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Gender in Children’s Toys: DisneyStore Case study

Gender in Children’s catalog is a critical aspect, especially in children’s toys. Over time several companies have placed their emphasis towards gender-based toys that are directed towards selling their toy products towards one specific gender. Nowadays there are those toys considered to be of boys and girls. These companies tend to use this tactic through the color and type of toy. For example, girls’ toys are considered to be pink while those of boys are mostly blue (Coyne et al. p.1914). In many advertising websites as well as those who sell these toys, one will be able to find the toys meant for the boys and those for girls.

An excellent example is DisneyStore.com that specializes in kid’s toys. The site separates the boy’s and girl’s toys: (https://www.shopdisney.com/toys?sort=popularity&order=desc&genders=Boys). After going through the categories section of the website, one will notice that there are different sections for both boys and girls toys. They are categorized according to gender. There are some tabs at the top that specify both the girls and boys toys. There are several companies not only Disney that has shown some interest to display a girl versus a boy toy section on their websites. Moreover, the toys are well displayed in terms of colors, and even without much struggle, it is easily noticeable that one is in the boy’s section for example by the color of toys. As seen from the website boys toys are typically blue.

Example of a boy’s toy: extracted from shop Disney website

The following is an example of a girl’s toy and from its color one can note that it is intended for girls. Therefore these pictures show that some toys are fundamentally advertised and sold towards gender.

Image via http://www.disneystore.com/

There are about 1020 different toys for boys and 1023 for girls. This can be used to explain the demographics in terms of which the company well represents gender regarding the toys.

There is also the stereotype by individuals that a boy toy is expected to loud or an action type toy. After observing keenly at the different toys displayed on the website a girl’s toy seems to be colorful and if it happens to be a doll, it will be in a dress. The packaging of the boy’s toys usually displays the action figure which is more human-like compared to the girl’s doll. DisneyStore.com, therefore, depicts the existence of visual disparities concerning the aisles advertised for the target audience. The target audience is kids of both genders. The girl’s section is colorfully bubbling with several colors, and this can indicate fashion and cleaning that is typically associated with girls (Coyne et al. p.1921). Moreover, the advertising words on their packages are frolicsome and seem to be fun. On the other hand, the toys that are meant and categorized under boys section seem to communicate factually as well as allegorically concepts like leadership, agility, and command that is typically characterized by the male gender.

The catalog on the website is full of pretty stereotypical pictures of toys. However these photos are taken individually for the catalog, but in one way or another their toys stand out to embrace inclusivity. For example, there are toys shared by both boys and girls. Some toys are found in both the boys and girls categories. Also, there is a high proportion of girls who are displayed playing with vehicles in the site. The toy catalog exemplifies kid’s play in conventional methods and thus supporting the adults as well as the children by showing that some interests and doings are more appropriate for a girl or a boy.

Works cited

Coyne, Sarah M., et al. “Pretty as a princess: Longitudinal effects of engagement with Disney princesses on gender stereotypes, body esteem, and prosocial behavior in children.” Child development 87.6 (2016): 1909-1925.

DisneyStore.com

https://www.shopdisney.com/toys?sort=popularity&order=desc&genders=Boys