Gender Stereotyping in advertising

There is definitely an issue with gender stereotyping in advertisements today. Women are still seen as objects and sexualized in a lot of ads. But in this post I will talk about kids toys. In an article from the New York Times, The author Elizabeth Sweet interestingly describes that though gender stereotypes have always  been a part of advertising, during the early 1900s there started to be less gender stereotypes. "In the 1970s toy ads often defied gender stereotypes by showing girls building and playing airplane captain, and boys cooking in the kitchen."


However the article goes on to say how by 1995 gender stereotypes were back and now in our current society it is extremely difficult to find toys that are not obviously marked by color or something else.

An article from The Atlantic, also written by  Elizabeth Sweet, goes on to talk about how even though sexism was accepted back in the day, now we actually have more rigid gender segregation in toys. It's ironic how society has advanced and women have made some significant gains, yet when it comes to this topic we are very backwards.

This gender stereotyping can have a really negative side effect on kids. It reinforces gender roles, making kids feel uncomfortable if they step outside of them. And it also can promote boys to think of less than girls. I can even see this in my 5 year old cousin. A lot of times he will tell me I can't do things that he can, and I'll remind him that I'm older and stronger than him he will say its because I am a girl. One time he even told me that hot Cheetos were too spicy for me...because I am a girl  -_-

I think currently we are moving forward in many ways, and advertisements with Nike, Kotex, and Always (#LikeAGirl) have called for more female empowerment. HOWEVER, when it comes to toys it seems to be a different story.