Because we made them that way.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · November 2009

Sucrets - that's really because society in general enforces stereotypes. If parents were open-minded, no one would think it was "wrong" for a boy to play dress up. But because it's seen as effeminate by adults, they pass those prejudices onto their children.It's hard to know if girls naturally want to play the way Sarah said and boy generally like more violent things, like Cew mentioned. Or if society working in subtle ways just tells them that's the way boys and girls behave.

crfische · November 2009

I get how they've developed and why they are there, but I fail to see that there is a GOOD REASON that they exist, as lauren insinuated. And I also don't see a need to perpetuate said stereotypes.

J&K10910 · November 2009

Stereotypes exist because of people with biases oversimplifying (often negative) characteristics. Sooo...I don't really see this as a valid reason for them to exist.

Gwenosaurus · November 2009

I think there might be a bit of a double standard concerning stereotypes about boys and girls. A little boy might get teased by his friends for admitting to playing dress up, but it's ok for girls to play with trucks. There's really no boy equivalent to the word "tomboy" that wouldn't be regarded as an insult.

Christmas and gender stereotypes

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