Professional Documents
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DESIGNERS AS RESEARCHERS: HOW IS NONE GENDER INCLUSIVE TOY DESIGN CHANGING OUR FUTURE?
The British Standards Institute defines inclusive design as The design of mainstream products and/or services that are accessible to, and usable
by, as many people as reasonably possible without the need for special adaptation or specialised design (Inclusive Design Toolkit, 2013). Designing a toy
that targets one gender, alienates the other; by specialising its gender you reduce the amount of children that can use it and therefore make the toy
exclusive. I believe that by limiting the toys that a specific gender of child can play with you limit that gender as a whole, both socially
and economically. Through exploring different research methods I hope to discover whether there is any fact in my hypothesis.
I conducted some visual analysis research by gathering over a hundred images from childrens
toy catalogues. After analysis I noticed a couple of themes and then created data from these.
My research shows that just over half the boys and girls were presented stereotypically but
when they appear together a large percentage of the toys are gender neutral, but only a tiny
percentage are girls toys.
56% Of the Girls were 57% of the boys were Boys and girls appear In these pictures 69%
wearing or playing with wearing or playing with together in 30% of the are playing with Gender
neutral toys, and just
something pink
something blue.
pictures
6% are girls toys.
THE NEED
I conducted a survey on parents via
mumsnet and asked them a couple
of questions about; how they feel
about gender stereotyping and gender
neutral toys. Whether they consider
it an issue and whether they would
buy these kind of toys or if they
already do. In response, I got a
lot of written replies about how
important they felt it was, many were
angered at the pink for girls, blue
for boys logic. Interestingly they
WOMEN IN STEM-
UK AVERAGE
100%
Made a conscious
effort to buy gender neutral toys.
Biology
Chemistry
75%
Mathematics
Physics
50%
Computing
Engineering
25%
Thought that
designers were
responsible for
creating gender
neutral toys.
0%
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The graph above displays the leaky pipeline phenomenon, a theory about the
declining percentage of women employed in science as they reach higher up the
employment ladder (Muffitt, E. 2014). Research shows that this is due to a
lack of encouragement throughout education, but its not just STEM subjects
in which women constitute a small percentage of the employment quota:
I worry about gender stereotypes that dis-empower girls
-Survey Response.
There are now a couple of toys on the market that are designed to encourage young girls
to engage with STEM subjects (Petals and Stem. 2014). Although they arent gender neutral
they are a step in the right direction. Toys that are designed for girls, such as toy ovens
and cleaning stations often come in gender neutral colours anyway, so often boys arent as
alienated by these types of products. The implications of boys playing with girls toys doesnt
seem as severe economically, but it definitely still has social repercussions. Goldie Blox is
a toy that attempts to engage young girls with engineering, LittleBits is similar but designed
to teach children about electronics and finally Lego brought out a play-set featuring three
female scientists which sold out nearly instantly. There is definitely a demand for these kind
of toys to equal out the imbalance, but even these are clad in pinks and purples and the
Lego set characters are wearing make-up. Hopefully future designers can start to design
toys or experiences that are inclusive to both genders, but still promote ethical messages and
educational benefits with consequential improvements socially and economically.
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TO CONCLUDE
My initial visual research gave me a clear situational view; childrens toys are still being designed/
marketed with only one gender in mind, and that retailers arent overly comfortable with presenting
boys playing with girls toys and vice versa. My survey, however, made it clear that parents are
beginning to demand toys that are gender inclusive and are worried about dis-empowerment
of girls, both as children and as adults. The research I collected about womens employment
argues the case that more young girls need to be encouraged from a young age to take interest
in STEM subjects to help amend the current skills shortage; arguably the best way to encourage
young girls is to design toys specifically targeted at them, but this then excludes boys. I think
toys need to be, not just designed, but also marketed inclusively. Its beneficial to make toys that
encourage childrens education, but aiming them at a specific gender still causes a stereotyping
and a form of alienation. My research affirms my belief that children should be taught gender
equality and the freedom to be whomever they want, without the gender constrictions that society
inflicts on them. The best way to do this is to surround them with inclusively designed toys that
embody that message otherwise, holistically speaking, it will have a detrimental effect on society.