As children who do not yet acknowledge gender issues, the toys they play with are the products that become part of their identity and that part of their identity is what some adults use to assume their sexuality. Children who play with any toys they like, no matter what characteristics they have, experience sexism at a very young age. The most common sexist remark children face are usually boys who play or have pink girly products are judged on being or eventually becoming gay. While girls have more of a flexibility that allows them to play with boy toys without being judged.
How awful is it to see children who just want to be themselves enjoying what they like, being picked on without really understand what they have done wrong. It is not only as children, this issue of sexist bullying is usually more harmful in adult years as some people can become more rude and violent about sexism. The issue of children's toys being genderized is what leads to sexism and if we begin to prevent it with gender neutrality at a young age, we can develop a generation that will acknowledge feminism and gender equality. Children would not have to worry or face sexist bullying and would grow up understanding equality to form movements and change.
I agree with what you've said about how gendered toys lead to sexist views. Young boys tend to have the short end of the stick when it comes to playing with "girl toys". As you've stated, people often think that because the boy plays with "girls toys" then they'll somehow end up "gay". What's sad about this is that it isn't just kids who think this but adults as well. Some parents go as far as to act as if girls toys are somehow toxic to a young boys sexuality or masculinity. Meanwhile, girls may have it a bit better but they're still mostly expected to use their gendered toys and are sometimes kicked out of boy groups. It's important to stop applying certain genders to toys as it is unfair to the child.
ReplyDeleteI agree that gendered toys do lead to the issue of sexism. When you said how a boy would be judged for playing with girl toys, I thought that it wasn't fair for that boy to be judged by others. If a girl plays with boy toys, then people won't have a problem with that. I think it's a good idea to have gender neutrality at a young age. They won't have to grow up being influenced by sexism.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that children who play with toys not designed for their gender experience sexism and backlash. Although it is more difficult for young boys in the sense that they get bullying more, I think girls also experience a lot of backlash. My sister is not very “feminine” and growing up she only played with “boy toys” or would be more drawn to stuff made for “boys.” Although my parents never really said anything about it, she did receive backlash from other family members and other kids. I also think that is it problematic for kids who might not identify with a certain gender or sexuality. Having gendered toys and stressing the fact that they are for boys and girl, can also be very challenging for them.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit growing up I was mad that most of the girl clothes had glitter and puppies or hearts on them, I usually wanted the boys shirts that had ninja turtles or the power Rangers on it. The same situation works for today, but the fact that I'm a woman doesn't stop me from wearing men's clothes. The same goes for my brother. If he likes my pink Jordans he'll wear them. I think what children decide to play with doesn't affect their sexuality nor does it affect whether or not they will become sexist. I do agree that it is harder for boys when they want to play with a girls toy, but I still don't think it's easy for girls either.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to Dean's scenario in the previous blogs, he experienced the intersectional issue of sexism. He was made fun of for playing with a toy that had a pink collar. His friends thought it was something really hysterical and embarrassing for Dean, but he didn't understand what the issue was if he was playing with that specific toy. Growing up he's never experienced any sexism bias when choosing/playing with toys, so he believed that any toy he played with was completely normal. I also liked how you mentioned that toys related to specific genders lead to a sexism view because it also promotes the idea of being gay. Boys who play with girls toys are considered to grow up and be gay. This is not true at all in most scenarios and if society keeps lingering on this issue, it will just move to a much more sexist view when it comes to children's toys.
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