Observation Report

Sociology 101

5/8/09

RR 2

Introduction:

My research topic is centered on the influence of toys and clothing in the gender socialization process of children. I choose this topic because I find the differences in how boys and girls are gender socialized very interesting. Since there has been a tremendous amount of effort put forth to bridge gender gap inequalities, it will be interesting to see if toys and clothing do in fact play a powerful role in gender socialization and if so, the age at which this takes place. With that said my research question is, Do children’s toys and clothing support the socialization of traditional gender roles? I plan to investigate various male and female toys and clothes to find out if they perpetuate gender inequalities.

Literature Review:

In Karen Dill’s (year) study, “Video Game Characters and the Socialization of Gender Roles: Young People's Perceptions Mirror Sexist Media Depictions,” Dill shows how video games perpetuate gender inequalities though hype-masculinity and hyper-femininity. Dill (2007) “defines hyper-masculinity as the exaggeration of ‘macho’ characteristics, specifically hardened sexual attitudes toward romantic partners, a desire for action and danger, and the acceptance of physical violence as a part of male nature. In contrast, hyper-femininity is the amplification of female stereotypes, with an emphasis on dependence, submissiveness, and sexuality as the basis of a woman’s value” (as cited in Dill, 2007, p. 852-is this a different article?). I see relevance between these finding and my topic because in many cases video game characters are turned in to toys. And play time with these toys mirror, in this case, the violence, hyper-masculinity and sexually provocative femininity of video games. Also noting the significance of unrealistic body image represented in video games and toys, which portray huge, muscular males, and thin, big busted females; as mimicked in boy’s action figures and girls Barbie’s. sentence fragment

As Dill’s research reveals the gender socialization of the traditional male roles in video games, Clyde W. Franklin II (2010) in his article, “Becoming ‘boys,’ ‘men,’ ‘guys,’ and ‘dudes,’” found similar evidence supporting traditional male roles, in the day to day activities of men; such as, “barbershops, sports events, taverns and business meetings,” supporting the “. . . traditional conceptions of the male sex role” (Franklin, 2010, p.#). Teaching males to be “dominate aggressive, violent, competitive, nonintimate and non-nurturant” (Franklin, 2010). I found this relevant to my topic because as Franklin found the traditional male sex role to perpetrate through day to day activities in adult males this role seems to be rooted in the gender socialization of childhood toys and games, revealing the powerful influence of toys and games continuing on through adulthood. Good explanation of how/why these articles relate to your own research.

In Taub and McLorg’s (2010) article, “Influence of gender socialization and athletic involvement on the occurrence of eating disorders,” They reveal how women are socialized to be thin and are influenced though role models such as, Miss. America, fashion and fitness magazines; which can result in dangerous eating disorders (Taub & McLorg, 2010). I find this article relevant to my topic because Barbie also serves as a role model to young girls, with her thin disproportionate body which further perpetuates the traditional female gender roles.

Methods:

My Method was Non-participant Observation. The toys and clothes analyzed were from the Mill Creek, Fred Meyer.Might want to mention what type of town Mill Creek is and what type of store Fred Meyer is (for the reader who is unfamiliar) There were six aisles of toys and a fairly small child’s clothing section. Initially I went to the toy section. I browsed up and down the aisle taking note of the aisle signs and the grouping of the toys. Then I went back through the aisles paying closer attention to the color schemes of the toys and their function, meanwhile writing a list of all the boy’s and girl’s toys along with their function and colors. I spent roughly two hours in the toy sections. Then I proceeded to the children’s clothing section, the clothing analyzed were from the infant to toddler section and also from the young boys/girls section. I took the same approach as the toy section I looked around first to get an idea of where everything was. Both of these sections had boys and girls clothing mixed together or in the same area divided within that section; this made it easier to compare the clothes. For the clothing I also made a list of boys and girls clothing noting the color, type of clothing, pattern, and decorations. I spent roughly an hour in this section.

What type of sample is this?

Results:

Girl’s colors (toys): Pink purple, bright blues, greens, oranges and yellows

Girl’s Toys - EZ-bake oven, Jump rope with pink and purple fuzzy feather handles, Dora the explorer – cell phone, baby doll which offered (play date, bath time, or nursery ), Fuzzy coloring poster art, stickers and journals, My little pony including; baby pony and high chair (also many outfits and purses to change them into), Little Mommy which had baby dolls that came with a toilet, sink, hair and tooth brush, And last but not least Barbie dolls with an immense amount of boots, heels, purses, dresses, skirts, tops and coats to change into, Barbie jeep and car in pink and purple, and ballet, horse riding and bicycle Barbie.

Boy’s colors (toys): Blues, greens, and reds, black sometimes orange and yellows

Boy’s Toys: Guns- super soaker, Nerf, smoking machine guns, knives, swords, rockets, Handy Manny tool work belt with screwdrivers hammers ect. , Action figures such as Star Wars, X-men, Transformers, Halo, and Power Ranges; Lincoln logs, Cars of every kind; Hot wheels race cars, fire trucks and tractors to ride on, car models; Audi’s, Supra’s and Jeeps, and Legos which boys could build into Airplanes, trucks, pirate islands, motorcycles, castles, and Star Wars ships, and Skeleflex which is a build your own dinosaur kit. The boy’s aisle also included chess, guitars, and puzzles.

Girl’s clothes:

Colors: Same as toys bright colors; Pinks, purples, browns , greens, yellows, orange, red, and bright blues

Type of clothing: Dresses, skirts, Capri’s, pants, jeans, tank tops, shirts, shorts, and leggings

Patterns: Poka-dots, ruffles, bows, and plaid

Decorations: Flowers, cherries, strawberries, butterflies, hearts, and sunshine’s

Boy’s clothes:

Colors: Same as toys darker than girls colors; Blues, greens, reds, although more orange and yellows than toys and some khaki (pants)

Type of clothing: Pants, button up shirts, overalls, baseball caps, polo shirts, khakis, cargo shorts (lots of pockets), basketball shorts, regular t-shirts, and jeans

Patterns: Solid colors, plaid, and stripes

Decorations: Bugs, baseballs, surfing, motocross, dinosaurs, sailboats, trucks, and bears

Discussions:

Meaning of results:

Through my observations I was able to tell which toys were boys and girls at fist by the signs above the aisles. Then after more observation, I noticed a color scheme based on the intended gender of child who was to play with the toy. The boy’s toys were most often darker, and bolder in color than the girl’s toys consisting of mostly; dark blues, greens, and reds, blacks, and sometimes orange and yellows. The girls toys were much brighter colors which consisted of; pinks, purples, bright blues ,greens, oranges and yellows. The most popular combination I found were that of pink and purple together . Next I was able to tell which toys were boys and girls based of their function. This was not apparent at first just walking through the aisles, but when I began to take note of each toy and their function I noticed a theme. Majority of the girl’s toys focused around caring for babies, Hygiene and changing/ picking out clothes. And the functions of the boys’ toys were focused on building things, motor vehicles and violence.

The children’s clothes reflected many of the same color schemes as the toys and also had many graphics of which I found to emulate many themes of the toys, such as, dinosaurs, trucks, and adventure people for the boys and Barbie, princess wear, high fashion for the girls. The girls clothing was much more detailed than the boys clothing, with all the bows, ruffles, and styles. As far as the function of the clothing I found the girls to be more for indoors and fashionable with dresses, skirts and leggings and the boys were more outdoorsy with t-shirts, cargos and comfy looking shorts.

Implications:

For the purpose of this study I will use gender inequalities and gender stereo types (not sure why they are used interchangeably—aren’t they two different, although related, things?) interchangeably in reference to the traditional roles of dominate male and submissive female.

Through my observations I found that children’s toys do perpetuate gender inequalities through the use of gender stereo type toys. However, I felt the Clothes mostly reflect the toys and since the child will not see themselves in these clothes unless looking at a mirror, I believe clothing has less influence on the child themselves, but may reinforce the stereotypes for people around them.

From a Conflict/Feminist perspective it would seem (through my observations) that the socialization of men into power starts relatively young; teaching aggression, dominance, and competitiveness through video games, action figures, toy guns and swords and even logic through Lego’s, Rubrics, chess and building toy models rockets and cars. While the female toys teach nurturing and the importance fashion, hygiene and appearance through various doll. It was overwhelmingly obvious to me that the girls’ toy section was lacking toys that used problem solving skills. When looking at Mead’s concept of the “three stages of self” it seems interesting to me that during the “Play stage” boys seem to have more roles open to them to play (aside from people in their family) such as; action figures, police officer detective, pirates, builder. Oppose girls which after my observations seem to be limited to moms, princesses and Barbie’s on the beach. The implications I foresee from this are girls not learning the problem solving skills needed for later in life and that they are being socialized to underestimate the amount of rolls they can take on; giving boys an upper hand, and perpetuating traditional gender roles.

Good use of some important concepts. I would like to see a little bit more, though.

Limitations and future research:

The limitations of my research were a limited amount of toys analyzed. Perhaps if I were to go to a bigger toy store I would find more evidence show more equality in boys and girls toys. I believe a great direction for future research would be to find out the impact of gender socialization on academics. Wondering if perhaps the aggression and problem solving skills instilled in young boy gives them a leg up in the sciences and mathematics.

References

Dill, K. (2007). Video game characters and the socialization of gender roles: young people's perceptions mirror sexist media depictions. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 57(11/12), 851 – 864. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9278-1

Franklin, C. W. II. (2010). Becoming “boys,” “men,” “guys,” and “dudes. In L. Cargan & J.H. Ballantine (Eds.), Sociological footprints: I introductory readings in sociology (pp.48-55). California: Belmont.

Taub, D.E., & McLorg, P. A. (2010). Influence of gender socialization and athletic involvement on the occurrence of eating disorders. In L. Cargan & J.H. Ballantine (Eds.), Sociological footprints: introductory readings in sociology (pp.73-81). California: Belmont.

% Possible	Dimension	Excellent	Adequate	Needs Work	Not Acceptable	Your %
10	Frames a clear and appropriate research question	10-9	8.5-8	7.5-7	6-0	10
10	Uses appropriate research methods and clearly describes them	10-9	8.5-8	7.5-7	6-0	10
15	Provides a detailed description of what was observed	15-13.5	13-12	11.5-10.5	10-0	10
25	Uses sociological concepts, theories, and perspectives to analyze what was observed	25-23.5	23-20.5	20-18.5	18-0	25
10	Acknowledges the limitations of the study	10-9	8.5-8	7.5-7	6-0	10
10	Incorporates relevant material from academic journal article	10-9	8.5-8	7.5-7	6-0	10
5	Well-organized (paragraph order, transitions, and topic sentences); Follows research process format	5-4.5	4.25-4	3.75-3.25	3-0	5
5	Few mechanical errors (format, spelling, grammar, etc…)	5-4.5	4.25-4	3.75-3.25	3-0	4
5	Excellent use of academic voice/writing for appropriate audience	5-4.5	4.25-4	3.75-3.25	3-0	5
5	Includes cites and references using APA format with minimal errors	5-4.5	4.25-4	3.75-3.25	3-0	5
100					Your %	99

% Possible	Dimension	Excellent	Adequate	Needs Work	Not Acceptable	Your %
10	Frames a clear and appropriate research question	10-9	8.5-8	7.5-7	6-0	10
10	Uses appropriate research methods and clearly describes them	10-9	8.5-8	7.5-7	6-0	9
15	Provides a detailed description of what was observed	15-13.5	13-12	11.5-10.5	10-0	15
25	Uses sociological concepts, theories, and perspectives to analyze what was observed	25-23.5	23-20.5	20-18.5	18-0	24
10	Acknowledges the limitations of the study	10-9	8.5-8	7.5-7	6-0	8.5
10	Incorporates relevant material from academic journal article	10-9	8.5-8	7.5-7	6-0	10
5	Well-organized (paragraph order, transitions, and topic sentences); Follows research process format	5-4.5	4.25-4	3.75-3.25	3-0	5
5	Few mechanical errors (format, spelling, grammar, etc…)	5-4.5	4.25-4	3.75-3.25	3-0	4
5	Excellent use of academic voice/writing for appropriate audience	5-4.5	4.25-4	3.75-3.25	3-0	4.5
5	Includes cites and references using APA format with minimal errors	5-4.5	4.25-4	3.75-3.25	3-0	4.25
100					Your %	94.25