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Topic: toys

A look at the language used in advertisements for children's toys finds them deeply gendered. Boys toys refer to "battle", "power", "hero" and "action", while girl ads speak of "love", "fun", "magic" and "babies".

How toy ads reinforce gender stereotypes

Mar 29, 2011

Aside from cycling around the neighbourhood wearing super cool stack-hats, Super Mario 3 marathons on the Nintendo and that awkward phase when jigsaw puzzles became cool again, <b>Cat Wall</b>'s childhood was largely defined by Lego.

Build a kingdom out of Lego

Nov 19, 2010

Female geeks from all over the world united to vote in a campaign by Mattel to let fans choose Barbie's next career move. The result? Babs is now a computer engineer.

Barbie goes geeky

Apr 12, 2010

From 1998 to 2004, the previously booming Lego empire fell to pieces. But instead of losing its little yellow head, the company turned it all around by thinking outside of the box and embracing the toy world's new kid on the block: video games.

Toy story: the rise and fall and rise of Lego

Dec 14, 2009

For once, the hottest toy of the Christmas holidays is something parents can actually afford: $8 toy hamsters called Zhu Zhu Pets are flying off the shelves.

The hottest toy this Christmas: an $8 toy hamster

Nov 23, 2009

Every household has its own set of words for describing particular Lego pieces, says <b>Giles Turnbull</b>: one kid's "round flat one-er" is another kid's "bronze jewel". And so he set out to document the Lego dialects that are unique to different families.

Study: What kids nickname Lego pieces

Nov 05, 2009

A Melbourne toy shop has moved some of its products out of its display windows, and the <em>Herald Sun</em> was on hand to fan one of the oldest beat-ups in the book: "innocent children oppressed by PC killjoys".

Golly, the Hun should be black, white and red (faced) all over

Oct 16, 2009

You can now buy a breast feeding doll for your child. That's no biggie, breast is best. The weird bit is the bra with fake flower nipples that comes with it, slightly defeating the au natural vibe.

Why would you buy something you were born with?

Aug 11, 2009

Educational toys are all the rage, but with the economy in the dumps, it's time to get realistic about your kids' prospects. <em>Cracked</em> look at nine real kids' toys that will kick-start your offspring's career as a check-out chick, burger flipper, garbo or cabbie.

Preparing kids for a life of menial labour

Jul 15, 2009

<em>Transformers</em>, <em>Terminator</em>, <em>Batman</em>... There are only so many action movies to recycle. Time for a new source of inspiration: toys

When toys go bad

Jun 23, 2009

Mattel has made the latest Barbie doll with a set of tattoos in a move they claim makes the doll more "up to date".

Barbie gets a tramp stamp

Apr 30, 2009

There are 11 articles in toys