Toy Op-ed Reflection - Perjhing Mardani


Perjhing Mardani 
10/1/18
IHSS Blog 





Kids have been being gender-rolled for ages now. They are pressured to be like the other children at school, our younger generations are struggling and are being isolated in our stereotyped society. From toys, to clothes, to personalities, kids can not find themselves. Pressured to be like the other girls and boys, they erase their true personalities most of the time. If you are a girl, you have to play with barbies, and american girl dolls.  If you are a boy you have to play with legos, and nerf guns. Why can't there be a balance between the two? By manufacturing what the companies think are going to make them the most money, they are separating boys and girls with stereotypes of what they think they enjoy. Girls like pink, rainbow, glitter and unicorns! Boys like weapons, ninjas, wrestling and tools! Every child has their own interests, no matter how young they may be. At school every little girl wants to have the same backpack. Every little boy wants to have the same lego set. Not because they may want that specific thing, but because they feel the need to fit in with everyone else. In a sociological standpoint, kids feel like they all need to be the same in order to have a social life. If you are gender neutral at such a young age, you maybe would not feel accepted. Young boys and girls are still judgmental, and if you're different than the rest, you may feel like an outsider. We need to let children decide on their own what they want to do. Manufacturers need to make gender neutral toys, so everyone can enjoy. If a girl wants to play with hot wheels, and a boy wants to have a barbie, we should accept that. We are all unique in our own ways, and we should have options. Embracing this mindset to our generations to come, is going to make our society a much more accepting place. 

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