The Impact of Toy Selection on Gender Identity

The Impact of Toy Selection on Gender Identity

The purpose of my research paper is to identify the impact of toy selection on gender identity. I will review existing research on different age groups of children, male and female and the role of parents concerning gender identified toys. I will also discuss the gender self-socialization model because it helps to understand how gender operates within the minds of children. It is important to take notice to each child’s unique perspective on what gender entails. In my research paper I will investigate the relation between gender-related behavior and the cognitive aspects of gender toy selection among children. Gender typing is an exceptionally multidimensional process that holds different components that are not always clear.

Children behave in a gender- stereotypic way at a very young age. Initially, children are willing to accept any deviation from the traditional norm of gender-appropriate behavior. They do not recognize that certain toys are established to be for little boys and some are for little girls, for example, a boy playing with dolls is violating a norm. Children around the age’s two to three start to exhibit gender-typed toy choice because it is difficult for them to focus on more than one dimension. This is due to gender being a very prominent aspect of their socialization. (Lobel & Menashri, 1993).

According to Lobel and Menashri (1993), Children who have more flexible social norms regarding gender-role violations made fewer gender-typed choices than children with inflexible social norms. These results confirmed that the findings of many studies that have shown that children display gender-typed behavior very early in life. As they mature they tend to look at gender-typed toys and behavior as inflexible and unalterable.

Turner and Gervai (1995) noted that the children’s understanding and awareness of sex stereotypes was predicted by their parents’ behavior in their home. Gender is one of the first and possibly the most important distinctions that children make in classifying others and themselves.

Fathers tend to make a greater distinction between sons and daughters more than mothers do. Fathers who performed more non-traditional (female-typical) domestic and childcare tasks have children who were less aware of sex role stereotypes. The more tradition the mothers’ and fathers’ attitudes, the further the children’s awareness of sex roles are exposed. Children’s flexibility in assigning activities according to traditional gender roles was correlated with the parents’ personality characteristics. It was shown that parents seem to have a more consistent influence on their children’s stereotype awareness and flexibility. According to Turner and Gervai (1995), it is important to look at the different parental factors when regarding the children’s cognitive gender stereotyping. Some features