Toy Op-Ed Reflection



    
                                                 Toy Op-ed Reflection  
                                                       By Gabriel Han
The fact that toys are stereotyped by gender is something that has been a problem that has been a problem for a long time, but has only drawn attention recently. The fact that toy companies are combatting this attention by just taking the product they already make and just recolor it pink, like Nerf, is not a functioning solution. In fact, it has drawn more attention, and the fact that companies think they can get away with this is not a good way for them to think. This relates to structural functionalism, because of how the way this has been working and functioning, and how as social consensus has changed social life, thus the view on children's toys has changed too. The way that toy companies have been making gender specified toys has set our view though, to look at the toys and think that the specific type of toy is being marketed towards boys or girls, when really, sometimes they are, but sometimes the marketing is gender neutral and when we look at the toy that is similar to a toy that is generally gender marketed, we think that the toy is being marketed to a gender, when really, that might not be the case. That makes us sexist too then, in a way, because of the way that we see marketing that is gender neutral, but the product is normally marketed towards a specific gender. This is what we need to change. We need to change how we look at toy marketing, and companies need to change the marketing they do, both to assist the change of view, and to change the gender specific marketing. 

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