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Gormy Cuss

(30,884 posts)
Tue Dec 9, 2014, 12:36 PM Dec 2014

Toys Are More Divided by Gender Now Than They Were 50 Years Ago

Interesting read.

Elizabeth Sweet Dec 9 2014, 7:30 AM ET
The Atlantic


When it comes to buying gifts for children, everything is color-coded: Rigid boundaries segregate brawny blue action figures from pretty pink princesses, and most assume that this is how it’s always been. But in fact, the princess role that’s ubiquitous in girls’ toys today was exceedingly rare prior to the 1990s—and the marketing of toys is more gendered now than even 50 years ago, when gender discrimination and sexism were the norm.


In my research on toy advertisements, I found that even when gendered marketing was most pronounced in the 20th century, roughly half of toys were still being advertised in a gender-neutral manner. This is a stark difference from what we see today, as businesses categorize toys in a way that more narrowly forces kids into boxes. For example, a recent study by sociologists Carol Auster and Claire Mansbach found that all toys sold on the Disney Store’s website were explicitly categorized as being “for boys” or “for girls”—there was no “for boys and girls” option, even though a handful of toys could be found on both lists...


http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/12/toys-are-more-divided-by-gender-now-than-they-were-50-years-ago/383556/
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Toys Are More Divided by Gender Now Than They Were 50 Years Ago (Original Post) Gormy Cuss Dec 2014 OP
I noticed this when I had to enter a toy store a number of years ago, and complaints niyad Dec 2014 #1
Anyone who has been sapient for the past 50 years knows this malthaussen Dec 2014 #2
Message auto-removed Name removed Jan 2015 #3
I thought it was the opposite.......... GuyVelella Apr 2015 #4
Hi, please check the SOP of this group. Gormy Cuss Apr 2015 #6
In the 80s, thebackwards shift has been speeding up Novara Apr 2015 #5

niyad

(112,432 posts)
1. I noticed this when I had to enter a toy store a number of years ago, and complaints
Tue Dec 9, 2014, 12:53 PM
Dec 2014

did nothing to change the situation (and notice all the "pink" tools, etc. [yes, I know they are part of the komen stuff, but still annoying])

malthaussen

(17,065 posts)
2. Anyone who has been sapient for the past 50 years knows this
Tue Dec 9, 2014, 12:55 PM
Dec 2014

The reactionaries have been moving forward in every category since Nixon came to power and the whole Moral Majority shtick was put in place. Anyone who thinks we are living in a post-sexist world is as ignorant as one who believes we are living in a post-racial one. A few token women in high-profile positions does not demonstrate that the playing field is equal. Why would the men who control society and think women should "just lie back and enjoy" rape be inclined to muddle the lines of gender? Why would their wives, 54% of whom voted for the GOP in 2012? "You've come a long way, baby" only applies to cigarettes, which aren't fashionable now anyway.

-- Mal

Response to Gormy Cuss (Original post)

 

GuyVelella

(7 posts)
4. I thought it was the opposite..........
Thu Apr 16, 2015, 09:57 PM
Apr 2015

With the way things are headed, pretty soon the schools will make boys use girls bathrooms and girls use boys bathrooms.

Novara

(5,753 posts)
5. In the 80s, thebackwards shift has been speeding up
Thu Apr 16, 2015, 10:04 PM
Apr 2015

They keep trying to shove girls and women backwards.

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