Children spend their time having fun and enjoying toys that are given to them without much thought behind it. It's all fun and games until toy you realize the toys they are playing with influence children to unknowingly portray traditional roles of males and females. Toys such as dolls for girls and trucks for boys limit their views on society by shaping it to seem that women are only girly beauticians, house workers, and mothers while men seem to be strict construction workers, tough bosses, and sometimes crazy vigilantes. How are children suppose to grow up and become independent with positive thoughts on equality for all if the toys they play with show them how to conform with the mainstream gender roles?
It is important to realize that the toys children play with can influence their views on gender roles and gender equality. And toys make this influence with their characteristics (color/toy type), advertising, and other features of the toys that children acknowledge when they are playing. So we should realize how we can change these toy characteristics and features so we can teach children that they do not need to follow traditional gender roles.
Children usually do not realize they are being influenced and they continue to grow up into the traditional beliefs of gender roles. As for me, I was able to play with both "girl toys" and "boy toys" so I never seemed to notice how gender roles were shown in toys. Now, I became interested in this topic because many toys show traditional gender roles to children and appeal to them. I feel that this approach lacks the right of equality since it restricts children from learning about the good differences in people. Such as how there are really good men hairstylists and professional women CEOs. Children should decide for themselves what toys they want so they can influence themselves and learn about equality at a young age do they grow up accepting the concept to make a change.
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