User:Lovinglearner/sandbox

I'm participating in a course that is teaching about wikipedia.

The articles I am thinking about working on are: gender in toys, women in the military, sex differences in education, and children's games and toys.

I am interested in vegetarianism, travel, and Spanish.

A possible edit I am thinking about making under the gender section of the toy article:

For example, many stores are beginning to change their gender labels on their children's play items. Target removed all identification related to gender from their toy aisles and Disney did the same for their costumes.

Linking to Iguazu

Waterfalls in Iguazu, Argentina

Annotated Bibliography for Work on Toy Page

Auster, Carol J., and Claire S. Mansbach. "The Gender Marketing of Toys: An Analysis of Color and Type of Toy on the Disney Store Website." Sex Roles, vol. 67, no. 7-8, 2012, pp. 375-388, Sociological Abstracts, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0177-8.

In this abstract, the Disney store is examined in terms of gender and toys. It references both how gender is present in toys and specifics of each gender, including those which share characteristics of both genders. A study regarding the colors is also present, as well as the impact of the gender and toy influence and how it ties into research and the research that still remains to be done. The authors are credible because they both are work professionals, a lawyer and a professor, and Auster has written a variety of other works on this issue. This abstract would be incredibly useful to my research because it is from a different database, adding some variety, as well as references the Disney store, which is a factor I greatly wanted to add to my article. Too, it discusses color in terms of gender toys and the repercussions of adding gender to toys, both of which would make important contributions to my article.

Jones, Marian M. “Toy Story.” Psychology Today, vol. 29, no. 6, Nov/Dec96, p. 12. EBSCOhost.

This periodical analyzes a study done at Niagra University regarding toys, saying that the majority of toys purchased were male or gender-neutral. It then explains why children choose toys based on gender, citing opinions from many experts. Lastly, it connects this to toy marketers and poses a question for the future. This periodical is an interesting addition to research in that it comes from a different source than many, while also providing a sort of historical context because it is from the late 1990s. It would add to research because it provides analysis of how this trend has grown in the past 20 years, as well as a variety to sources used and some interesting insight into reasons children choose the toys they do. Too, the author is a well-regarded periodical writer, which gives her credibility in this piece.

Miller, Claire Cain. “Boys and Girls, Constrained by Toys and Costumes.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Oct. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/upshot/boys-and-girls-constrained-by-toys-and-costumes.html.

In this article written by the New York Times, author Claire Miller explains the growing gender associations of toys and costumes for children. Using evidence based on the popular stores Target and Disney, she conveys that many toys such as costumes are associated by either “boys” or “girls” and that these labels can be seen by many as confining to the youth. She establishes her credibility by sourcing many experts in this debate, as well as a variety of research and studies. This source is helpful to my research because it lists lots of important studies and research, as well as provides a good baseline of information on this growing debate. Too, it provides a good graphic of toys considered to be rated for boys or girls, giving more specific examples than other sources.

Mullins, Michael. “Good Parents Don’t Make Gender Stereotypical Choices.” Eureka Street, vol. 24, no. 24, 08 Dec. 2014, pp. 57-58. EBSCOhost.

This magazine article written by Michael Mullins provides an interesting perspective to this issue. Within it, this article references many credible figures such as Senator Larissa Waters and Senator Cory Bernadi and their ideas on gender and its role in toys. It then goes to connect the church to gender in toys, examining the idea of a dogma and religion in terms of gender-labeled play. Though it may seem rather biased, this article would be a benefit to my research because it provides opinions from well-known and credible people, as well as connects this idea to the church, which is a unique perspective I hadn’t seen yet. Too, the author is a popular writer for this periodical, which gives him some credibility in terms of his writing and publication.

Todd, Brenda K., et al. “Preferences for Gender-Typed Toys in Boys and Girls Aged 9 to 32 Months.” Infant and Child Development, vol. 26, no. 3, 2016. Academic Search Complete [EBSCO], doi: 10.1002/icd.1986.

Author Brenda Todd investigates the influence of gender related to children’s toys in this academic journal. It revolves around a case study done in the UK with young children ages nine to 32 months old, specifically looking at toys which are normally assigned to a gender. It yielded results such as the fact that both boys and girls seemed drawn to stereotypical boy toys, which involves the idea of preference and masculinity as well. The study presents as credible because though it is primarily published by Todd, it contains contributions from a variety of different researchers well versed in gender issues. This journal is helpful to my research because it examines children at a very young age, which expands the credibility of this debate, while also providing thorough studies of toys which are considered to have a gender and how children interact with such toys.    

Trawick-Smith, Jeffrey, et al. “Effects of Toys on the Play Quality of Preschool Children: Influence of Gender, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status.” Early Childhood Education Journal, vol. 43, no. 4, Mar. 2014, pp. 249–256. Academic Search Complete [EBSCO], doi:10.1007/s10643-014-0644-7.

In this academic journal, author Jeffrey Trawick-Smith conducted a study examining nine toys on toddler age children. When watching the children play with these selected toys, the quality of the children’s play was quantified by certain factors such as imagination and often found to correlate with social factors such as gender, race, etc. This source is helpful to my research because it provides a solid case study, while also including factors outside of the bubble of race to make the knowledge more comprehensive. Trawick-Smith establishes credibility by referencing past studies in this area, as well as collaborating with other researchers in terms of this project.

Witt, Susan D. “Parental Influence on Children’s Socialization to Gender Roles.” Adolescence, vol. 32, no. 126, Sum 1997, pp. 253-259. EBSCOhost.

This journal article reflects on the parental role in terms of gender in toys. Witt has been published on many different journals related to this topic and to gender issues as a whole. This specific journal states that parents both do and don’t influence in this regard, but generally do, leading to certain toys or certain colors being associated with gender. It discusses the pros and cons to the parents’ actions, as well as talks about parental attitudes and children’s attitudes that affect gender roles. It was first presented to me by my partner and is very useful for my information because it provides information on the colors related to toys, but it could also be used to correct and clarify the existing paragraph under the toy and gender page regarding parental influence.

Wong, Wang and Melissa Hines. “Effects of Gender Color-Coding on Toddlers’ Gender-Typical Toy Play.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, vol. 44, no. 5, July 2015, pp. 1233-1242. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0400-5.

This article examines color within toys and how that connects to gender. It references a study done observing toddlers playing with what were identified as “gender-typical toys” with both normal and abnormal colors based on the identified gender. It then discusses the results of this and how it affected children, generally suggesting that color does influence toy choices and can create differences between the genders. This article is useful to my research because color is one aspect of toys that is highly influential in terms of gender and including some of this research into my Wikipedia contributions would add another layer to this discussion. Authors Wong and Hines are both widely published in this area, which adds to the benefits of using this research.    

Zosuls, Kristina M., et al. "Gender Development Research in Sex Roles: Historical Trends and Future Directions." Sex Roles, vol. 64, no. 11-12, 2011, pp. 826-842, Sociological Abstracts, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9902-3.

This abstract discusses the history of gender in toys; a unique perspective that has yet to be present in many sources. It mentions the mid 1900s being the time when gender began to influence toys as part of the Sex Roles forum, then evaluating how things have changed since this time in history and how research has evolved. The author establishes credibility in referencing various other works, as she has been a researcher in this field for quite some time. This abstract would be useful to my research because history is something not commonly discussed in terms of this topic and something the Wikipedia article I am editing does not have. Adding some of this information into the introduction of my Wikipedia article would be a very good step in my research and this is a good source of that information.