A significant study from Queen Mary University of London highlights that the music and sound effects in toy commercials strengthen rigid gender stereotypes, influencing how children view masculinity and femininity. It reveals that these gender biases are conveyed not only through visuals and language but are also intricately woven into the sounds and music featured in advertisements for children.
For over four decades, research has indicated that gender polarization in children’s television advertising affects various production aspects such as camera angles, settings, colors, and roles. However, this new research published in PLOS ONE, led by PhD student Luca Marinelli and supervised by Dr. Charalampos Saitis from the Centre for Digital Music at Queen Mary, in collaboration with Professor Petra Lucht from the Center for Interdisciplinary Women’s and Gender Studies at TU Berlin, brings attention to a commonly overlooked factor: music.
“The significance of music in gender representation has largely been overlooked, but our study demonstrates that soundtracks play a critical role in shaping children’s perceptions of gender from a young age,” says lead author Luca Marinelli.
The researchers examined a vast number of toy commercials aired in the UK, discovering notable differences in the musical styles used for advertisements geared towards boys and girls. Commercials aimed at boys commonly featured louder, more aggressive, and distorted soundtracks, reinforcing ideas of masculinity with harsher audio. Conversely, ads directed at girls utilized softer and more melodious music, highlighting traditional views of femininity. “These intentional design choices align with established gender norms,” Marinelli asserts.
Dr. Charalampos Saitis, a lecturer in Digital Music Processing and the senior author of the study, emphasizes the broader societal consequences of these findings. “Gendered music in advertising does more than just influence toy marketing—it shapes the emotional experience of the commercials themselves,” he notes. “Children are absorbing these messages on multiple levels, and the emotional weight of the music subtly yet powerfully reinforces the gender binary.”
This research is particularly relevant as advertising regulations in the UK are evolving to confront harmful gender stereotypes. A statement from the UK Committee of Advertising Practice in 2020 underscored the need to address the wider implications of advertising messages aligning with or challenging gender norms. “Our findings reinforce the call for more thorough regulations,” argues Marinelli. “It’s not just about visual and verbal content—regulators must also consider how the auditory aspects, particularly music, contribute to sustaining limiting stereotypes.”
In terms of societal impacts, the study’s results echo a 2019 report from the Fawcett Society, which connected early exposure to gender stereotypes with various issues, including body image problems, restricted career ambitions, and increased male suicide rates. “The effect of these early messages is extensive,” emphasizes Marinelli. “While music in toy ads is merely one element, it holds significant power.”
The research also explores the historical and cultural origins of gender associations tied to specific musical instruments. For instance, harps are often viewed as feminine, stemming from their ties to women in 18th-century French salons, while drums are traditionally associated with masculinity due to their use in warfare. “These associations are so deeply ingrained that we seldom question them,” Marinelli points out. “Yet they significantly shape how we understand gender roles, even in something as seemingly innocent as a toy commercial.”
A compelling concept introduced in the study is “music-primed gender schemas,” a psychological framework that suggests music triggers gender-related meanings and expectations. Marinelli elaborates: “These schemas blend aesthetic and gendered interpretations, prompting listeners to link particular sounds with masculinity or femininity. Within advertising, this can reinforce narrow views of gender roles, ultimately influencing children’s ideas about what is deemed ‘suitable’ for boys and girls.”
Marinelli describes toy commercials as “semiotic bombs,” each packing multiple layers of meaning into brief moments of sound, imagery, and language. “It’s not merely ‘pink for girls and blue for boys,'” he asserts. “When we incorporate music and sound effects, the gendered messages are significantly amplified.”
For those who wish to delve deeper into the data, the research team has developed two interactive maps that allow users to experience the toy commercials and their musical analysis firsthand:
- Music-focused interactive map: https://marinelliluca.github.io/mf-interactive.html
- Multimodal emotions interactive map: https://marinelliluca.github.io/mm-interactive.html
These maps offer a captivating visual and auditory engagement with the study’s insights, illustrating how the music in toy advertisements is deliberately designed to elicit specific gendered responses.
The research not only paves the way for new avenues of exploration but also calls for stronger and more informed policies to prevent children from being exposed to restrictive stereotypes at crucial developmental stages. “The ultimate aim is to foster a media landscape where all children can see themselves represented in diverse, dynamic ways—not confined to outdated notions of gender,” Marinelli concludes.
