Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls

John Orlowski

Prof T

11/29

Paper 3

Why Boys don't play with Dolls

"Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls" written by Katha Pollitt is the epitome of the exact representation of little boys and girls that grew up with 2 different kinds of toys that would equally represent them as a gender. The boys would have very manly and aggressive "action figures" where girls would have dolls and barbies that would be very girl and polite. The boys would grow up playing with action figures and sports and girls spend their time playing house or dress up. This is what was designed to happen by molding their mindsets by what they see on a daily basis

As we grow up, these molds come in different forms of pressure from television, friends, and family. Pollitt states that kids will always want what the other kids their age want and this is usually all the root of advertising for the best toys out there. For example if a kid is watching a t.v. show about his favorite superhero the commercials will be geared towards little boys and action figures. These companies would put a lot of time, effort, and most importantly, money into these ads to make these kids feel as if they were cool and manly. Physically, men are bigger and stronger than women and therefore, better suited for things like hunting and fighting. I don't think it is that big of a stretch to suggest that mental differences developed in men to give them an advantage at those activities. And the same would probably be true for women. Women are physically geared towards raising children and I would assume that their brains are tuned to perform well at the types of activities that go along with that. It gives these kids the mold of being manly or feminine when they get older but if everyone is doing the same exact thing is that really where we want to set the bar?

Our nation has always pointed towards us as a free nation that can say and do as we please but when these commercials run over and over and are embedded in our kids heads they start to grow into this role that we really can not help to stop. Pollitt even says, "We don't have a choice, really about whether we should give our children messages about what it means to be male and female, they're bombarded with them from morning till night." Its like a nonstop psychological warfare on our minds they will constantly shape us into what we are today.