When most people watch TV, they usually either skip the commercials or get up and do something such as go to the bathroom, get food, or sometimes both. For those of you who do indeed watch the commercials that play in between your favorite show, you may or may not notice some very interesting details. The commercials directly targeted towards kids are very gender specific and are subconsciously telling our kids how to act and what's socially acceptable for boys and girls to play with.
Here is a commercial advertising Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures. This commercial is obviously aimed towards the male gender because it promotes fighting, power, violence, competition, etc. Advertisement companies want to appeal to boys' violent and commanding side of their personality. But what they don't realize is that by targeting young boys like that is harming their social life. They're being taught that they have to be commanding to get what they want and to be destructive. This type of ad is discouraging boys to be nurturing and sensitive. Commercials such as this one have been subconsciously telling boys that they have to be tough and being soft is for sissy. This is why they grow up to be men that don't show their sensitive side because they're afraid they will be called "gay" by another man that was reared very similarly. Boys are taught at a young age to never show they're weaknesses, and this is why we have the men we have today.
Boys are not alone in this fight against gender roles. Here is a commercial for Bratz's Magic Hair Salon. Notice how there are only girls in this commercial and no boys. This is classified as a girl toy because it involves a doll, which is not "manly" according to society. This commercial is just as corrupted as the commercial targeted towards boys. This ad is promoting beauty, popularity, self-image, perfection, etc. Teenage girls have a hard time with their self-esteem and this is a perfect example as to why this is the case. They're taught at a young age that they must be pretty because of the campaigns behind the dolls they played with as kids. Through these commercials, girls are not encouraged to be creative and intelligent. There's also the fact that many games and toys that are classified as "girly" all have to do with housework and taking care of the family. This kind of corruption is telling the female youth that their place in at home, and not in the work force. Girls deserve more than that.
These commercials for toys and games are not all bad. Many advertisements targeted towards boys are encouraging building, imagination, constructive play, etc. Nowadays you see many companies offering little boys toys they can build themselves, which teaches them building and algorithm. For the toys aimed at grabbing little girls' attention, they encourage imagination. They want little girls to imagine themselves as grownups and going to the mall or hanging out with friends at the beach. They get the imagination through role playing with dolls.
It's amazing that what you let your kid watch can affect them so much later on in life. I'm not saying you shouldn't let you child play with these toys or be exposed to the commercials. Just let them know that they have a choice and there's no pressure to choose a certain one. They are the ones who ultimately choose which toy to play with. If it's not the one classified within their gender role, just let them know that's it's ok to like something different.
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