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Doctors study America's
'male chauvinist Yule'
By TRUDY MORRISON
Copley News Service
The double standard is alive
and thriving in toys made for
children over 2 years old. Un
til 2, boys and girls generally
have "neutral" toys such as
stuffed animals, rattles,
blocks and various "educa
tional" toys.
However, paths diverge at
around 2. In 1972 two Yale
University psychologists ex
plored the sex-typing of chil
dren's toys and how society
uses toys to condition children
to sex roles.
Childhood is a period of ex
perimentation and "let's pre
tend." While gender identity
is essential for a healthy
child, it should be entirely
flexible and subject to person
al choice.
The psychologists made
three major findings: 1)
"Masculine" toys are more
varied and expensive, and are
viewed as relatively complex,
active and social;
2) "Neutral" toys are
viewed as most creative and
educational, with this group of
toys including the most intri
cate items;
3) "Feminine" toys are
seen as most simple, passive
and solitary.
They also found that most
adults define "traditional
toys" according to the social
norms for each sex. And while
children are encouraged to
share their toys, if a little boy
wants to play with his sister's
doll mother is more likely to
MTW I UUg
Like the warmth of the winter sun,
She came into my cold world
Making things warmer.
And as never before, Spring floated to us
And time began speeding up.
Spinning and spinning,
We opened our eyes,
And I cried
To the summer half over.
A glass through damp fingers,
I reached, but too late
To postpone the fall.
Into carpets of colors
The leaves are now fallen,
Leading me back to winter
Now things have stopped spinning
Stopped floating,
They're leaves on the ground
But to see my own breath again,
To have opened my eyes again,
To have loved
And have been loved is
Making things warmer
PHILADELPHIA PATTERNS photo- f.s.p.
hand him a truck than to ask
sister to share.
Adults spend more time se
lecting toys for boys ( there's a
wider range to choose from)
and they give boys more toys.
In a survey of 42 boys and
girls, 73 per cent of the boys'
gifts were toys while only 57
per cent of the girls' gifts
were toys. (Girls receive
clothes, jewelry, money and
furniture more often than
boys).
Three out of every four
chemistry sets the research
ers saw advertised pictured
only boys on the box. The re
maining 25 per cent pictured
boys and girls. None pictured
girls alone.
In 30 hours of Christmas
time observation in a toy de
partment, no field worker re
ported a single scientific toy
bought for a girl.
Craft kits and art supplies
are advertised with pictures
of both sexes or with girls
only, but rarely with boys
alone (with the exception of a
few like metal craft sets).
Building blocks show both
sexes, but complex Erector
set toys, which "teach a wide
range of engineering princi
ples" were exclusively
marked for boys.
In catalogue pictures illus
trating the use of toys and
games, the father is often
seen in the role of "instruc
tor" or "play companion"
while the mother is placed in
the role of "spectator."
Most toys are sexually
by ken silverstein
anonymous. It's only the way
they are presented to the child
that reflects stereotypes and
causes them to be perpetu
ated.
Children should be exposed
to many variations of sex
roles, psychiatrists say. A lit
tle girl shouldn't be made to
feel guilty about aspiring to
become a fashion model if
that's what she dreams of
but she should know that it's
just as possible for her to
grow up to become a chemist
if she wants to.
Role-playing for boys must
be equally experimental and
anxiety-free. If a boy is
ashamed because he wants to
play with a doll, the boy will
learn not manliness but
fear of being considered un
manly.
Toys shouldn't insult, offend
or exclude one sex by infer
ence or omission. Toys
shouldn't be bought "for
girls" that teach hyprocrisy;
narcissism and limited as
pirations. Toys for boys
shouldn't promote militaristic
values and a must-win atti
tude.
When selecting toys for
children, run through a
checklist: is it safe, made to
last, respectful of the child's
intellect and creativity, non
racist, moral in terms of the
values it engenders, and non
sexist?
If it passes on these criteria,
keep in mind one final factor:
toys are most prized and best
loved if they have one simple
quality: fun.
Holly is red, yellow is beer;
Have a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Classic Eggnog
Beat separately yolks and
whites of 6 eggs. Add 1/2
cup sugar to yolks. Beat
whites very stiff, add 1/2
cup sugar. Mix whites with
yolks. Stir lti pint cream,
pint milk. Add pint Four
Roses, 1 oz. Myers Jamaica
Rum. Stir thoroughly. Serve
cold with grated nutmeg.
Makes five pints, or 20
4 oz. servings.
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P E el'W 2iLocE
ask me when I am.
a purpose without need or direction.
kissing the stars with my feet on the ground.
understand what's inside -- in the blink of an eye
perceiving you, absorbing all its entities...
if you're chasing endless winds,
you have some kind of memory.
remember what the super man said?
feed your head!
rambling is for free
just filler-up
its so easy
a one and a two and a three...
why?
because —.
VN~' Gary B. Macchioni
ininiginginißM
Sitting, breathing
Sitting in the land of the midnight sun
Breathing in the air breathed by every-
Thinking of my life in the shadow of the
gun
Knowing that I live just to have some fun
But, listen, I hear the sound never heard,
Look, I see events never stirred
And still, I believe this life has
occurred
--RT
Running in this place of the endless
night
Looking for ways to see a little light
Finding that I may just have to fight
Fearing to Zose is my deepest plight
But, listen, I hear the sound never
heard,
Look, I see, events never stirred,
And I stiZZ believe our lives have
occurred.
Festive Fare: Eggnog, Hot Toddy
Hot Toddy
Dissolve a lump of sugar
with a splash of hot water
in a 6 oz. mug. Add lemon
slice studded with 2 cloves,
cinnamon stick, 2 oz. 7
Crown. Fill with steaming
hot water.
Hot Buttered Rum Jamaica
Into a mug or thick tall
glass, pour:
VA oz. Myers' Jamaica Rum
dash of Angostura bitters
ea* *aa Vaal ?lied
few dae gaital
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260 REILY STREET
HARRISBURG, PA. 17102
-Romeo Trajanus
tsp. of sugar, or maple syrup
tsp. of butter
3 or 4 cloves
Leaving spoon in mug, or
glass, fill with boiling water.
Stir with spoon, and allow
to steep for a few moments.