Simona
Borkina
Final
Project
After taking several sociology,
media, anthropology, and psychology courses I have become more aware of
gendering in our society.
I was
inspired to dig into this topic after watching this video in my sociology class. Walking into a toy store, although maybe not
explicitly written, it is very clear which items are meant for boys and which
are meant for girls. But how? Through decades of social conditioning, we have
come to make the connection that pink=girls and blue=boys. Pink and blue are simply
just colors until they become associated with a sex and the issue grows.
Once a woman finds out that she is
pregnant, more often than not she wants to find out the sex of her baby as soon
as possible. Why? Well because how is she supposed to know what color to paint
the nursery, or what color clothing to buy for it? Consuming on behalf of the
unborn child begins even before the child is born (with gender reveal parties,
baby showers, etc.). The types of items that are made for infants emphasize
gender stereotypes and expectations.
 | |||
| It is completely ridiculous for a 3 month old infant to be wearing these types of items. |
Not only does
clothing emphasize gendered expectations for infants, but so do toys. Toys are just toys until they become catered to a specific gender
through aisles flooded with pink and blue packaging and shelf liners. The types of toys and how they are
commercialized are also an issue. For girls,
most of the toys emphasize beauty and fashion (dress up), nurturing tendencies,
and domestic duties (kitchen sets and doll houses). When I typed on Google “toy nurse kit”
it was pretty clear that nurse kits were pink and had to be for girls. For boys, toys highlighted engineering
(Legos), force (fire trucks), and aggression (war and battle games).
Going on Google and searching “toy doctor kit” I was not surprised to see
blue/green sets with young boys in the advertisements.
 |
| Photos captured by JeongMee Yoon indicating the pink and blue separation |
In 2012, Lego introduced the Lego Friends product line in an attempt to draw in more consumers (in this case- girls). The sets include pink and purple (of course) color schemes and scenes and figurines that depict a suburban home life in a fictional town. Lego is a prime example of a company developing alternative products to cater to a specific gender. It’s all about money, and toy brands and clothing are not the only parts impacted.
There are some items that have absolutely no reason to be gendered- other than to increase profit by selling multiple versions of the same things. The Tumblr blog “Pointlessly Gendered Products.” illustrates the hundreds of items that unnecessarily gendered. When shopping at a pharmacy we are likely to only stay within our own gender lines when looking for items such as razors, soaps, and shampoo. Women are usually left spending more money than a man for the same products. Companies use language, packaging colors, design, and graphics to define who the product is meant for [typically including “for men” or “for women” on the item].
My video: Toys R Toys
Resources
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