Walking down toy aisles in many stores, one would notice that most aisles are separated by "girl" toys and "boy" toys. Some aisles have the same type of toys, but the way they are packaged and advertised are geared towards specific genders. At a young age children begin to follow stereotypes that go along with their genders, one being girls play with girl toys and boys play with boy toys. Given what most stores are doing by separating their toys, children are only having access to what is "acceptable" for them to play with, and not every possibility that they can choose from. While being separated, the toys are advertised with gender typical colors, as well as pictures of children who fall into that gender. What messages are given to children
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“This tendency of girls more so than boys to engage in this gender crossing may be due to the fact that boys’ parents tend to discourage their sons from engaging in most feminine activities and encourage them to engage in the more narrow range of activities associated with traditional masculinity” (Auster and Mansbunch 2012). There is less of a negative stigma when girls play with boy toys. When girls do so they are sometimes called tomboys, but when the roles are reversed society has attached a negative stigma to it. Because it is more acceptable for girls to play with boy toys than vice versa, “ toy marketers are more likely to choose a boy for a toy commercial since ‘girls will listen to boys, but boys won’t necessarily listen to girls’” (Auster and Mansbuch 2012). By having boys in commercials more often than girls, boys are being conditioned more that they have specific toys to play with, while exposing girls to more toys they could choose to play with. “In Toy R Us stores, the gender crossing is locational; ‘…boys’ toys are encountered before girls’ toys – so that girls must pass the boys’ toys before reaching their own sections, but boys can completely avoid the girls’ aisles…’” (Auster and Mansbuch 2012). In doing so, girls are given more choices in color to choose from, as well as more toys to choose from. Some companies though do offer similar toys for girls, with some changes that include color and
“This tendency of girls more so than boys to engage in this gender crossing may be due to the fact that boys’ parents tend to discourage their sons from engaging in most feminine activities and encourage them to engage in the more narrow range of activities associated with traditional masculinity” (Auster and Mansbunch 2012). There is less of a negative stigma when girls play with boy toys. When girls do so they are sometimes called tomboys, but when the roles are reversed society has attached a negative stigma to it. Because it is more acceptable for girls to play with boy toys than vice versa, “ toy marketers are more likely to choose a boy for a toy commercial since ‘girls will listen to boys, but boys won’t necessarily listen to girls’” (Auster and Mansbuch 2012). By having boys in commercials more often than girls, boys are being conditioned more that they have specific toys to play with, while exposing girls to more toys they could choose to play with. “In Toy R Us stores, the gender crossing is locational; ‘…boys’ toys are encountered before girls’ toys – so that girls must pass the boys’ toys before reaching their own sections, but boys can completely avoid the girls’ aisles…’” (Auster and Mansbuch 2012). In doing so, girls are given more choices in color to choose from, as well as more toys to choose from. Some companies though do offer similar toys for girls, with some changes that include color and