‘Toys R US’ by Suzanna Scott: Exploring the Violence in Imposing Binary Gender Norms on Children

American artist Suzanna Scott rose to fame with her thought provoking sculptures that explore human sex and sensualities. So much so that even if audiences are not familiar with her name, they certainly would have already seen her Coin Cunts, vulva coin purse sculptures; or her testicular bow tie piece, Trumped Nuts, which protests the heavily patriarchal ruling of President Trump. In the face of these on the nose and rather vulgar pieces, her piece Toys R US does appear tame in comparison. This particular piece are two store-bought baby blankets that hospitals would frequently use to wrap new-born babies with the remnants of children’s toys sewn on them. 

One blanket is in baby blue and the other, baby pink, this binary division alludes to how babies today are being forced to subscribe to binary gender norms the moment they are born. These blankets not only dictate that boys should like blue and girls should like pink, the toy parts sewn onto them serve as further examination into how enforcing these gender roles can limit a person’s life early on. This is why Toys R US by Suzanna Scott is relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality.

The boys have plastic guns sewn to their blankets, while girls get plastic clothes hangers. These are accessories of conventional boy and girl toys— action figures for the boys and fashion dolls for the girls. Again further proof of how toys can enforce gender norms and condition children into believing that there are limits to what they can do. Still, society has seen that some of the world’s greatest fashion designers have been men (i.e. Tom Ford), meanwhile women have also been some of the world’s greatest athletes (i.e. Serena Williams). If more people were raised without the constraints of these gender norms, the world would see greater representation in different career fields. With different genders, including non-binary people, helping to make the world more hospitable for everyone without exception.

The diptych can also bring to mind another meaning: gendered violence. By putting this lens on, coat hangers recall how mothers would often use them to discipline children through albeit abusive means. Meanwhile, guns also have a long history of violence behind them, albeit a more macabre one as its disproportionately male wielders (46 percent of males in the United States, as opposed to 21 percent of females) use them to not just maim or abuse, but to kill. Here, the consequences of the patriarchy in gender norms is bared. In this system, violence is disproportionately assigned to one cis-gender, leaving the other powerless to defend itself. All this makes Toys R US’s further case against enforcing gender norms and roles in children, especially since its values have been highly patriarchal.

Suzanna Scott's Toys R US serves as a powerful commentary on the harmful effects of imposing binary gender norms on children from birth. By juxtaposing baby blue and pink blankets adorned with stereotypical toy parts, Scott challenges the societal expectations that dictate what boys and girls should like, play with, and ultimately become. The piece not only highlights the limitations these norms place on individual potential but also touches on the broader implications of gendered violence perpetuated by patriarchal values. Toys R US is a compelling reminder that dismantling these norms can lead to a more just and equitable society where everyone, regardless of gender, can thrive.

Find out more about Toys R US and other works by Suzanna Scott on their website www.suzannascott.com or Instagram @suzanna_scott.