Debbie Kim

Due: 09/10/2014
Professor Langan
Gender Experience of Childhood
Society directs the male and female sex to obtain their respective male and female genders

through many subliminal messages. With the experience of observing toys at Target, my favorite

childhood book Corduroy, and my personal childhood, the collected observations agree with Dr. Woods

theory about how childhood environment affects the development of gender identity.

All the girl toys at Target correspond to Woods portrayal of being feminine in the United States.

The distinct color differentiation is the primary surface-level difference between the girl and boy toys.

Almost everything girl related contains pink packaging or pink in the toy, and all the shelves back walls

that were originally beige (like the rest of the store) were painted over with pink. Woods idea of

symbolic interactionism is displayed by the fact that pink means girl. Beautiful Bratz and Barbie dolls

enforce the conception that appearance matters. By taking care of the fake baby dolls, girls construct the

idea that they are supposed to be sensitive and caring; in light of the psychodynamic theory, girls tend to

play with baby dolls because their mother, a role model, took care of children herself. Furthermore, the

cooking utilities, tea set materials, and vacuums impose the notion that girls ought to become

housewives. Because girls toys are much more basic in function, it gives rise to the development of

creative thinking at early ages. As a result, girls tend to be more right-brain thinkers.

The boy toys also correspond to Woods portrayal of being masculine in the United States today.

Similarly, the color blue was advertised just as much for the boy toys again, leading to symbolic

interactionism. The cars and trucks are examples of the psychodynamic theory because men, their role

models, drive the family cars. Also, multiple occupational toys such as police cars, firetrucks, army

tanks, and lab coats infiltrated the boy toys section, enhancing Woods definition that men should be

successful (Wood 174). The packaging included more interactive attributes than the girls, as they
contained active scenes on the boxes. I also noticed interactive displays of completed Legos that would

light up as I approached the display case. Furthermore, I played with the knobs outside the casing to

move certain parts of the Lego. More action on the packaging of boy toys indicates that boys must be

aggressive, as Wood declares (Wood 175). Additionally, boy toys require building whether it be Legos,

bionicles, etc. Therefore, men are typically more left-brained thinkers, ultimately leading to more jobs in

the math and science fields such as doctors and engineers.

From my memories as a child, I recall similar differences between the girl and boy toys. Not

much has changed since then. However, I noticed a brand of toys today that wasnt around in my

childhood. B, a brand of toys, seeks to inspire individuality. Hence, their toys dont associate with

specific gender colors. Although the toys include both male and female gender qualities such as

cooking, car steering, wheels, boats, and building things, I couldnt identify any blue or pink colors. It

solely used earthy, neutral tones such as olive green, orange, yellow, dark purple, etc.

Gender roles are also associated with the characters in Corduroy, written by Don Freeman. The

human female character, Lisa, wishes to purchase Corduroy, a male teddy bear. Notice that it is a girl

wanting to play with a doll and not a boy, further exemplifying the care-taking stereotype of females.

Even more so, she insists on carrying Corduroy in her arms all the way home, instead of carrying him in

a box. The girl in the picture book is also very attractive big eyes, long hair, and slim. In her pink dress

and white gloves, Lisa can be paralleled to modern Disney princesses. Lisas room contains pink

furniture, flowers, and a cradle for Corduroy. Once again, this pink and nurturing theme associates with

girls. Corduroy, however, wears green overalls lacking a button. He was not aware of his missing button

until Lisas mother pointed it out. This scene portrays how much appearance matters to females as

opposed to males. In hopes of being bought, Corduroy searches for a button and yanks out a button from

a mattress, highlighting the aggression males carry. Freeman includes a fat male security guard in blue
uniform to discover the chaos happening in the mattress department of the store. He does this to further

contrast the female qualities of appearance and nurturing to the male qualities of success, occupation,

and a lesser value for appearance. All these subliminal messages are portrayed in a childrens story book

to raise this idea of gender identity at a young age.

My childhood, however, differs from the traditional masculine boy and feminine girl standard. I

grew up as a tomboy loving boy things and hating girl things. To be honest, I behaved like a boy

because I believed boys were held to a higher standard than girls through the social-learning theory. In

my dads eyes, it was more of an accomplishment to be on the winning team of sports than being able to

paint a picture. He awarded me for athleticism, so I pursued it leading to more masculine preferences.

Because I identified sports with boys, an act of symbolic interactionism, I identified myself as a boy. I

knew biologically that I was a girl, but my gender was very much masculine. Contrary to Woods

belief of gender constancy, I played both parts. During my tomboy stage, I devoted myself to identify

behaviors, appearances, and speech like boys. However, once I reached the 6th grade, I had to learn what

its like to be a girl. I changed because my parents were pushing this idea that I lacked normalcy. They

didnt appreciate my masculine personality, so I changed once again by the social-learning theory. It was

difficult to intentionally act and dress like a girl after 10 years of being a boy, but here I am completely

feminine.

In sum, societys messages today illuminate stereotypical gender behaviors on children starting

at young ages. Although I wasnt one of the victims to fall for these enforced notions, I believe that there

is a huge culture on sexual segregation. Therefore, most children tend to build their identities on these

preconceptions.