Reports that gender stereotypes continue to influence parents' decisions when buying toys for their children, according to Niagara University researchers who interviewed adults from local toy stores. Reasons behind the trend.
Female firefighters, diapering dads: adults are slowly escaping the confinesof traditional sex roles. But when it comes to kids' toys, gender stereotypes still rule.
Researchers at Niagara University recently interviewed adults as they exited local toy stores. They found that 98 percent of shoppers bought boys "male" toys like trucks or gender-neutral gifts such as musical instruments; only one lad in fifty was getting a traditionally female like a doll or dishes. Similarly, just 6 percent of gifts for girls crossed gender lines.
According to Niagara's Donna Fisher-Thompson, Ph.D., most adults buy children toys aimed at a specific sex because that's what they ask for. So why are kids so keen on playthings tailored to their own sex? Imitation, for starters. Take the long hair that's standard equipment on most dolls. Mothers spend a lot of time fussing with their daughters' dos, so girls want to follow their example, says New Jersey-based toy consultant Ruth B. Roufberg, explaining manufacturers' credo that girls' toys must provide the opportunity for "hair play."
Then there's the good ol' profit motive. Toy makers often push male and female versions of the same item in order to double their sales. Lego, for example, now markets building sets that include lavender blocks for girls.
Will toys escape traditional gender designations anytime soon? Don't bet on it. The hit attraction at the 1996 International Toy Fair was aimed exclusively at girls. Melanie's Mall is a dollhouse-sized complex--complete with tiny gold credit cards--where Barbie and friends can shop till they drop.
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Article ID: 1005
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