TOYS AND GENDER STEREOTYPES

[07. Contemporary
It is the packaging that knows how to be in constant relationship with the society whose values it represents.
Packaging reflects the culture of the company and in turn contributes to creating it. They do it through messages, which pass through their shapes, their graphics, their symbols: thus they transfer models, participating in the evolution of contemporaneity.

Toys and gender stereotypes: packaging for a fairer and more equal future

Despite the progress some companies have made in recent years to combat gender stereotypes, most toys are still marketed openly for boys or girls. Additionally, many retailers continue to maintain separate sales regions based on gender. Action figures, constructions and science kits are often associated with the male gender, while dolls, kitchen sets and makeup are commonly labeled as female. This gender-based categorization not only severely limits the choices of boys and girls, but fuels prejudices and stereotypes that are still widespread in contemporary society.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Convention on the Rights of the Child – CRC), approved by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989, recognizes play as an inviolable and unquestionable “right” of every boy and girl. The game is, in fact, essential for development in childhood, because it contributes to the integral well-being of the person and helps to develop numerous skills, from social to technical ones. As Save the Children reminds us, play allows boys and girls to actively experiment and develop the representation of external reality and to learn to know themselves; it is also the tool par excellence through which to build the meaning of the world and learn to relate to others.il gioco consente a bambini e bambine di sperimentare ed elaborare attivamente la rappresentazione della realtà esterna e di imparare a conoscere sé stessi; è inoltre lo strumento per eccellenza attraverso il quale costruire il significato del mondo e imparare a relazionarsi con gli altri.

 

 

 

Games and toys designed or communicated only for one gender limit the potential of boys and girls by promoting, and in some cases forcing, specific skills and interests. Boys are often encouraged into activities that promote competition, physicality, and problem-solving skills, while girls are oriented toward beauty, nurturing, and domestic roles.
This reinforces the idea that certain behaviors and occupations are suited to one gender but not the other, perpetuating social norms and contributing to the persistence of gender inequality and discrimination. In fact, stereotypes, in limiting the exploration of different interests, lead to a narrower view of possibilities and even influence future career aspirations.

According to Global Gender Gap Report 2022 del World Economic Forum, the “gender gap” in the technical-scientific professions is still particularly accentuated: only 28% of women in the world choose a career in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field. It is, therefore, of fundamental importance to encourage women, from an early age, to undertake study courses in STEM disciplines, to bridge the gender gap that still exists in the field of research and technical-scientific professions. In this sense, promoting toys without stereotypes can play a key role precisely in not prejudicing girls’ career choices traditionally considered only for boys.

 

Fortunately, awareness of the harmful impact of gender stereotypes in the toy industry has grown in recent years and companies are gradually recognizing the importance of introducing non-discriminatory and gender-neutral solutions to the market.

In Uruguay, the retailer of toys, school and office products Mosca  has decided to celebrate the 2023 edition of the Day of the Boy and Girl by applying a sticker on all its toys with the words “#LoImportanteEsJugar – Juguete sin género , ” (transl. “The important thing is to play – Toy without gender”). The text is accompanied by the colors pink and blue, commonly associated with the female and male genders, which blend with the intention of overcoming prejudices and stereotypes. The adhesive has been applied to dolls, board games, science kits, and whatever, regardless of the recipients (or recipients) that the manufacturer had explicitly intended.

It is not the first time that Moscow has promoted gender equality between boys and girls: a few years ago it collaborated with Girls in Tech to develop a line of gender-free STEM toys; he also launched MoscaLab, robotics and programming laboratories, also aimed at boys and girls.

 

 

After conducting an international survey in collaboration with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media on Gender in Media, LEGO has also decided to contribute to the elimination of stereotypes in the toy industry. Among the data collected, the research found, for example, that parents are more than eight times more likely to view engineers as men than as women, regardless of whether their children are boys or girls.

For this reason, the Danish company – which has been a partner of UNICEF since 2015 with which it collaborates to support the development of boys and girls all over the world in favor of gender equality – has decided to counter the implicit prejudices in the way parents define creativity differently between sons and daughters, and she launched a program to make her toys and communication gender-neutral. Among the range of products based on the famous bricks, one of the first lines that have been subject to intervention in this sense is LEGO DOTS.

 

 

 

The toy industry has the power to shape the perceptions, aspirations and beliefs of boys and girls. Eliminating gender markers from toys, activating partnerships with specialized organizations and promoting awareness campaigns are certainly important steps towards a more open and inclusive society. By embracing diversity and challenging societal expectations, we can create a more equal and equal future for future generations.

Gender-neutral toys (neither explicitly for boys nor explicitly for girls) encourage exploration of a much more open range of interests and abilities, promote creativity, problem solving and imagination without imposing restrictions based on gender. However, the next step must be, as  Gender Creative Kids, proposes, to overcome an exclusively binary male/female approach, opening up even more to the wide range of nuances that characterize the identity of the human person.

 

 

 

 

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