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AND DON'T GET HEARTBURN IN THE FIRST PLACE!
[ Male Announcer ] ONE PILL EACH MORNING. 24 HOURS. ZERO HEARTBUR.
>>> A TEACHER AND CHEF AND
ASTRONAUT.
BOYS AND GIRLS CAN BE ANYTHING
THEY WANT.
UNCONSTRAINED BY GENDER
STEREOTYPES OF THEIR
GRANDPARENTS.
WHEN I WENT SHOPPING THIS YEAR
FOR CHILDREN, YOU HAVE ALL THIS
MARKETING FOR TOYS FOR GIRLS.
IT LOOKS LIKE PINK.
IT'S IN PINK AND FOCUSES ON
BEAUTY AND HOME MING AND THE
SHELVES FOR BOYS COVERED IN
BLUE, BLACK, BROWN WITH BOYING
RELATED TO BUILDING AND ACTION
FIGURES.
I'M JOINED BY LIZ HE BETH SWEET.
SHE'S A RESEARCHER WHO WROTE
ABOUT IN VERY PHENOMENON IN THE
"NEW YORK TIMES."
ELIZABETH, I HAVE TO SAY IT WAS
SO REFRESHING FOR ME.
I WENT SHOPPING AND I THOUGHT
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
THEN I READ THE OP-ED ON SUNDAY
AND I REALIZED I'M NOT THE ONLY
ONE AND GOING CRAZY SEEING THIS
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE IN THE
STORES.
WHY DO YOU HAVE GENDER
SEGREGATION HERE WHEN IT COMES
TO PURCHASING TOYS.
>> WELL, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE THINK OF
TODAY'S SOCIETY WHERE MEN AND
WOMEN ARE MORE SIMILAR THAN EVER
BEFORE IN TERMS OF WOMEN ARE
OCCUPYING THESE, URN, ROLES OF
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC POWER.
MEN ARE DOING MORE THAN EVER.
IT'S ODD TO SEE TOYS GOING IN
THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
ONE THING I THINK IS GOING ON IS
MARKETERS HAVE USED REALLY
TARGETED MARKETING PRACTICES,
AND THEY'VE SEGMENTED THE MARKET
INTO NARROW REALMS SO THEY FIND
THEY CAN SELL MORE PRODUCTS IF
THEY MAKE SEPARATE VERSIONS FOR
BOYS AND GIRLS.
SO I THINK THAT'S ONE ASPECT OF
IT.
I THINK SOME PEOPLE REALLY DO
RESPOND TO THE GENDER TOYS.
>> ELIZABETH, TELL ME ABOUT
THIS.
WHEN I WAS A KID, THAT WAS A
REAL CONSCIOUS BACKLASH AGAINST
THIS KIND OF GENDER DISTINCTION
IN TOYS, RIGHT HE?
YOU HAD THE WHOLE THING.
MY MOM WAS A SCHOOLTEACHER.
THE WHOLE THING, WILLIAM WANTS A
DOLL AND WHETHER OR NOT BOYS CAN
PLAY WITH DOLLS.
I REMEMBER I HAD A LITTLE
RACETRACK THAT I GOT FOR
CHRISTMAS WHEN I WAS A LITTLE
KID.
HOW DID THAT FLIP?
HOW DID THAT CHANGE?
>> YEAH, THAT'S REALLY
INTERESTING.
WHEN I WAS IN THE KID IN THE
'70s WE HAD LEGO BLOCKS THAT
WERE PRIMARY COLORS AND
EVERYBODY PLAYED WITH THEM.
"STAR WARS" WAS NOT JUST FOR
BOYS.
ONE THING THAT HAPPENED IN MY
OWN RESEARCH, I LOOK AT TOY
CATALOG AND ANALYZE THE CONTENT
OF SEARS CATALOG.
I FOUND IN THE '70s THERE WAS
LITTLE GENDERING GOING ON.
BY 1995 I STARTED TO SEE THE
SEPARATE COLOR VERSIONS OF TOYS
HAPPENING.
AGAIN, I THINK THAT WAS AN
EFFORT TO SELL MORE PRODUCT.
IT ALSO EMBODIES THESE REALLY
PROBLEMATIC STEREOTYPES FOR
GIRLS' TOYS DO AS YOU SAY.
OFTEN RELATE TO BEAUTY,
NURTURING AND DOMESTIC.
FOR BOYS THEY'RE BECOMING MORE
AGGRESSIVE SXRI LENT ORIENTED.
AS THEY BECOME MORE AND MORE
SEPARATE, THEN KIDS ARE, YOU
KNOW, SHOULD NOTED INTO THESE
NARROW AISLES WHERE THEY HAVE TO
PICK A TOY AND IT'S VERY HARD
FOR THEM TO CROSS THOSE AISLES.
>> SO ELIZABETH, HOW DOES THIS
TRANSLATE INTO GROWTH AND
BECOMING AN ADULT HERE IF
CHILDREN ARE LIMITED IN THIS
WAY, WHETHER IT'S THEIR
CREATIVITY OR HOW THEY PERCEIVE
THEMSELVES.
HOW DO THEY GET OVER THAT WHEN
THEY ACT OUT WITH TOYS AND MOVE
ON AND BECOME ADULTS.
>> THAT'S A REALLY GREAT
QUESTION, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE
THINGS I THINK IS SO PROBLEMATIC
ABOUT THIS.
WHEN CHILDREN ARE CON STRAINED
TO NARROW SETS OF STEREOTYPES IT
CONSTRAINED THEIR IDEAS OF WHAT
THEY CAN BECOME.
RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND THAT
STEREOTYPES THAT GIRLS AREN'T
GOOD AT MATH FOR INSTANCE LIMIT
GIRLS' ACTUAL ABILITIES IN THESE
AREAS AND THEIR CAREER AS
APIRGSS.
IN THE SAME WAY IF BOYS ARE
GIVEN THE MESSAGE NURTURING IS
NOT FOR THEM, AT THE DON'T
DEVELOP THAT NECESSARY SKILL.
I THINK THESE REALLY NARROW
STEREOTYPED TOYS LIMIT CHILDREN
WAYS THAT HAVE LONG-HE TERM
EFFECTS.
>> AS A PARENT GIVING A GIFT TO
A PERSON, YOU OUGHT TO LOOK
BEYOND NA AND GIVE THE TRUCK TO
A LITTLE GIRL IF SHE WANTS THE
TRUCK OR A DOLL TO A BOY.