Document Type
Argument Essay
Publication Date
1993
Excerpt
Wouldn't it be nice to turn on the television and see a commercial in which a boy was oohing and ahhing over a Cabbage Patch doll? Wouldn't it be nice to see a commercial where a girl was putting a Matchbox car through the Matchbox car wash? For years toy manufacturers have been making and marketing gender specific toys. Barbie, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, and many other toys are produced and marketed with the intent of selling them specifically to boys or girls. By doing this, manufacturers are re-enforcing the stereotypes that women, and some men, have been trying for years to eliminate. These toys, and the commercials that sell them, are teaching children that there are certain things that only boys can do and certain things that only girls can do. They teach boys that only girls should be interested in taking care of babies, and they teach girls that only boys should be interested in fixing cars. Why do these commercials still exist despite changing attitudes?
Recommended Citation
Pearson, Rachel, "Commercials Are Teaching Our Children The Wrong Things (1993)" (1993). The Valpo Core Reader. 305.
http://scholar.valpo.edu/core_reader/305