Comments on: Gender, Technology, and Toys R Us http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/ Sociological Images encourages people to exercise and develop their sociological imaginations with discussions of compelling visuals that span the breadth of sociological inquiry. Fri, 10 Apr 2015 14:32:02 +0000 hourly 1 By: Leigha http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-541989 Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:54:00 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-541989 My math classes have all been about half and half.

]]> By: Leigha http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-541988 Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:52:00 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-541988 The CS department at my school has a few female faculty members (including the head of the department), not really a small percentage given the size of the department as a whole. Yet as far as I know, there have only been two upperclassmen female CS majors recently, and rumor has it one only managed to get decent grades because she got preferential treatment.

And hey. I’ve never had any trouble dealing with most of the CS guys. Maybe my school’s just weird, or maybe it’s because I’m on the geeky side, but still. They seem just like any other guys to me, except their tendency to launch into discussions about programming and/or technology.

]]> By: » “Suzy Wants a Dolly”: Gendered Carols Gender Focus http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-415293 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:53:11 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-415293 […] Images has more on this norm and how kids are socialized into it through toys, which I’m going to talk more about later this week. For now I just wanted to […]

]]> By: Polyethylene : http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-394907 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 01:44:32 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-394907 the prices of Pioneer dvd players are dropping these days and they are quite a bargain-“-

]]> By: Links of Great Interest 12/25/09 | The Hathor Legacy http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-261406 Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:59:19 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-261406 […] Contexts breaks down the NYT gift guide for POC. They also talk about gender and gift guides for liddle kiddles. […]

]]> By: The definitive linkspam of this decade (1st January, 2010) | Geek Feminism Blog http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-182277 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:31:44 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-182277 […] Judging from the Toys ‘R Us website boys build technology, and girls use it. […]

]]> By: Alexander http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-178091 Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:29:10 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-178091 Do we know if these search results have been programmed, or do they represent acutal sales-figures (just like amazon’s who-bought-this-bought-this-as-well)?
We don’t know that, so we cannot judge that site fair and square.

But, another thought, what is worse?
That maybe some product manager programmed his own gender-stereotype-beliefs into that thing, or that consumers do not trust their OWN knowledge about their children anymore, and instead transfer that responsibility(!) to a machine?

I think letting a machine shop toys for your child is worse.

]]> By: Lu http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-175209 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:12:07 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-175209 Yes! This was definitely on SI and it’s what I thought of too.

]]> By: RHelen http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-175093 Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:11:21 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-175093 As a mother of “creative boys” I can assure you that all the blocks from those specialized kits eventually end up in a big plastic tub and then are used to create something really cool. One day my then-8-year old built this humongous 3-level ship that could transport about 15 hot wheels cars. All the blocks for the ship, and there were probably 1000 used, came from the tub in his bedroom – there were Legos from different sets as well as Megablocks, which are compatible with Legos.
I wish I had a tub like that in my bedroom when I was growing up. Seems like girls in this country won’t get one this Christmas either.

]]> By: Toys R Us Confirms: Girls Like Technology, but Boys Build It « Technical and Marketing Communication: Content for a Convergent World http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-174447 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:40:08 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-174447 […] a comment » In Gender, Technology, and Toys R Us, Lisa from Sociological Images reflects on the Toys R Us guide, which “asks the buyer to […]

]]> By: NancyP http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-174167 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:33:16 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-174167 On the other hand, laptops and cameras are tools used by adults and are exceedingly versatile. Those LEGO toys just build one thing per kit and are not meant to encourage the child to make up their own project. The laptop and camera have far more creative and learning potential than the LEGO toys. (I loved LEGOs and blocks and the metal “Tinker Toys”, but in my day there were no specialized kits, you just got boxes of basic blocks, boxes of special elements (base, arch, cylindrical block, etc).

]]> By: Bagelsan http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-173996 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:41:24 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-173996 Well, sure, if by “simplified” you mean “wildly misinterpreted.” Don’t forget, boys still get 125% the pay that girls do in exchange for all their inventions.

]]> By: Bagelsan http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-173992 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:37:41 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-173992 I’m sure some women who might want to take more stereotypically “male” classes like engineering are put off by the fact that there aren’t already women in these classes, or there are no female faculty. It’s not pleasant having to be in a boy’s club atmosphere as the lone female. (And comp-sci guys aren’t exactly famous for being easy-to-deal-with, for women…)

]]> By: pcwhite http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-173960 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:34:15 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-173960 ugh, i noticed that too. :( When I was growing up, it seemed as though every time I saw an illustration of a girl drawing something it was a pink butterfly. I mean, butterflies are cool, but a girl’s got to be interested in other things once in a while. (Not to mention other colours.)

]]> By: pcwhite http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/12/21/gender-technology-and-toys-r-us/comment-page-1/#comment-173953 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:25:11 +0000 http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/?p=17883#comment-173953 It’s developmentally appropriate for boys to be girly no matter their age. Otherwise, though, I agree with you. Wouldn’t it just be easier and better to organize the site with categories like ‘building toys,’ ‘board games,’ ‘electronics,’ ‘art kits,’ etc? It can’t be that hard to show your kids a list of, say, lego kits and ask them to pick a favourite.

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