When considering toys for children, most people have specific toys for boys and others for girls. This article from Ad Age discusses gender-neutral toys and how adults automatically stereotype children’s toys. This BBC documentary shows an experiment with adults and toys they picked for children based on what they thought was the child’s gender.
Discussion Questions:
- Before reading the article and watching the video, did you personally stereotype children’s toys? Explain.
- Do you believe toys should be gender-neutral? Why or why not?
- Look through the consumer behavior trends discussed in Chapter 3 of the textbook. Should gender-neutral towards children be added to the list or is really part of one of the trends highlighted? Explain why.
Clow/Baack 