“The marketing of toys is more gendered now than even 50 years ago, when gender discrimination and sexism were the norm.”
— Elizabeth Sweet
In 1975, only 2 percent of toys in the Sears catalog were targeted specifically to boys or girls, but today a majority of toys are marketed to a specific gender. Why should we care? It matters because, studies show, when we give our children gender-stereotyped toys, we limit the skills they learn in the future. A 2015 study found that boys are more likely to play with toys that develop spatial intelligence than girls are. Think Lego and K’Nex. On the flip side, toys marketed to girls, like stuffed animals, encourage communication and creativity.
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