Thursday, February 21, 2013

Parents Struggle to Find Gender-Neutral Toys | Synopsis

Parents Struggle to Find Gender-Neutral Toys

The New Girl
The New Girl by JD Hancock
License (according to Flickr): Attribution License
Excerpt:

A 13-year-old girl's campaign to get Hasbro to make an Easy-Bake Oven that isn't purple or pink so it would appeal to her little brother is a fresh sign of movement in an old debate. Parents who hope to expose their children to different kinds of play — science sets for girls and dolls for boys, for example — can find themselves stymied by a toy industry that can seem stuck in the past when it comes to gender roles. Hasbro wasn't the only target of criticism this year. One of the year's hottest toys, the "LEGO Friends Butterfly Beauty Shop," specifically aimed Legos at girls, but turned to tired gender stereotypes with its focus on a beauty shop and inclusion of characters with curves and eyelashes. Barbie turned builder with a new construction set. But while some praised it, others criticized it for being too pink.

People:

Dr. Susan Linn

Overall Sentiment: 0.0364676

Relevance: 0.466781

SentimentQuote
-0.260907"When a child's environment is filled with rigid messages about, 'This is what boys do, this is what girls do,' it limits their ability to reach their full capacity," Linn said. ...
-0.234991"When a child's environment is filled with rigid messages about, 'This is what boys do, this is what girls do,' it limits their ability to reach their full capacity," Linn said. "It's not like girls are born with the predilection to pink, but they're trained to it, so it becomes what they want and need. There are neurological differences between boys and girls at birth. But our goal should be to provide them with a range of experiences so they can develop all of their tendencies."
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 2
  • Aggregate Sentiment: -0.495898
  • Mean: -0.247949
  • Standard Deviation: 0

Adrienne Appell

Overall Sentiment: 0.0670072

Relevance: 0.392392

SentimentQuote
0.0546126"Toy companies are businesses, so they are responding to and making their products based on consumer demands. They're meeting with moms, focus groups. They're doing what makes sense," said Adrienne Appell, ...
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 1
  • Aggregate Sentiment: 0.0546126
  • Mean: 0.0546126
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731

Teresa Graham Brett

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.382769

SentimentQuote
0.0312076"There's a lot of pressure to conform to those gender stereotypes from the time you're pregnant," said Teresa Graham Brett, ...
Sentiment Stats:
  • Number of Quotes: 1
  • Aggregate Sentiment: 0.0312076
  • Mean: 0.0312076
  • Standard Deviation: 1.4142135623731

Chris Byrne

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.370525

Key:

  • Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
  • The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
  • The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).

Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.

Additional Info:

City: Tucson

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.341321

Company: Hasbro

Overall Sentiment: -0.211955

Relevance: 0.753926

Disambiguation: Brand | GamePublisher | ProductionCompany | VideoGamePublisher | GameDesignerReferences:

Company: Toys R Us

Overall Sentiment: -0.0681949

Relevance: 0.658851

Company: Mattel

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.315394

Disambiguation: Brand | GamePublisher | VideoGameDeveloper | VideoGamePublisher | GameDesignerReferences:

Company: timetoplaymag.com

Overall Sentiment: 0

Relevance: 0.312789

Organization: Toy Industry Association

Overall Sentiment: 0.0411112

Relevance: 0.546418

Organization: Harvard Medical School

Overall Sentiment: 0.0820115

Relevance: 0.339574

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