Preschoolers' perceptions of gendered toy commercials in the US

While much is known about the gender stereotypic nature of child-directed ads, little work examining how preschoolers perceive these gendered messages has been done. To this end, interviews with 60 preschool-aged children from childcare centers in Northern Virginia were conducted. Children were show...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of children and media Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 119 - 131
Main Author Zimmermann, Laura K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 03.04.2017
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
child-directed advertising
Commercials
Gender
Perceptions
Preschool
Preschool children
Stereotypes
toy commercials
Toys
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Summary:While much is known about the gender stereotypic nature of child-directed ads, little work examining how preschoolers perceive these gendered messages has been done. To this end, interviews with 60 preschool-aged children from childcare centers in Northern Virginia were conducted. Children were shown five toy advertisements (two male-targeted, two female-targeted, one neutral) and asked about gender classification as well as commercial preferences, which were assessed verbally and behaviorally. Results revealed stereotype flexibility as well as rigidity. Some level of flexibility was seen in all areas. Rigidity was most pronounced in the children's emotional response to the ads and in their choice of favorite commercial. Moreover, in boys, adherence to stereotypes was more prominent and increased with age. Preschoolers' perceptions of gendered toy commercials are multifaceted and more work is needed to understand the influences that shape them.
ISSN:1748-2798
1748-2801
DOI:10.1080/17482798.2017.1297247