People's behaviors are based on experience, surroundings, friends, and how they were socialized by their parents. The toys that children play with can set the roles of genders. When boys are given a tool set, they would imagine themselves to be a mechanic. A dump truck or Hot Wheels would either get them interested in construction or just cars in general. In High School it was the guys fighting over which car was better, the Ford or Chevy. Girl's never had such a discussion.
Girls on the other hand have toys such as Barbie dolls, regular baby dolls, or kitchen sets. It can set up factors into their behavior. Perhaps the girl becomes very conscious of how she dresses herself. A Barbie doll can be changed into many outfits. With other dolls as well, the girl can comb her hair and with some even put on makeup that wipes on and off. This is teaching girls about makeup, combing their hair, and dressing themselves.
It goes to show that toys set what it means to socially be a boy or a girl. With the trucks, balls, Legos, and tool sets it shows that boys are meant to play louder, rougher, and dirtier. They bring their trucks to the sand box and throw dirt around. Towers are created with the Legos as high as they can be made and then knocked over. With the tea sets, dolls, Barbies, and nurse sets it sets the girls to be proper and clean. The girls will sit cross legged in their dresses around a table and drink pretend tea. Both boys and girls role-play what their toys give them the opportunities to. They imitate, play, and sometimes even turn it into a game.
These imitations can later turn into learning how to be a boy or a girl. Socially boys are expected to walk more dramatically, be louder, dirtier, and find the jobs that will give them more money such as construction worker, policemen, ect. Girls are expected to be clean, cross their legs, and be passive. They must then learn to take care of babies, shop, dress up, and become no more than perhaps a nurse. The toys immediately set the genders apart to what they must become socially.
Since these toys separate the genders, it could cause social interaction to change between boys and girls. If boys are only meant to play cars, then the girls can't play with the boys. When the girls bring out their kitchen sets and sit around a table playing house or tea party, the boys are not invited as well. Their socialization changes because the toys separate the gender role so distinctively.
Because these roles are separated from infant on, it continues to keep gender inequality.
http://voices.yahoo.com/gender-roles-learned-childhood-toys-472014.html
Toys are not the only thing though. Movies and TV and religion and parents are also factors. But toys gives kids the means to practice the roles society wants (demands?) them to play.
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