Abstract
Children learn to understand gender categories and roles typical for women and men from the earliest stages of their life. Toys, by which they are surrounded in everyday routine, may have a significant role in their knowledge of cultural norms and societal expectations, but also might have a great impact on children’s health in the context of psychosocial development. Parental attitudes can also be an important moderator of the choice of gender-stereotyped toys. The aim of the study was to investigate parents’ perspectives on toys’ appropriateness for children according to gender, and to analyze parents’ knowledge about the labeling of toys in shops. In total, 526 parents from big cities participated in the study; to assess parental knowledge and perspectives on toys’ categorization, The World of Toys questionnaire was used. The results indicated that most parents from big cities observe that toys are arranged according to the child’s age and sex and the toys’ functionality. Moreover, in parents’ opinion, the compliance with the role of a woman or man affects categorization the most. Furthermore, both parents tended to attribute toys to both sexes more often than they believe the stores do. To conclude, despite the still visible division of toys in shops, Polish parents from big cities are more liberal and egalitarian than shops are when it comes to the perception of toys’ appropriateness, allowing children to play with most toys regardless of their sex.
Highlights
The moment they are born, children come into a world with a pre-existing structure and imposed social norms
Statistical analyses were carried out using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 (SPSS Inc.; license purchased by University of Gdansk)
In order to answer the first research question regarding parents’ awareness of the labeling of toys in shops, parents’ responses to questions number 6 (“Did you notice that toys in stores are arranged according to some criteria?”), 7
Summary
The moment they are born, children come into a world with a pre-existing structure and imposed social norms. Gender stereotypes reflect the differing social roles of women and men [2,3]. These stereotypical beliefs suggest that women are more communal and concerned with others, whereas men are more oriented toward agentic goals [4,5]. Even though approximately half of respondents from Europe think that gender equality has been achieved at work, in politics, and in leadership positions [6], the differing of women and men in social roles is, noticeable in every culture. According to social role theory, gender stereotypes concerning common traits of men and women will not disappear without an equal division of social roles in society [4]
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