Gender Marketing of Toys Article Evaluation Essay

Article Evaluation Essay

Article Evaluation Essay

Introduction

Socialization is the process in which young boys and girls begin to realize that they belong to different genders. Society provides multiple signals to children to indicate that their genders are unique and different. Toys are among the most important signals in this aspect. A research by Auster Carol and Mansbach Claire examines the extent to which gender marketing of toys on the Internet replicates previous studies, and the extent to which toys marked for both girls and boys share characteristics with toys focused on one gender. The thesis of this review is that while the research paper covers new ground, it is a minor piece in the bigger area of gender socialization on the basis of toys, as it leaves important facets unanswered.

Review

Article’s Purpose and Intended Audience
Article’s Authority and Ethos
Accuracy, Reliability and Currency
The article offers trustworthy information by attempting to prove its hypotheses. There are no grammatical or spelling errors. The article was published in October 2012 in Volume 67, Issue 7/8 of ‘Sex Roles’. The cited sources within the article were originally published over the period of 1983 to 2011. The authors have thus covered all available information on the subject.

Objectivity and Coverage

The information given in the article is biased because of using a single source. The authors have analyzed their hypotheses using the range of toys on the Disney website, which is the largest website targeting children. The use of information from the Disney website qualifies for research on Internet marketing of toys. However, there are other toy manufacturers globally. Using only one website is not representative of the entire universe of Internet marketing of toys. The text quotes the results of research obtained from peer reviewed journals, and can therefore be taken as authentic. Using peer-reviewed journals as sources ensures that the paper establishes the quantum of prior knowledge before testing out new hypotheses. The authors use scientific tools to test their hypotheses, and thus use logical appeals. The article comprehensively covers its intended goal, and presents the original idea of analyzing the Internet’s role in gender marketing of toys. Because the article uses only one source, it cannot be said to be representative of all toys advertised on the Internet. Toy characteristics could vary across cultures, and the authors have covered only English speaking people looking at the Disney website. The article also has the limitation of analyzing toys appearing on the Disney website in summer, and therefore does not cover toys appearing in the rest of the year. The article also has not coded toys based on age. Further, the article does not cover the impact of Internet advertising on actual buying behavior and the influence on children. These limitations are specifically acknowledged in the article.

Conclusion

The article builds on existing knowledge base on gender marketing of toys, and adds to it by covering the Internet for the first time. The article is successful in analyzing the extent to which internet marketing of toys on the Disney Store replicates previous studies on the subject, and in examining the extent to which the characteristics of toys listed as appropriate for boys and girls would be similar to toys recommended for boys only or girls only. While the article provides new information, it should be a trigger to further research to answer questions relating to the impact of gender marketing on buyers, and associated impact on the minds of children.

Reference

Auster, C & Mansbach, C. (2012). The gender marketing of toys: An analysis of color and type of toy on the Disney Store website. Sex Roles 7/8: 375-388. doi:10.1007/s11199-012-0177-8