Do Millennials Continue the Cliché of the Toy Genre?

A recent study by the Women's Institute reveals that toy advertising reinforces approximately 34% of advertising ads linked to occupational sex segregation. These actions are associated with the hairdressing and aesthetic sectors towards girls and activities such as pilot, police, and militia towards boys.

The data collected in the analysis showed that behavior continues to be influenced according to color codes: pink for girls and dark colors for boys. In addition, entrepreneurs who create and sell toys use the color pink for girls. Another factor that stood out was the type of toys. That is, 47.5% of girls play with dolls, and 45% of boys play with action figures. However, the most severe factor of sexism is the sexualization of girls, which according to the study, is around 11%. For a couple of years, campaigns have been developed aimed at the toy industry to avoid sexism.

Today, organizations are working hard to improve campaigns that reach the most vulnerable users. In 2020 they released a campaign called "The magic is to avoid sexism. Play to be free" to promote the breakdown of gender roles and was launched by the Women's Institute. In 2021, the campaign "Playing has no gender" was published to raise awareness of sexist advertising aimed at children in the Ministry of Consumption. Finally, in 2022 a report was developed with all these strategies, and the results were impressive. In the analysis, the figures collected show that industries promote inequality and discrimination against women due to the roles and stereotypes generated by large sales.

Beatriz Gimeno, Director of the Women's Institute, believes that prejudices and discriminatory gender stereotypes are transmitted above what it is to be a person. Mothers teach what it is like to be a boy or girl, and this action limits development and freedom of choice.

Millennial Men Are More Influenced Than Millennial Women

A recent study dubbed "How to Sell Smoooth: Buying Trends 2021" by Klarna for Business reveals that 88% buy gifts for family and 43% buy gifts for friends. However, 61% are more interested in spending time with family than receiving the perfect gift. In addition, 67% look for flexible payment options in Christmas purchases and thus divide them into several months.

Data collected from the report shows that 48.8% of millennial men buy toys with gender. By contrast, only 41.3% of women purchase sexist toys due to the education currently provided by the female gender regarding gender roles. However, the figures showed that 55% of people consider toys genderless. The findings show that there is a gap in generations regarding gender stereotypes.

Also read: SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE EDUCATION: A MUST FOR SCHOOLS

Babies' Preferences in Toys

Another recent study called "Preferences for Gender-typed toys in boys and girls aged 9 to 32 months" by Brenda K. Todd suggests that babies have biological preferences and environmental components that make them choose toys by gender. The figures revealed that children of both sexes had to interact with toys in the presence of their parents for them to prefer toys socially linked to their gender. However, the analysis found that girls are more interested in fine motor skills.

In short, parents are looking for a better way for their children to develop, and the trend that has marked the toy industry does not favor them. However, we can transform the preferences of the toys we acquire for our children.