Why do pet-related franchises appeal to females more?

[-Apples-]

I know that when it comes to raising your children, stuff like Barbie, Disney Princesses, and Trolls have a more feminine appeal, which is understandable and unsurprising. Just like how TMNT, Marvel, and Star Wars is to guys. But one thing I do not understand is, why are the pet ones geared towards females?

The cases in point are Littlest Pet Shop and Neopets. I know one of them looks more feminine based on the design, but how is it the "pets" part girly in general? I haven't seen anything "pet-related" made for guys, and Neopets has a 75% female demographic. What is it that associate pets with girls and not guys? The internet hasn't provided me any answers when I look it up. I may not have any interest into these animal-related franchises (except Animal Crossing), but I'm still curious.

 

[visibleghost]

men are raised and socialized to not be caring or sensitive, marketing is gendered, taking care of pets or playing with cute pet toys or whatever is seen as feminine and men are actively punished for being feminine. many parents let their kids break the Rules of Gendered Toys but it’s upheld by many parents and also by toy companies and gender in society in general !!! wihoo

i think it’s interesting that you think it makes sense that toy cars are masculine and dolls are feminine, but think this is weird. it’s the same thing, it’s just more ingrained in people so it feels more natural. a company could decide any product is for one gender and market it that way and it would have a chance of affecting how that product is gendered by society

 

[Chewy.7204]

I enjoyed playing with my stuffed animals and my FurReal friend. But I made sure that they didn't look girly, but not masculine because those were ugly to me. But I only played with these kinds of toys because I didn't like to be rough and boustrous like other 4-7 yer old boys. Therefore didn't like the toys that they played with. But I'm pretty much an outlier in a lot of things.

 

[-Apples-]

men are raised and socialized to not be caring or sensitive, marketing is gendered, taking care of pets or playing with cute pet toys or whatever is seen as feminine and men are actively punished for being feminine. many parents let their kids break the Rules of Gendered Toys but it?s upheld by many parents and also by toy companies and gender in society in general !!! wihoo

i think it?s interesting that you think it makes sense that toy cars are masculine and dolls are feminine, but think this is weird. it?s the same thing, it?s just more ingrained in people so it feels more natural. a company could decide any product is for one gender and market it that way and it would have a chance of affecting how that product is gendered by society

The funny thing here is that despite our increasing opposition to stereotypes, the increase of women in male-dominant jobs, and the increase of men in both female-dominant jobs and house-making, this was one thing that remains in today's society. The reason why I didn't play with girl toys too often when I was younger was because I was disgusted by them. My parents didn't care if I owned some or played with some. I was just not appealed to them (except for Powerpuff Girls, the original series I mean). But if there were any toys I would get when I was younger, my top priority goes to Legos (I still get Legos today, almost exclusively larger sets that cost well over $100).

When I go to Wal-Mart sometimes, I tend to check out the toy section just for fun. And one thing I notice is that they have segregated the boy toys, girl toys, preschool toys, board/card games, and Legos into different aisles. It's like they still keep the gendered toys custom, even in a time when gender stereotypes are next to becoming obsolete (or even obsolete).

 

[AndroGhostX]

There is a toy called Animal Jams that seems polular with boys and girls.

It is also a gaming website. I found that there are a lot of vidoes along the lines of "mating" in the game. This is a little kids game and immature adults are asking them for that. 0.o What's wrong with people :/ Sorry to go off topic, but this makes me mad.

 

[Nooblord]

Not every male vs female thing is forced by “society” through gender roles. Girls are more nurturing by nature, they enjoy taking care of things. I used to play with my sister all the time, and she had Barbie playhouses while I had action figures and what not, which I preferred as a child. And while she has her dolls cooking in the kitchen, I have my Tarzan action figure climbing up walls and jumping across the roof.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong about guys and girls liking different things. Yeah, it sucks when there are parents that try to deter their children from playing with what they want because it’s “not for their gender”. But for the most part, I think it’s natural.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

Tbh I didn't care about gender stereotypes when I was younger (as I'm sure many kids didn't). I liked to play with LPS but I also played with Legos and Imaginext a lot cause that's what my brother liked.

I think it has more to do with what the parents think they should buy their kids, and that always seems to be gender stereotyped for some reason. If kids were allowed to wander the aisles of a store and pink their own toys, there prob wouldn't be gender-segregated aisles in stores.

 

[John Wick]

Most girls/woman I've known were never into dolls as kids.

Rubber snakes, train sets, and all the good stuff.

The pet stuff is for every kid, IMO.

The media just makes it so boys feel uncomfortable, and shouldn't be playing with pet stuff.

 

[zeoli]

Not every male vs female thing is forced by “society” through gender roles. Girls are more nurturing by nature, they enjoy taking care of things. I used to play with my sister all the time, and she had Barbie playhouses while I had action figures and what not, which I preferred as a child. And while she has her dolls cooking in the kitchen, I have my Tarzan action figure climbing up walls and jumping across the roof.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong about guys and girls liking different things. Yeah, it sucks when there are parents that try to deter their children from playing with what they want because it’s “not for their gender”. But for the most part, I think it’s natural.

I can tell you that isn't 100% true. I know as a kid I ALWAYS played with toys market for "boys." Speaking of Tarzan, I had the action figure of him too as a kid that I loved. (img from google but it was this one.)

I absolutely hated getting baby dolls, dolls, fake cooking sets, and all the like that were marketed to girls in general as kid. They'd always end up being thrown out because I didn't want them. Aside from family outside of my Parents and my Grandparents, they eventually stopped trying to buy me female marked toys because they understood I didn't want them. As well as when I was a kid and even till now, I am _far_ from nurturing. I absolutely despise babies and children. Yes, I've had to watch babies and young children alike and lemme tell you, I'd always get in trouble in the end because I didn't take care of them nor care for them like was expected because I was seen as a female.

You're also not mentioning how old your sister was by then either though. Because as a baby and onward, we are conditioned to enjoy certain toys because of parents assuming "this child is biologically male/female so they should LOVE these toys." I know in my case, I always took more to my Uncle's toys, action figures, when given the choice of barbies and what not. I also always played with him and played in a similar way to how he did, via being rough with toys.

I would have to find a recording of a study I watched but the study was this: They took a baby girl and baby boy, dressed them up as the opposite gender, and had adults play with them to see how the adults would play with with them. The majority of adults ended up giving the baby girl boy toys to play with because since the baby girl was dressed as a boy, they assumed she was a boy. The same, but opposite reaction, happened with the boy. The babies though? They kept trying to play with all the toys but it was the adults who kept trying to force "boy" and "girl" toys on them. Even so much as to stop the babies /praise the babies from playing with certain toys because the assumptions of the genders that the adults made.

 

[MozzarellaSticks]

Why do you use females instead of women

 

[allainah]

err i don't really know what neopets is. but maybe the "pet toys" are played with in a caring manner, like you pretend their alive and care for them? girls/women are biologically more nurturing/caring than boys/men are.
it obviously doesn't matter since if you're a boy and want to play with neopets go ahead, no ones stopping you. but that would be my guess.

- - - Post Merge - - -

also .... ^^ being "female" is a thing. stop trying to tell people what words to use lol

 

[John Wick]

Not every male vs female thing is forced by “society” through gender roles. Girls are more nurturing by nature, they enjoy taking care of things. I used to play with my sister all the time, and she had Barbie playhouses while I had action figures and what not, which I preferred as a child. And while she has her dolls cooking in the kitchen, I have my Tarzan action figure climbing up walls and jumping across the roof.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong about guys and girls liking different things. Yeah, it sucks when there are parents that try to deter their children from playing with what they want because it’s “not for their gender”. But for the most part, I think it’s natural.

I don't really believe they do like different things, and it is very much society/media that forces the issue.

Conditioning kids into thinking what they should enjoy playing with, instead of encouraging them to play with what they really enjoy.

 

[MozzarellaSticks]

err i don't really know what neopets is. but maybe the "pet toys" are played with in a caring manner, like you pretend their alive and care for them? girls/women are biologically more nurturing/caring than boys/men are.
it obviously doesn't matter since if you're a boy and want to play with neopets go ahead, no ones stopping you. but that would be my guess.

- - - Post Merge - - -

also .... ^^ being "female" is a thing. stop trying to tell people what words to use lol

Word choice has power. Lets not pretend saying male to refer to men is as popular as saying female to refer to women.

 

[~Unicorn~]

i've really never thought about it. i had LPS toys when i was younger and they are quite girly.

i think that pets are just soft and cute, which makes them feminine. i can't really think of something that would make pet toys masculine tbh

 

[John Wick]

i've really never thought about it. i had LPS toys when i was younger and they are quite girly.

i think that pets are just soft and cute, which makes them feminine. i can't really think of something that would make pet toys masculine tbh

A nice life-sized fluffy german shepherd would!

 

[-Apples-]

Thank you guys for the answers.

So it's more about the caring that makes "pet" toys more female-oriented. It does make sense after all, but the 50's are over. Long over actually. It's okay for a boy to play with girl toys as girls can play with boy toys. It's okay for a boy to reject girl toys as girls can reject boy toys. But at the same time, obeying or listening to parents is very important, and if they want to raise you one way, that means you have to follow that, at least until you're 18. If they don't want you playing with toys of the opposite gender, then don't do it. If they want you to play outside; then please do. Sometimes, the parents can be wrong, but you aren't free to live the way you want until you turn 18.

 

[John Wick]

Caring?

Guys care as much as chicks about animals.

 

[ThomasHasntPlayedAC]

**** if I know.

 

[softbuck]

i think the whole "girls like this better" is bs. i have babysat for countless kids, helped out in daycare centers and afterschool, and see there is a lot of diversity. when kids arent taught "girls do this" and "boys do this" the lines are really blurred. ive seen plenty of boys play with barbies and girls play with cars. ive seen boys who like playing house and dressing up, and ive seen girls who would rather roll around in the mud and play with footballs. all this seperation comes through forced socialization. and this isnt just me rambling, ive read essays upon essay from scholars with degrees ranging from psychology to womens studies. its not natural and innate as people think it is.

my little cousin is a boy but hes always love minnie mouse, playing tea parties, and watching my little pony. but he also loves playing with guns and superheros. since his parents let him play with whatever he wants, he can show how un-stereotypically gendered children really are.

 

[kiwi-strawberry]

This is most likely due to the fact that females are raised to be caring and nurturing, and boys are not. Because of this, we like to take care of things, especially animals because we are meant to like things that are "cute." Boys are taught being strong and playing rough is good for them, so they are often not gentle like girls. Since caring for animals isn't a rough and tumble thing, boys don't really like it.