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“Why Does all the Girls have to Buy Pink Stuff?” The Ethics and Science of the Gendered Toy Marketing Debate

Author

Listed:
  • Cordelia Fine

    (University of Melbourne)

  • Emma Rush

    (Charles Sturt University)

Abstract

The gendered marketing of children’s toys is under considerable scrutiny, as reflected by numerous consumer-led campaigns and vigorous media debates. This article seeks to assist stakeholders to better understand the ethical and scientific assumptions that underlie the two opposing positions in this debate, and assess their relative strength. There is apparent consensus in the underlying ethical foundations of the debate, with all commentators seeming to endorse the values of corporate social responsibility and gender equality. However, the debate splits over three critical points of empirical disagreement: whether gendered toy marketing influences children’s toy preferences or simply reflects boys’ and girls’ fundamentally different interests; whether the effects of gendered toy marketing are negative, neutral or beneficial; and whether a shift to gender-neutral marketing would be economically viable. We assess the three points of disagreement against the available evidence and shared ethical principles underlying the debate, and conclude that current defences of gendered toy marketing fail.

Suggested Citation

  • Cordelia Fine & Emma Rush, 2018. "“Why Does all the Girls have to Buy Pink Stuff?” The Ethics and Science of the Gendered Toy Marketing Debate," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(4), pages 769-784, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:149:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-016-3080-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3080-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Setten, Eric & Chen, Steven, 2024. "Playing with emotions: Text analysis of emotional tones in gender-casted Children’s media," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    2. Mike Thelwall & David Foster, 2021. "Male or female gender‐polarized YouTube videos are less viewed," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 72(12), pages 1545-1557, December.

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