Hmm well I actually own a Nintendogs game which is considered a "pet related" franchise I guess, I feel the main thing that prevents more guys from playing these kinds of games is the fear of being ridiculed for playing it? I actually didn't expect to like Nintendogs so much until I got a Demo of it on my 3DS actually, and I would feel worried about how other people would react to finding out I play that game back then too, nowadays I don't mind telling people I played it.
Why do pet-related franchises appeal to females more?
- Thread starter -Apples-
- Start date
That's the stereotype.
Not the reality.
Almost every girl/woman I've known, has been a tom-boy.. and couldn't stand any of the things girls were meant to like.
Also, there are just as many, if not MORE, animal advocates/activists that are blokes, as there are female.
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Me and my sister are only a year and a few months apart in age and we played together throughout our childhood. We shared the same room up until she started high school, and our toys were usually stored together. She could play with the toys that appealed to me as much as I could play with the toys that appealed to her, and even when we did at times, we still had our preferred way of playing.
And babies are happy playing with anything, dolls, cars, glasses, car keys, hair. I don’t think it’s because society hadn’t brainwashed them yet, I’m pretty sure it’s because their babies, lol.
If I had a doll company, why would I market my dolls only to girls and exclude half the population of potential customers? I think there’s more to it than just “forcing” gender roles.
And is the one I had:
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nintendofan85
Good grief.
This greatly explains why I was considered "girly" for playing Nintendogs back in 2010.
visibleghost
ʕ •̀ o •́ ʔ
Young females are biologically coded to play with dolls, it is in their DNA. Men, however, are strong hunters and have primal instincts to regularly engage in physical sports, playing war and playing with toy cars since that is also very biologically ingraved in the males, ever since the first humans lived a million years ago cars have been masculine. It is biology, which I know because I took biology in middle school.
no one said girls just are like that but good for you i guess. i dont really see the point youre trying to make, this isnt a men vs women thing or women vs femininity thing.
a problem w these gender standards is that people dont fit them but they still exist, but it’s not progressive to just see that gender roles arent accurate representations of all the people of those genders. what is needed is change, and speaking out against and making people question the rules of gender.
yeah it really feels old fashioned the way toys are gendered, but gendered marketing works for sales so companies arent likely to just drop them to make a change for the better in society.
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Metal Gear Solid V, Fallout and more recently Far Cry 5 all have dog companions either as default or an option. From comments, videos etc I see surrounding those games, guys like having animal friends in game as well.
Though it goes without saying that the interactions with the animals is very different. Rather than caring for creatures that are almost entirely inept to fend for themselves, the doggo's in those games act more like buddies or allies. It's the 'attitude', basically the difference of placing yourself as either a care giver or a friend to the animals.
'Men' and 'women' most commonly refers to adults. 'Boy' and 'girl' most commonly refer to people of younger age. 'Male' and 'female' are non specific and refer to any age.
When a woman gives birth to a child, the doctor doesn't say "it's a man/woman!". No, they say it's a boy/girl and tick male/female on the 'sex' box.
'Females' in the title makes more sense than 'women' or 'girls'. It covers all possibilities.
Though it goes without saying that the interactions with the animals is very different. Rather than caring for creatures that are almost entirely inept to fend for themselves, the doggo's in those games act more like buddies or allies. It's the 'attitude', basically the difference of placing yourself as either a care giver or a friend to the animals.
'Men' and 'women' most commonly refers to adults. 'Boy' and 'girl' most commonly refer to people of younger age. 'Male' and 'female' are non specific and refer to any age.
When a woman gives birth to a child, the doctor doesn't say "it's a man/woman!". No, they say it's a boy/girl and tick male/female on the 'sex' box.
'Females' in the title makes more sense than 'women' or 'girls'. It covers all possibilities.
i was always side eyed by relatives because as a kid i used to play with hot wheels and legos, or run around the neighbourhood and get roughed up lol... any time i had a doll id just give it a makeover or frankenstein it instead of actually playing with it (unless they were disney princess/barbie dolls, i adored those but i never actually played with them, i just carried them around and displayed them in my room because they were my prized posessions and collectibles jhgfdgh). i was seen as a weird kid for not playing with stereotypically "feminine" toys. i didnt wanna learn how to cook or sew, i wanted to go on a boat with my grandpa or watch sports. when boys in my class found out i played dead space i instantly became cool lol. it was weird and i really didnt understand why ppl were so worked up over the fact that i preferred building tracks for my hot wheels and racing them with my dad or playing tomb rider lol im thankful that my parents didnt care much for those roles and just let me do my thing
but i think it all ties back to the stereotype that women are supposed to be caring and nice, and i guess the fact that animals are seen as cute? as something you have to care for? while men should be strong and interested in technical things, cars, military, have a hardened personality etc. society forces these stereotype onto kids by gendering toys, creating a "norm" that people are scared to stand out from.
boys dont play with animal toys or dolls or kitchen sets because those are the girly things and god forbind a boy have anything to do with girly stuff! (this is especially ugly because theyre TAUGHT that 'girly' things are worse by default, that theyre something embarassing and dumb and that they should Do Better lol while girls are told that boys will be boys and that they should put up with that) - girls shouldnt play with action figures, cars, play fighting or building things from lego, its inappropriate!!1 why is this girl acting out a scene with superheroes?? better give her that fake baby and keep her quiet lol. girls = nice, soft, caring, family babies and food!!!!! boys = power and strength, authority!
its all a part of the ingrained societal stereotype that doesnt seem to want to go away no matter what, and that probably will stick around as long as sexists exist
but i think it all ties back to the stereotype that women are supposed to be caring and nice, and i guess the fact that animals are seen as cute? as something you have to care for? while men should be strong and interested in technical things, cars, military, have a hardened personality etc. society forces these stereotype onto kids by gendering toys, creating a "norm" that people are scared to stand out from.
boys dont play with animal toys or dolls or kitchen sets because those are the girly things and god forbind a boy have anything to do with girly stuff! (this is especially ugly because theyre TAUGHT that 'girly' things are worse by default, that theyre something embarassing and dumb and that they should Do Better lol while girls are told that boys will be boys and that they should put up with that) - girls shouldnt play with action figures, cars, play fighting or building things from lego, its inappropriate!!1 why is this girl acting out a scene with superheroes?? better give her that fake baby and keep her quiet lol. girls = nice, soft, caring, family babies and food!!!!! boys = power and strength, authority!
its all a part of the ingrained societal stereotype that doesnt seem to want to go away no matter what, and that probably will stick around as long as sexists exist
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Nonono, my point was that not all females were like that. There are definitely some that are like that, yes, but not every female is. My baby comment also mentions that it was based on what the adults made them play with. Yes, babies will play with what they want but the adults forced them to play with certain toys based on what they assumed the baby's gender was. They also discouraged or took certain toys away for the same reason. My point was that as babies, we are socialized by our parents and other adults to fit certain gender stereotypes.
Yeah, not what I said. Try again.
visibleghost
ʕ •̀ o •́ ʔ
where did the part where you said girls are more nurturing by nature come from then
More like how your parents were and raised you, so yeah. Then it might be a good thing they didn't look at stereotypes here though. But yeah I don't think it's that biological either, I mean yes I'm female but I'm in no way that caring and wanting to have babies or whatnot and if that was biology I'm apparently male then.
Guys tend to be seen as less empathic, the term "females" being used to dehumanize others is a popular example for that as well.
Obviously statistics don't say anything about an individual, but whether we like it or not young boys are still marketed as only playing with objects (cars, trucks, ...) and male figures wheras young girls get female and male figures as well as pet figures and so they create a bigger and more human bond from the very beginning. And people who are happy with this status quo say it's because of biology, but we live in 2018 and humankind hasn't naturally hunted for many many decades. Our DNA does decide our individual taste, but it's not male = action and female = nurture, that's such bs and everyone knows that, that's not how humans work. Everyone knows hundreds of people who don't fall into that category. That's like saying all boys' favorite colors are blue and all girls' favorite colors are pink when hundreds of years ago we gave pink to boys (as a light red) and blue to girls (for nurture, again). It's all bs we made up for a monetary purpose, think for yourself please. I really don't get how anyone can pass middle school and think that DNA makes guys like action movies. And, you know, girls also have male anchestors. Girls also have anchestors who fought in a war. Men pass down their DNA to all their offspring as well as women. It's funny how people use biology as an excuse while knowing nothing about it. Kinda like Religion.
But yeah, the answer is as simple as marketing and societal expectations. In general, boys are allowed to cross the line further ("boys will be boys") while girls get **** for even approaching it ("a lady should know how to behave"). Obviously there are many boys who have no interest in acting out and many girls who have no interest in acting appropiately. But that's were marketing comes in - and it's not aimed towards the kids. Parents know stereotypes and bullying and all they want for their kids is to fit in. There are some parents that will allow their kids to express themselves freely at least in the security of their own home, but generally speaking parents want to follow the status quo so their kids won't be the weird kid that doesn't learn how to socialize. And kids don't really care about petty stuff. Like my niece will pick pink because she knows that's supposed to be "her" color, but she's at an age where she loves everything, every toy and every color and she would love to play with trucks as well because they are a part of her favorite video. But she doesn't care, she's a kid. She sees a new toy, she's happy.
However, I don't think that pets-related things fall into the same category though, not anymore. Paw Patrol is like the most popular new show amongst kids, The Secret Life of Pets was a popular movie amongst all kids and thanks to Minions now every new franchise will have some sort of small creature attachted to it. We're definitely changing the course on this one, which will only mean further movement in the future. The most important thing is that we don't hold on to how things are "supposed to be". We have to accept that things are more complicated than that.
Obviously statistics don't say anything about an individual, but whether we like it or not young boys are still marketed as only playing with objects (cars, trucks, ...) and male figures wheras young girls get female and male figures as well as pet figures and so they create a bigger and more human bond from the very beginning. And people who are happy with this status quo say it's because of biology, but we live in 2018 and humankind hasn't naturally hunted for many many decades. Our DNA does decide our individual taste, but it's not male = action and female = nurture, that's such bs and everyone knows that, that's not how humans work. Everyone knows hundreds of people who don't fall into that category. That's like saying all boys' favorite colors are blue and all girls' favorite colors are pink when hundreds of years ago we gave pink to boys (as a light red) and blue to girls (for nurture, again). It's all bs we made up for a monetary purpose, think for yourself please. I really don't get how anyone can pass middle school and think that DNA makes guys like action movies. And, you know, girls also have male anchestors. Girls also have anchestors who fought in a war. Men pass down their DNA to all their offspring as well as women. It's funny how people use biology as an excuse while knowing nothing about it. Kinda like Religion.
But yeah, the answer is as simple as marketing and societal expectations. In general, boys are allowed to cross the line further ("boys will be boys") while girls get **** for even approaching it ("a lady should know how to behave"). Obviously there are many boys who have no interest in acting out and many girls who have no interest in acting appropiately. But that's were marketing comes in - and it's not aimed towards the kids. Parents know stereotypes and bullying and all they want for their kids is to fit in. There are some parents that will allow their kids to express themselves freely at least in the security of their own home, but generally speaking parents want to follow the status quo so their kids won't be the weird kid that doesn't learn how to socialize. And kids don't really care about petty stuff. Like my niece will pick pink because she knows that's supposed to be "her" color, but she's at an age where she loves everything, every toy and every color and she would love to play with trucks as well because they are a part of her favorite video. But she doesn't care, she's a kid. She sees a new toy, she's happy.
However, I don't think that pets-related things fall into the same category though, not anymore. Paw Patrol is like the most popular new show amongst kids, The Secret Life of Pets was a popular movie amongst all kids and thanks to Minions now every new franchise will have some sort of small creature attachted to it. We're definitely changing the course on this one, which will only mean further movement in the future. The most important thing is that we don't hold on to how things are "supposed to be". We have to accept that things are more complicated than that.
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-Apples-
“Assorted” Collector
Weird. I thought it was more acceptable for girls to take boy toys than it was for boys to get girl toys. But then again, gendered toys are an outdated custom.
I think anything that has a strong nurturing and friendship aspect tends to be marketed towards girls, because boys are supposed to be "tough" and not sentimental or emotional, at least in the eyes of some backwards people. I always played with toys marketed at boys, and toys marketed at girls, and toys without gendered marketing, so it never really seemed reasonable to me to gender toys.
visibleghost
ʕ •̀ o •́ ʔ
yeah being feminine as a boy is more likely to get u in Trouble than being masculine as a girl because we as a society r sexist and homophobic and luv gender stereotypes
Uh these replies are over analysing it LOL,
guys don't like slow phased games usually, I literally nagged my bf to get acnl & he was like no. cause he thinks it's children games LOL he even thinks smash bros is childish, so to each his own
I even told one of my girl best friends to get acnl & she said no cause it's boring, since you can never die & she prefers fortnite over acnl
so in my opinion no, it's not some stereotype bs or whatever all these dudes arguing/talking about lmfao
also my fav game was Barbie horse adventure wild horse rescue for the Ps2 & it's still my favorite cause I love horses oops
guys don't like slow phased games usually, I literally nagged my bf to get acnl & he was like no. cause he thinks it's children games LOL he even thinks smash bros is childish, so to each his own
I even told one of my girl best friends to get acnl & she said no cause it's boring, since you can never die & she prefers fortnite over acnl
so in my opinion no, it's not some stereotype bs or whatever all these dudes arguing/talking about lmfao
also my fav game was Barbie horse adventure wild horse rescue for the Ps2 & it's still my favorite cause I love horses oops
BambieTheMayor
Have a lovely day!
What about Paw Patrol? I see more little boys running around with Paw Patrol lunch boxes or tennis shoes then I do little girls.
I was kinda both ways when it comes to toys. I never played with dolls, but I loved anything animal related. I had LPS, Squinkies (does anyone remember those lmao), video games like Nintendogs, Pet Dogz, and other games that were associated with the stereotypical female. I also, however, loved stuff that associated with the stereotypical male, like nerf guns (I remember my mom buying me this pink nerf gun when I was about ten... I was so mad because I hated the color pink), legos, hot-wheels... and I played games that all of my guy friends played, like Mario, Pokemon, Elder Scrolls, etc.
I don't think anything is truly set for girls specifically, or guys specifically (despite what media represents). It depends on the person, not the gender. And I've been reading the discussion on this topic, and I can see how it's because the stereotypical idea of a girl is to be caring and nuturing. Does it make it true for every female? No. I hate children and sometimes even adults, and I have little patience for... people in general. Lmao.
I was kinda both ways when it comes to toys. I never played with dolls, but I loved anything animal related. I had LPS, Squinkies (does anyone remember those lmao), video games like Nintendogs, Pet Dogz, and other games that were associated with the stereotypical female. I also, however, loved stuff that associated with the stereotypical male, like nerf guns (I remember my mom buying me this pink nerf gun when I was about ten... I was so mad because I hated the color pink), legos, hot-wheels... and I played games that all of my guy friends played, like Mario, Pokemon, Elder Scrolls, etc.
I don't think anything is truly set for girls specifically, or guys specifically (despite what media represents). It depends on the person, not the gender. And I've been reading the discussion on this topic, and I can see how it's because the stereotypical idea of a girl is to be caring and nuturing. Does it make it true for every female? No. I hate children and sometimes even adults, and I have little patience for... people in general. Lmao.
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