Overview:
In this assignment, you will examine influences on gender development by categorizing advertisements for toys that are directed toward children of different ages. From the definitions of gender typing that you develop (with members of your group), you will classify ads as depicting gender-typed, gender-neutral, or cross-gender-typed play. As a group, you will tally the differences associated with both gender and age in these categories and compare your results with those you would expect based on the material in the textbook.
The project culminates in the preparation and submission of a one-page written report, prepared and submitted by each student (working independently of their group). Each student will explore the implications of their findings, using one or more of the theoretical perspectives on the development of gender, as presented in Chapter 15 of your text. Specific guidelines for what to include in your paper are provided below.
General Instructions:
The instructions presented below are separated by the preparation and classification phases that are to be completed in groups, and the write-up phase that is to be done individually by each student in the class.
Our goals in asking that you do the preparation and classification phases of the project in groups are twofold:
(1) To encourage clarity in defining and developing guidelines for recognizing examples of gender-typical, gender-neutral, and cross-gender-typed play; by asking that group members be able to reach a consensus in their definitions and in their initial classification of specific toy ads, clarity should be enhanced.
(2) Working in groups allows for a division of labor. We are asking that you locate and classify on the order of 30 (or more) toy ads, distributed over three age groups, and then summarize the overall pattern of findings. We recognize that this involves a lot of work; dividing the tasks among group members reduces the workload for everyone. It will be necessary that groups allocate tasks to specific group members.
Small Group Activities:
Project Preparation:
1. Begin by developing working definitions for “gender-typical,” “gender-neutral” and “cross-gender-typed” play. It is important that you avoid circular definitions, like “typically played with by girls” as a definition of “gender-typical.” Rather, focus on dimensions of behavior that correspond to gender stereotypes. For example, you might consider mechanical aptitude or interest (indicated by play with erector sets or other construction toys) as typical of males. Hence, playing with construction toys would be an example of gender-typed play for boys, and cross-gender-typed play for girls. Similarly, you might consider nurturing behavior and concern with appearance as indicative of stereotyped female behavior; as such, you would code toys related to housekeeping play or pretend grooming as gender-stereotyped for girls and cross-gender-typed for boys. See page 595 in the text for a discussion of gender roles.
2. Based on the material presented in Chapter 15, develop a set of predictions that your group will test based on your observations. For example, after reading the material in Box 15.4 on text page 613, you would likely predict that more girls than boys would be depicted in cross-gender-typed play. Form questions regarding age expectations as well. For example, after reading about the development of gender identity on text page 608, you will expect that most infant toys will be gender neutral. What other age predictions does the material in this chapter support?
3. With members of your group, collect a sample of toy ads from online catalogs or newspaper circulars. Your choice of toys should be representative of those targeted toward children in your community. Choose ads distributed by major retailers and avoid ads from specialty vendors. The ads that you select should show one or more children interacting with the toys. Ideally, the ads you select will show roughly equal numbers of boys and girls, distributed equally across the following age groups: infants and toddlers (ages 2 and under); preschoolers (ages 3 to 5); and elementary school children (ages 6 to 10). In some cases, the ads will be clearly labeled as presenting toys for a specified age group. In other cases, you may need to develop some guidelines for classifying the ads into one age group or another. For example, you may decide that toys are directed toward elementary school children because the bedroom pictured in the ad contains a student desk and schoolbooks. Your final set of ads should include at least ten different toys for each of the three age levels.
Classification of Ads:
1. Prepare a tally sheet to classify the pictures for each age level. Your tally sheet might look like this:
Age Group Gender Role Classification for Girls and Boys
Gender Typical Cross-Gender-Typed Gender Neutral
Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys
0-2 Years
3-5 Years
6-10 Years
**NOTE: Each of you will be asked to submit a copy of the completed tally sheet with your one-page paper, so it will be necessary to create a computer file to distribute to all group members.
2. Using the definitions you have developed, classify each ad as showing either a boy or a girl in gender-typical, cross-gender-typed, or gender-neutral play. For example, in categorizing an ad showing a preschool girl playing with a glamorous dress-up kit, you would make one tally in the “girls” section of the “gender-typical” column in the preschool section. Similarly, you would likely classify an ad showing a boy playing with a gun by adding one mark to the “boys” column under the “gender-typical” category. If a boy and a girl are shown in the ad, classify the gender typing based on the child who has the more active role; e.g., if a boy and girl are shown in a toy kitchen, but the girl is serving the boy a pretend meal, use the girl’s behavior to classify the ad.
We recommend that you establish early on that different members of your group are in agreement with one another in their classification of ads into the gender-typical, cross-gender-typical and gender-neutral categories. Have two or more group members classify a partial set of ads independently of one another, and then check to see whether you are in agreement. If not, make sure that you are all referring to the agreed-upon definitions of the different categories of play, and clarify your written definitions as needed. Once you are all satisfied with your agreed-upon definitions, continue classifying your full set of ads.
3. Summarize your group’s results for each age level. For example, look at the relative frequencies of boys versus girls who were depicted in the ads. Were more boys or girls presented overall? Of the ads in each category (gender-typical, cross-gender-typed, gender-neutral), what percentage showed each gender? With regard to the ads showing girls, what percentage fell into each of the three categories of sex-typing? What about those showing boys? (Remember to assign roles to group members to distribute the workload. For example, if two group members were involved in the classification of ads, have a third group member create and distribute the summary of findings along with the final tally sheet.)