Beyond the Blue and Pink Toy Divide | Elizabeth Sweet | TEDxUCDavisSalon
Summary
TLDRThe speaker discusses the gendered marketing of children's toys, noting that toys today are more segregated by gender than at any point in the 20th century. They share personal experiences and research indicating that this division can limit children's interests and contribute to gender inequality. The talk calls for a return to more gender-neutral toy marketing to allow children to explore diverse interests without societal constraints.
Takeaways
- 🛍️ Gender segregation in toy stores is common, with toys often separated into pink and blue aisles based on traditional gender roles.
- 🎉 Target's decision to move towards gender-neutral toy presentation in 2015 sparked both excitement and controversy, with some fearing it would lead to confusion for children.
- 📸 The speaker documented the changes in Target's toy aisles, showing a reduction in gender-specific color coding but still noticeable differences in toy themes and colors.
- 👧 The speaker's personal experience with her daughter highlights the impact of gendered toys on children's choices and self-doubt, even when options seem more gender-neutral.
- 🔍 Historical research by the speaker shows that toys were less gendered in the past, with advertisements from the 20th century reflecting a broader range of toys for all children.
- 📊 The speaker's analysis of over 7,000 Sears catalog toy advertisements indicates that toys today are more gendered than at any point in the 20th century.
- 👦🏼👧🏼 The impact of gendered toys extends beyond individual children, potentially contributing to societal gender inequalities such as occupational segregation and the wage gap.
- 🦄 The story of Michael Morones, a child who attempted suicide due to bullying over his interest in My Little Pony, illustrates the severe social consequences of gendered toy marketing.
- 🤔 The speaker encourages a thought experiment about a child named Olivia to emphasize how gendered toy aisles can limit children's interests and aspirations.
- 🌈 The idea that de-gendering toys leads to beige uniformity is a misconception; historically, toys were colorful and diverse without being gender-specific.
- 💬 To truly move beyond the pink and blue divide, deeper societal conversations about gender equality, consumer culture, and the role of corporations in children's lives are necessary.
Q & A
What change did Target announce in August regarding their toy sections?
-Target announced that they would stop using gender-specific pink and blue backdrops and signs, moving towards a more gender-neutral presentation of toys.
What was the speaker's personal observation of the toy aisles in the past compared to the present?
-The speaker noticed that toys were not as gender-segregated in the past as they are today, with toys like Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, and Legos being considered just toys for kids, not specifically for boys.
What was the outcome of the speaker's research on Sears catalog toy advertisements over the 20th century?
-The research showed that toys are more gendered today than at any point in the 20th century, with a significant increase in gender-specific marketing and a decrease in toys that were not defined by gender.
Why did the speaker's daughter initially hesitate to choose a dinosaur-themed lunchbox?
-The daughter hesitated because the lunchbox was labeled as a 'boy's lunchbox,' which made her doubt whether it was appropriate for her to have, reflecting the impact of gender stereotypes on children's choices.
What incident involving Michael Morones highlights the social cost of gendered toys?
-Michael Morones, a fan of My Little Pony, was bullied for his interest in the show, which is designed for girls, leading him to attempt suicide at the age of 11.
How do gender stereotypes in toys potentially impact societal gender inequalities?
-Gender stereotypes in toys can contribute to processes that create and sustain gender inequality, such as occupational segregation and the wage gap, by shaping children's aspirations and reinforcing traditional gender roles.
What thought experiment was proposed to understand the implications of gendered toy aisles for children like Olivia?
-The thought experiment involved imagining a little girl named Olivia with diverse interests and considering how gendered toy aisles might limit her choices and influence her perception of what is appropriate for her gender.
What misconceptions about de-gendering toys does the speaker address?
-The speaker addresses misconceptions that de-gendering toys would lead to a uniform, beige selection or that girls would be forced to play with traditionally masculine toys and vice versa.
What historical evidence does the speaker provide to counter the misconceptions about de-gendering toys?
-The speaker cites her own childhood experience and advertisements from the 1970s Sears catalog, which show a variety of toys that were not heavily gendered and allowed for diverse play patterns.
What role did the organization 'Let Toys Be Toys' play in the context of the speaker's discussion?
-The organization 'Let Toys Be Toys' is mentioned as an example of groups that have successfully used social media to pressure toy companies and retailers to stop gender-specific marketing.
What deeper conversations does the speaker believe are necessary to move beyond the pink and blue divide?
-The speaker believes that we need to re-engage in conversations about gender equality and the role of consumer culture in children's lives, which were more prevalent in the 1970s, to ensure that children's interests are not dictated by corporate profit.
Outlines
🛍️ Gender Segregation in Toy Marketing
The speaker discusses the current state of children's toys, highlighting the gender segregation prevalent in stores and online. Toys are often separated by gender, with boys' toys typically associated with action and aggression, while girls' toys focus on beauty, nurturing, and domesticity. The speaker shares personal experiences and research, noting that Target's decision to move towards gender-neutral marketing was met with both support and backlash. The change, however, was not as drastic as some had feared, with toys still subtly gender-coded through color and themes.
🧒 Impact of Gendered Toys on Children
This paragraph delves into the personal impact of gendered toy marketing on children. The speaker recounts an incident involving her daughter's struggle with choosing a 'boy's lunchbox' despite her interest in it, illustrating how gender labeling can cause children to doubt their preferences and suppress their interests. The narrative extends to broader societal implications, linking gender stereotypes in toys to perpetuation of gender inequality in adult life, such as occupational segregation and wage gaps.
🚀 Challenging Gender Stereotypes in Toys
The speaker uses a thought experiment involving a young girl named Olivia to emphasize how gendered toy marketing can limit children's interests and aspirations. She argues that by not challenging these stereotypes, society inadvertently influences children's career choices and perpetuates gender inequality in fields like STEM and caregiving professions. The speaker advocates for a return to less gendered marketing practices observed in the past, allowing children to explore a wider range of interests without societal constraints.
🌈 Beyond the Pink and Blue Divide
In the final paragraph, the speaker calls for a societal shift away from gendered toy marketing. She suggests that the move towards gender-neutral marketing by companies like Target is a step in the right direction but emphasizes the need for deeper conversations about gender equality and the role of consumer culture in children's lives. The speaker argues that children's interests should not be dictated by market needs or corporate profit, but rather reflect deeper societal values and interests in the well-being of children.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Gender Segregation
💡Gender-Neutral Presentation
💡Color Coding
💡Gender Stereotypes
💡Dinosaur Lunchbox Incident
💡Teasing and Bullying
💡Gender Equality
💡Consumer Culture
💡Occupational Segregation
💡Let Toys Be Toys
💡Corporate Profitability
Highlights
Shopping for children's toys reveals a gender-segregated market, with toys categorized by color and signage.
Target's announcement to move towards gender-neutral toy presentation sparked mixed reactions, including concerns about a 'gender apocalypse'.
The change at Target resulted in a less pink girls' aisle but still maintained some gender markings through toy themes.
Toys for girls tend to focus on beauty, nurturing, and domesticity, while toys for boys emphasize action, aggression, and excitement.
The speaker's personal experience with her daughter highlights the impact of gendered toys on children's choices and self-doubt.
Historical analysis of Sears catalog ads shows that toys were less gendered in the past, with more gender-neutral options available.
The current level of gendering in toys is unprecedented, with modern toys being more gendered than at any point in the 20th century.
Gender stereotypes in toys can contribute to the perpetuation of gender inequality in the adult world, affecting aspirations and performance.
Children who resist gender norms face social costs, including bullying and teasing, as exemplified by the story of Michael Morones, a My Little Pony fan.
The thought experiment with Olivia illustrates how gendered toy aisles can limit children's interests and reinforce gender stereotypes.
De-gendering toys does not lead to uniformity but rather expands the range of colors, themes, and possibilities for all children.
Historical evidence and personal experiences contradict the misconception that de-gendering toys would result in a loss of options or forced gender roles.
Organizations like Let Toys Be Toys are advocating for gender-balanced marketing and products, challenging the status quo.
The need to re-engage in conversations about gender equality and the role of consumer culture in children's lives to move beyond the pink and blue divide.
Children's interests should not be dictated by market needs or corporate profit, but should reflect deeper societal values and interests in their well-being.
Transcripts
get started how many of you have been
shopping for children's toys lately
either in the stores our online show of
hands okay a fair number of you well for
those of you that haven't let me give
you a sense of what things look like in
the world of children's toys today so in
most stores and this is true online and
in brick-and-mortar toys are segregated
according to gender they're sold in
different aisles sometimes this is
achieved through signs as you see here
boys activity toys and girls building
sets but more often it's achieved
through more implicit mechanisms like
colour coding as you see here we have a
very pink aisle and a very blue aisle
now these images are actually pictures I
shot myself in our local Target store
back in April and some of you may have
heard that target announced in August
that they were going to stop using these
kinds of pink and blue backdrops and
those signs that they were going to move
towards a more gender-neutral
presentation and in the wake of this
announcement there was a lot of people
like me who are very excited to hear it
but there were also a lot of people who
thought that this was a very bad thing
and a flooded targets Facebook page with
comments and some of those comments even
went so far as to suggest that this
would lead to a gender apocalypse where
boys and girls would be lost in the
store unsure of what toy to select so to
give you a sense of what this actually
looked like this change actually looked
like on the ground this is the same
exact toy aisle one image that I shot in
April this one here and the other that I
shot a week after the target toy
announcement and so what you can see is
that yes indeed that pink aisle has
become significantly less pink and
that's a good thing but it's still
pretty pink right you can still see the
markings of gender because it's not just
the segregation of toys it's also the
very ideas about gender that are
embedded in the toys themselves so toys
for girls Center heavily on the ideas of
beauty nurturing
and domesticity while toys for boys are
much more about action aggression and
excitement so I first began to really
notice this pink and blue divide when my
daughter was born in 2002 this is she
and I shopping for toys right around at
the time of her first Christmas and what
struck me when I went into the toy house
was how very different it looked from
the toys that I remember from my own
childhood so I was born in the early
1970s and here's some of the toys that I
played with as a child I had Lincoln
Logs and tinker toys and Legos and I
never remember thinking these were boys
toys that I was playing with they were
just toys for kids and my favorite toys
were these fisher-price little people
sets we had this castle the castle was
super fun because it had a trapdoor on
the top and you could drop the figures
down and they would fall dramatically
into a dungeon and again I don't
remember thinking this toy had anything
to do with my gender in fact if you look
at this advertisement it was marketed
broadly to children and the child in
there looks to me a bit like a boy so um
I don't remember things being the way
that they were when my daughter was born
but I'm a sample size of one I teach
statistics so we know that sample size
of one is not enough to make a
generalization and so I decided that I
wanted to study this topic empirical II
and in my dissertation research and now
post doctoral research here at UC Davis
I analyzed over 7,000 Sears catalog toy
advertisements from various time points
over the 20th century to try to
understand
um how the gender marketing of
children's toys had changed over time
and why now there's a ton of things I
could tell you about this research I
could talk to you all day about it but I
actually want to talk to you about one
of the very most basic points that
emerges from this research and that is
this toys are far more gendered today
than they were at any point over the
20th century toys are more gendered than
they have ever been before
now that's not to say that gender played
no role in the toys of the past it
certainly did as you can see in these
two advertisements behind me one a 1922
erector set ad which says boys today men
tomorrow
and this 1964 look magazine ad which
shows a girl surrounded by domestic toys
certainly gender did play a role but it
is to say that even went in the periods
over the 20th century when toys were the
most gendered there was still far more
toys that weren't defined by gender
roughly half of toys that weren't
defined by gender and that's a lot more
than we see today toys like these dolls
from 1915 series catalog which are which
are advertised as being just fine for
small children so again there's lots of
things I could tell you about my
research but today I want to focus
really on what this means for children
that we've gone from this to those pink
and blue aisles that we see today what
does that mean for kids so bracketing my
role is a researcher I can tell you what
it's meant for me as a parent and for my
own child and perhaps the best example I
can give you this actually has nothing
to do with a toy it has to do with a
lunchbox so it was about a week before
my daughter's first day of kindergarten
and we were doing some school shopping
and we're standing in front of the wall
of lunchboxes and she was never a fan of
the pink aisle and so she pretty quickly
rejected all the pink princess sparkles
um but she also wasn't really a fan of
superheroes so she rejected the red and
blue and black superhero themes which
left very little in the middle but
eventually she sees this pale green
lunchbox and it's really cool it's a
dinosaur themed lunchbox that had a tail
that velcroed open and so when you did
it made the shape of a dinosaur and when
she sees that that's the one that's one
she wants yeah that's great but she
could already read at this point okay so
as she's taking the lunchbox off the
shelf she happens to see this the tag on
the lunchbox which says plain is de
boy's lunchbox
pen just like that I could see the doubt
cloud her eyes she began to say I don't
think
want that lunchbox I'm not supposed to
have that lunchbox
okay now you better believe that she and
I had a long heart-to-heart in that
store that day about how ridiculous this
idea that this dinosaur lunchbox is for
boys only as if only boys can play with
Dinosaurs as if half of dinosaurs
weren't female right this is ridiculous
that this is an arbitrary decision that
somebody has made that does not reflect
reality and yeah she got that and she
did go ahead and get that lunchbox but
you know what she carried those seeds of
doubt outside of the store with her that
day and she carried them into the
kindergarten classroom the next week in
fact we had to continue to have this
conversation over and over about how it
was okay for her to like that lunchbox
this experience with the lunchbox was
really emblematic of her later
experiences with toys with shoes with
clothing where over and over she would
feel like she had to kind of hide or
sometimes abandon things she really
liked simply because they were coded as
being for boys either because she was
afraid she might be teased for liking
them or increasingly in later years
because she actually was being teased
for liking them and this is my daughter
is not alone all kids kind of have to
abandon or deny some parts of themselves
in order to fit neatly into those pink
and blue narrow boxes and for those kids
that do resist that do refuse to do that
the social cost can be incredibly high
in 2014
Michael morones was 11 years old and he
was an avid fan of My Little Pony now my
little pony is a product line and show
designed for little girls although it
has a much larger fan base and Michael
loved my little pony
but he was bullied relentlessly for his
interest in this product and show and
eventually he could endure that bullying
no longer and he attempted to take his
own life
11 years old now Michael's not alone
there are far too many children who
everyday have to endure harassment
teasing and
it's physical violence simply because
they like something that's been
arbitrarily coded for the other gender
it is needless and it is senseless and
beyond the unnecessary pain and
suffering that gender coded products
create for individual children which by
the way should be more than enough
reason for us to challenge it but beyond
that they may have profound societal
implications we know from a wealth of
social science research that the very
same stereotypes that are the core
defining feature of children's toys
today those gender stereotypes lay at
the root of many of the processes that
create and sustain gender inequality in
the adult world so gender inequalities
like occupational segregation the wage
gap we know for example that gender
stereotypes can negatively impact tack
task performance when they're seen as
relevant they can shape people's
aspirations how competent they believe
themselves to be and what they aspire to
do and this is true whether or not that
person actually endorses the gender
stereotype themselves all it's necessary
is for them to know it's out there and
to know that other people believe it
great to have a strong effect and gender
stereotypes can impact how competent
others evaluate us to be and so for all
these reasons the fact that gender
stereotypes are the core defining
feature of children's toys today should
give us all pause it should cause
concern now I want you to do a little
thought experiment with me and hopefully
this will make it a little clearer as
well so I want you to imagine a little
girl her name is Olivia she's 4 years
old and Olivia likes a lot of different
things but among those things she likes
to go to the park with her mom and look
at bugs
she likes to collect bugs she likes to
dress up in sparkly fabrics she likes to
go to the train yard in the afternoon
and watch the train shunt back and forth
and she likes to make pretend food for
her stuffed animals ok what does it say
to Olivia when the toy aisles look like
this or even a muted version of this
what does it tell her about what her
interest should be which of her
interests are deemed are available in
the aisles deemed appropriate for her
gender and which are set off limits
now of course Olivia can venture into
the blue aisle to find a bug collecting
kit or a train set as my daughter had to
do but as my daughter's experience what
the lunchbox demonstrates having to do
so plants those seeds of doubt and when
you think about those seeds of doubt and
when you recognize the fact that almost
all science kits and building sets are
found exclusively in the blue aisle in
the boy aisle maybe it's not so
surprising that women remain
underrepresented in many science
technology engineering and math fields
because girls are told from the very
earliest of Ages that those interests
are for boys and not for them
and similarly maybe it's not so
surprising that men remain
underrepresented in nursing in many of
the caring professions because again
boys are told from a very earliest of
Ages that those nurturing and caring
characteristics are for girls and not
for them okay now let's go back to
Olivia and imagine that instead of these
pink and blue tiles instead of choosing
to gender segment the market in order to
increase profit as toy industry began to
do in the 1990s imagine that instead
they had deepened their commitment to
creating products and marketing that was
gender balanced and that was aimed at
defying instead of reinforcing gender
stereotypes as was the case in these and
many others of the advertisements I
observed in the 1975 Sears catalog what
would that mean for Olivia or kids like
my daughter Michael morones well instead
of having to fit themselves into those
narrow pink and blue boxes abandoning or
denying parts of themselves they would
be free to follow whatever interests
they have their diversity of interests
because ultimately all kids have diverse
interests now at this point many people
want to argue ok
if you D gender toys that means
limitation D gendering toys means that
all you'll be left with is a sea of
beige uniformity right well anyone who
lived through the 70s and played with
the toys or looks at an old toy catalog
can tell you the toys were far from
monochromatic in fact they had a much
greater color diversity than we see
today people also want to argue that D
gendering toys will mean that girls will
no longer be allowed to play with pink
dolls and boys can no longer play with
blue trucks or even more extreme that
girls will be forced to play with blue
trucks only and boys will be forced to
play with pink dolls only but again this
just does not square with the historical
evidence and it certainly doesn't square
with my own lived experience of growing
up in a time when toys were far less
gendered because when I was a girl I did
have Barbie Barbie is a very feminine
stereotypically feminine toy and I love
Barbie but I also had a Lone Ranger
action figure and I had a really cool
t-top Tonka blazer that they could both
fit in and so I put Barbie in the
driver's seat of course and the Lone
Ranger would ride shotgun and they would
go off on all kinds of adventures
camping and four-wheeling and none of it
was off-limits to me because of my
gender
I love this image from the UK
organization let toys be toys because
it's so true that losing the pink and
blue divide it doesn't need beige
doesn't mean uniformity it doesn't mean
limitations it means opening up the full
spectrum of colors of themes and of
possibilities for all children and
ultimately is that not what we want for
our children don't we want them to have
more options and not fewer options now
this organization let B toys be toys and
other similar organizations like plan
limited and Australia have done some
amazing work and taking toy companies
and retailers to social media and using
social media to pressure them to stop
doing this sort of marketing and that
their success suggests that there is a
call for something different the fact
that target has made this announcement
and hopefully other retailers are to
follow means that there is a call for
something different but I want to argue
to you today that if we truly want to
move beyond this pink and blue divide
we're going to have to re-engage in some
much deeper conversations that we were
having in the 1970s because those toy
advertisements I showed you they did not
happen in a vacuum they happen during a
period of time when we were having
really deep conversations about gender
equality and how to create it when we
were having really deep conversations
about the role of consumer culture in
children's lives and whether and how
corporations should be regulated to
protect children's interests in the
decades since we've moved away from
those conversations and now the
conversation almost always centers on
the needs of corporations the needs of
the market corporate profitability or
the responsibilities of individual
parents so if we really want to get
beyond this pink and blue divide we're
going to have to re-engage in those old
conversations because ultimately our
children's interests should never be
dictated by the needs of the market by
the needs of corporate profit rather the
things that our children play with that
are they're exposed to should reflect
our deeper values
they should reflect our interest for
them thank you
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