Gender in a Children’s Toy Store.
1) Can you detect a boys’ section and a girls’ section? How doyou know?
2) How do the toys in the boys’ section and girls’ sectiondiffer? (Pay attention to number of toys, types of toys, content ofthe games, etc.)
3) How are the toys in the boys’ section and girls’ sectionsimilar?
What sorts of interactions with other children do the boys’ andgirls’ toys encourage? (For example, competition or cooperation?Independence or dependence? Emotional intimacy or distance?)
4) Which toys (boys’, girls’, or both) are designed for activeplay? Which seem to encourage passive play?
5)For what sorts of adult roles do the boys’ and girls’ toysprepare children?
6) How might these kinds of toys influence boys’ sexualattitudes and behaviors?
7)How might these kinds of toys influence girls’ sexualattitudes and behaviors?
8)How do these observations relate to the social construction ofgender?
