Overall the toys were about the same as what I remember from my childhood. There were the basic toys such as Barbie, baby dolls, easy bake oven, Hot Wheels, action figures, sports sets and board games. The toys were all set out into groups. There was a section of toy that was for boys, a section of toys for girls, and a smaller section of toys that are gender neutral.
The boys' toys were all sports toys, action figures, hot wheels and dump trucks. They were all geared toward sports, fighting, vehicles, or working with tools. The action figures were all fighting and had guns or from movies such as Star Wars. They had all kinds of tool sets and work benches for the boys to put things together. There was even a little lawn mower in the boy section. The packagings to the boy's toys were mainly blue, red, dark green, and some yellow. They had pictures of boys playing with they toys on them. There were no girls on any of the packaging of the boys toys. They were rough toys that involved killing and fighting. They were geared toward traditional male gender roles.
The girl's toys were all geared toward female activities. They were Barbie's who you could dress and do their hair, or baby dolls that you take care of and be their mommy. There were easy bake ovens to learn to cook, and shopping carts with food to go grocery shopping. You could buy a kitchen set with a sink to do the dishes. I also found a mop, broom, and vacuum in the girls' section so that the girls can “clean the house.” There were cash register sets to be a sales clerk. There were dress up clothes such as dresses, high heels, and make up for the little girls as well. The packagings were all pink and purple. The whole aisle had girl colors, and you could see lace and sparkles on the clothes and shoes. The female toys were all based on traditional female gender roles such as cooking and taking care of the children.
There were also many toys that could be considered gender neutral. There were not as many gender neutral toys as there were toys for just girls or just boys. There was an entire aisle of board games, which I consider to be for boys and girls. There were some toys such as light bright, etch a sketch, and magna doodles. There were legos, blocks and other toys that boys and girls could both play with. The stuffed animals were also in the gender neutral section which I was very surprised to see. The doctor toys were in the neutral section as well, and I figured they would be in the boys' section.
When I examined the book collection there was not much of a distinction between boys and girls books. I did find a few books that were aimed at a specific gender. There were two sports books that I found and one had only boys playing the sports while the other had mostly boys but a few girls. There were some Barbie books for girls that had to do with shopping and dressing up for dates. Most of the other books that I found could be for boys or girls and did not really gender stereotype in any way.
I think that theses toys go along with gender roles. The girls' toys were more domestic. They were for baking, raising children, cleaning the house, getting dressed up in fancy clothes and wearing make up. In the girls' sections there were only a few toys geared toward jobs. They were for cashiering, or being a housewife. The boys' toys were for doing outdoor activities such as mowing the yard, working with tools, fighting, driving cars and playing sports. There were builder toys, fire fighter toys, badges and guns for police officer toys, and swords and guns to fight with. The doctor toys that I found were in the section of gender neutral toys. I think that for the most part the children's toys have stayed in the gender roles that people stereotype them to be. I think that a few years ago the doctor toys may have been with the boys' toys, but now they are both. The fireman and police officer toys are still in the boys' section, and the cooking and cleaning toys are still in the girls' section.
The boys' toys were all things to keep the boys active and fit, such as sports and building. The girls' toys were all for dress up and make up to keep them pretty. The toys are saying that boys have to be rough and tough and the girls should be pretty, while baking and cleaning.
