Toys' Role in Gender Norms
Toys are not just things that children play with, they also do a great deal of gender positioning. In the chapter, Toys, in the book Mythologies Roland Barthes looks at how toys mimic the adult world in miniature form. “There exist, for instance, dolls which urinate; they have an oesophagus, one gives them a bottle, they wet their nappies; soon, no doubt, milk will turn to water in their stomachs. This is meant to prepare the little girl for the causality of house-keeping, to 'condition' her to her future role as mother” (Barthes, 1957, p.53). Here Barthes is looking at how toys are highly gendered and serve the purpose of preparing children for their prescribed gender roles. For instance, Lego is generally seen as a ‘boy’ toy which would prepare them for future jobs involving building which again are generally seen ‘male’ jobs. Dolls and Lego are just two examples of how toys for children already begin telling them what kind of roles they are expected to have as they grow older.
During discovery/inquiry time in my kindergarten placement I have seen how children choose what toys they will/will not play with based on their gender. For instance, one student was unsure of which station she should go to and when I suggested the Lego station, she said she couldn’t go there because girls don’t play with Lego. Even at this very young age children already have the notion instilled in them that certain things are only okay for certain genders. This idea is strengthened through the representations and advertisements in the media; we see Barbies, doll houses, babies and toys that are pink being advertised as ‘girl’ toys while trucks, Lego, action figure, and toys that are blue being advertised as ‘boy’ toys. We even see this in things like Kinder Surprise which now have the Kinder Surprise for girls with the pink wrapper and the toy inside which requires less building (which would be a ‘boys’ role). It is clear that gender roles play a huge part in our lives, starting in early childhood, with the toys which work to normalize gender roles and continue to be normalized through the media and advertisements.
Barthes, Roland (1957). Toys. In, Mythologies.
