What kinds of toys are marketed to girls and boys?

TOY STORE SOCIALIZATION:
A LOOK AT SOCIALIZATION IN SOCIETY
For this assignment you will need to visit a toy store that sells toys for boys and girls. Stores with larger
toy departments will provide you with more material to study (Walmart, Target, etc.).
Pretend you know nothing about our culture and you are learning about it by looking at the kinds of toys
children play with. How are toys organized and gender, and what do toys say about how we think about
masculinity and femininity in our culture?
Consider the following:
 How is the toy department laid out?
 What kinds of toys are marketed to girls and boys? How did you know?
 What sorts of images are on the toy packages? Are children depicted? What kind of
children are they? What are they doing?
 What sorts of words are used to describe the boys and girls toys?
 If you were to draw conclusions about what masculinity and femininity mean in our
culture from these toys, what would they be?
 Do your conclusions accurately describe masculinity and femininity for children in our
culture? Why or why not?
Paper Requirements:
 4 – 5 pages, double-spaced, 12 point font
Evaluation & Grading:
 Content: 50%
o Are all the questions answered in the paper?
 Defining terms: 20%
o Is it clear the author understands the sociological concepts used?
 Using sources: 10%
o Did the author select and use sources from the class appropriately?
 Style: 20 points
o Spelling and punctuation: Did the author proofread?
o Clarity and structure: Is the writing clear and well organized?
 Citations:
o Are sources properly cited in the text?
o Is there a formatted reference section at the end of the paper?

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