Playing with Gender: Girls' Toys vs. Boys' Toys

As a memory work exercise, our first assignment was to either a) find an actual picture of us playing with a toy as a child or b) think of a memory of us playing with a toy as a child.  I began thinking about all the toys I had as a child, Barbies, K-nex, Polly Pockets, a Sega Genesis etc.  As I listed off all the toys I could think of playing as a child, it occurred to me that I had an equal share of toys that were considered to be for either "boys" or "girls".   It made me wonder how I managed to find equal enjoyment playing with toys that were made for my gender and those that were made for the "opposing" gender.  Then I began to think of the advertising that goes into marketing these toys to children of all ages. 

• How are these advertisements created to inform children of the "gender appropriate" toys they should be playing with?  
• Is it just the colors associated with the products?  
• Are there certain gendered adjectives and descriptions included in the commercials?  

So I began to search on the internet to see if there was any available information on this topic.  I found the two word clouds in a blog post titled Boys Battle and Girls Love: Word Clouds of Gendered Advertisements. 


Here is a look at the two word clouds on the site:

Words Associated in Boys' Toy Advertisements

Words Associated with Girls' Toys Advertisements

As the author of the blog post points out there is clearly a gendered difference between the two.  Boys' advertisements focus more on "violence, danger, excitement, aggression, and action".  Whereas, girls' advertisements focus more on "love, fashion, friendship, docility, and socializing".  

Where did these traits arise from?  How were these associations prescribed to each gender and where do these associations derive from?  

Furthermore, is it required that girls identify with these traits and descriptions to really qualify as being a "girl"?

“It takes time to understand a girl. But if she’s really worth it, you’d take time to try to figure her out.” - Anonymous

Hello all!

I am starting this blog as a class assignment for Women's Studies 597A: Girls' Cultures and Popular Cultures (Fall 2011).  The purpose of this blog is that of a "commonplace book", a place to discuss all ideas, topics, issues, and concerns surrounding contemporary girls' culture in the United States and abroad. 

As can be viewed on our syllabus, a central component of this course is to add, refine, complicate, and explore the following questions:

1) Who is a girl?  How is girlhood defined and why? Is there a unified idea of girlhood?
2) What are the temporal spaces of girlhood?  How have ideas of girlhood changed across time?
3) What are the socio-cultural spaces of girlhood? How have ideas of girlhood changed across cultures and within cultures?
4) What is the history of the field? How has the focus of research changed over time?
5) How does the research link the lives of girls and women?
6) What methodologies are being employed? How do girls and women participate? To what extent do we succeed in making our projects girl-centered?

These are just a few examples of the critical elements that will be discussed throughout the course of the semester, both within the classroom setting and throughout my blog.  Throughout this blog, I also intend to employ a critical eye on popular culture's representations of girls while reflecting on my own past and present experiences as a girl growing up in the United States during the late 20th and early 21st century.

Hope you enjoy!

Jackie