Toys and Gender

Holiday season is a time of year when children and families think about buying toys for children. In our society, very few toys are free of gender packaging and most toys are either associated with girls or boys. Often, those associations are stereotyped, so that “girl toys” tend to focus on domesticity, nurturing and appearance whereas “boy toys” emphasize building, action and aggressive play. This lesson will give students the opportunity to learn about and reflect on how toys are influenced by gender stereotypes and how children and their families are impacted by those messages.