Toys!

Photo by Flickr 

I got a pretty cool opportunity this semester. I am a preceptor for a class called “Child Art and Visual Culture.” I took this class about two years ago and now I preceptor that class. In that class they talk about the different developmental stages a child goes through when creating art. Recently in class we talked about visual culture, media influence and the influence that toys have on children. We also brushed on how toys influence gender and how girls play with dolls, bears, princesses etc. while boys play with cars, guns, balls, etc. and that’s what influences what they draw. Girls stick to details and pastel colors and boys see the bigger picture and bolder colors. When drawing, watching TV and playing with toys kids tend to play with toys that are targeted for their gender.

In our eSoc211 class we got to talk about the different toys we played with as kids. It was fun to revisit the past. In class we also discussed how some of the toys we played with were gender specific and it immediately though about the discussion we had in my other class! Some of my group members talked about how they played with both “boy” toys and “girl” toys because of their siblings. I couldn’t really relate because I grew up with sisters it wasn’t until I was older I had a brother where I was introduced to male specific toys.