The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

158 Chapter 5

provides a sturdy handle for a child’s first

steps.” The advertisement for girls reads:

“The doll seat on this cute toddler-mobile

holds a favorite doll or stuffed toy and pro-

vides a sturdy handle for a child’s first steps.”

Thomas the Train, which has been around

for over 100 years, still features mostly male

Other Features of the Environment

Toys. When my daughter returned to

school from one Christmas vacation, the

teacher naturally asked each of the third-

graders to name their favorite Christmas

present. The most popular gifts were the Nin-

tendo DS and iPods—named by both girls

and boys. After that, for the girls it was the

American Girl doll. My daughter, however,

proudly announced that her favorite gift was

a giant stuffed triceratops. Although a stuffed

animal is a conventional toy for a girl, one

that is a dinosaur is not (see Figure 5.7).

Boys and girls play with different toys:

Boys overwhelmingly play with vehicles, ma-

chines, and construction sets (e.g., building

blocks), whereas girls play with dolls, do-

mestic toys, and dress-up clothes, as shown

in Figure 5.8. Toys also are marketed to a

specific sex by the color and the packaging.

Consider the Little Tikes Push and Ride toy

shown in Figure 5.9. It is marketed to boys

as the Push and Ride Racer in bold primary

colors and marketed to girls as the Push and

Ride Doll Walker in pink and blue pastel col-

ors. The advertisement for boys reads: “The

high spoiler on this sporty toddler-mobile

FIGURE 5.7 A girl surrounded by dinosaurs—

far from a stereotypical feminine toy.

FIGURE 5.8 Girls are shown in one of their

favorite pastimes, playing in dress-up clothes.

FIGURE 5.9 This is the Little Tikes Push and

Ride. The toy is marketed to boys as the Push

and Ride Racer and to girls as the Push and Ride

Doll Walker.

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