1. The factor that best explains the existence of the blue toy aisle and the pink aisle is a social factor. Pink is perceived as a feminine color and blue, a masculine color. Society has a big influence on what people think and create, generating a mindset that pink is feminine, and blue is masculine. Then they associate specific roles to these colors, generating domestic spheres where women are at home taking care of the family and men are at work. This leads to society where things like education opportunities and specific influences are made to strengthen these constructs rather than break them.
The pink aisle has dolls and stuffed animals enforcing the lack of STEM potential in girls unlike the blue aisle where boys can pick up toys that help them learn to build and understand machinery. These conscious or subconscious cues are what enable boys to pursue areas like engineering and computer science whereas girls may pursue art and being a housewife. Debbie Sterling realized the effect these kinds of toys leave on children as they grow and become adults and so decided to change that. However, instead of simply making the same toys for girls as boys, she did some research and came up with a novel way to encourage change.
2. I think both culture and attitudes contribute to the blue/pink toy aisle phenomenon....
In many cultures men are seen as the protector of the family and women are seen as caring/sensitive. The challenges GoldieBlox will encounter is trying to change a phenomena (pink for girls and blue for boy’s aisles) that has been going on for many years. They face the challenge to convince society to change the way they see pink and blue in a toy store. In order for GoldieBlox to accomplish their objective to change stereotypical girly toys, they have to follow through with the plan. So far, they have failed to follow through with changing the way blue/pink aisle phenomenon by still using the word “princess” to sell products.
However, that is not a failure, rather an adaptation. In the end, because attitudes also play a role in the perceptions of feminine and masculine, there is a desire to maintain the status quo. Families may push girls to like pink, to like things that sparkle, and so GoldieBlox must contend with this in order to appeal to the target segment (girls), while also changing culture and attitudes indirectly through the innovative toy.
3. GoldieBlox is bucking the blue/pink aisle by some degree, but I believe they could do more. They have succeeded in raising awareness on the lack of women in technical and scientific fields and the problem with the pink aisle. But…
