Abstract
This paper examines how marketing language transmits gender ideology. Gender ideology refers to socially constructed expectations about what men and women should do and what they should be based on their gender. Drawing on cognitive linguistic concepts such as categorisation, markedness, and prototypicality, the analysis focuses on language used in advertisements for children’s toys on a major shopping platform in Japan. The study identifies linguistic and other semiotic features – including role language, writing system, vocabulary, font, colour, and visual symbols – that reinforce gender norms or re-categorise activities that challenge them. These features contribute to the conceptualisation of gendered users and uses, potentially shaping how both children and adults interpret gender-appropriate behaviour. The findings suggest that marketing discourse not only reflects but actively participates in the reproduction and subtle shifting of gender categories, offering insight into the pragmatic mechanisms through which ideology is maintained and negotiated.
1 Introduction
This study examines how language in online marketing media encodes and transmits gender ideology. Because companies must quickly establish relevance and appeal, they rely on shared cultural beliefs – such as women being suited for caregiving and men for leadership – as shortcuts to connect with potential buyers. As Lakoff (2000:43) notes, unmet expectations prompt explanation; analysing this cultural shorthand can clarify these beliefs, which are reflected in both the products themselves and in the language used to describe them. This study explores how marketing language in Japanese toy advertisements reinforces or challenges gender norms, particularly as they are communicated to adult buyers and caregivers, and how they shape expectations about appropriate roles and behaviours for children.
Despite policy efforts, Japan still ranks low in gender equality (Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, 2024). Societal attitudes and expectations have real life consequences, including unequal domestic labour (Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office, 2024) and discriminatory educational practices (NHK, 2023). Even as women are highly educated and qualified, the societal expectation that women become mothers, and what motherhood entails, can limit opportunities whether individuals subscribe to these beliefs or not. Such expectations reflect global gender norms (Butler, 1999). This study focuses on the role of expectations, which are both explicitly and implicitly expressed through linguistic and other semiotic resources, in shaping the reality and thus expectations of the next generation.
1.1 Expectations, Categorisation, and Context
Identity, both one’s own and the perceived identity of others, plays an important role in shaping expectations. Identity is not a fixed trait, but “the social positioning of self and other” and “a discursive construct that emerges in interaction” (Bucholtz and Hall, 2005: 586–587), intertwined with language and other semiotic practices. I treat identity as a form of categorisation, shaped by expectations and inferred through linguistic and social cues.
This study draws on cognitive linguistic concepts to analyse how gendered expectations are constructed and transmitted. Prototypes, as outlined by Lakoff (1987) who draws from Rosch (1978), are “the most representative members of a category” (41). Prototypes are socially malleable and not necessarily the most common example, but because they are the assumed instance, they tend to be unmarked (60). I propose that media plays a key role in normalising or perpetuating what is portrayed, shaping the reality and beliefs of conceptualisers.
I treat Lakoff’s Idealized Cognitive Models as roughly equivalent to frames, mental spaces, and context models (Fauconnier and Turner, 2006; Grady et al., 2007; Hart, 2015; Lakoff, 1987; van Dijk, 2008). Van Dijk emphasises context as dynamic mental models informed by personal and cultural history, and intended outcome, influencing interpretation and expectations (van Dijk, 2008).
1.2 Gendered Language and Advertising in Japanese Media
Several linguistic features can indicate femininity or masculinity, and thus, what the audience is to expect of a person or character in Japanese media (Kinsui, 2003). While this does not consistently reflect real use in either historic (Nakamura, 2014; Nakamura, 2024) or modern speech, features such as pronouns, sentence-final particles, politeness (Cook, 2011; Kinsui, 2023; Usami, 2005) and honorific (or pseudo-honorific) language are used to mark gendered speech, particularly in the media (Kinsui, 2003; Nakamura, 2013). Feminine speech is idealised as “beautiful”, “gentle”, and “refined” (Okamoto and Shibamoto-Smith, 2016: 213). Feminine markers can serve to index the speaker’s “grace” but have “the effect of undermining the power of female speech” (Kinsui, 2023: 37). Gendered speech patterns are reproduced by young children and are encouraged by the adults around them (Nakamura, 2001; Burdelski and Mitsuhashi, 2010), but overtly feminine language varies among adult women (Inoue, 2006).
Japanese script choices – kanji, hiragana, katakana, and romaji – carry stylistic and emotional nuance (Hiraga, 2006; Iwahara et al., 2003; Robertson, 2019). Graphic characters like emoji add yet another layer of complexity to digital texts. Advertisements in women’s magazines from the early 20th century portrayed modern femininity while retaining traditional ideals (Inoue, 2007). Newer advertisements aimed at women still position the brand or product as helping women achieve the current expectations for ideal femininity (Konstantinovskaia, 2020), making them a sort of financially motivated form of social education.
Marketing language has the potential to reflect and transmit intergenerational expectations. While adults make purchasing decisions, children lack financial independence. Because of this necessary connection to an older generation, previous generations’ gender and other ideologies remain relevant.
Some research has applied phenomena, such as conceptual metaphor specifically to marketing and corporate discourse (Koller, 2008a), and I hope to further expand the use of cognitive linguistics tools to clarify sociolinguistic problems. My previous work analysing marketing for children’s clothing and toys shows that boys are conceptualised as serious and girls as frivolous, even in equally unrealistic themes (Tynes, 2022; Tynes 2023).
This study asks: How does marketing language in Japanese toy advertisements construct and transmit gender ideology across generations? The following section outlines the data sources used to explore this question. Section 3 analyses examples from the site level, two toys consistent with gendered expectations, and one peripheral case.
2 Data and Methods
The analysis focuses on how gendered expectations are constructed through linguistic and non-linguistic means in toy marketing directed at adult buyers, particularly caregivers, and how these expectations reflect broader intergenerational ideologies. Toy marketing reveals interactions between the expectations of people in different positions: the company selling the product, the adult buying the product, and the child who is the end user that would play with the product. These expectations, while directed at adult buyers, may shape the environments and narratives children engage with during play.
I analyse marketing language for one popular girls’ toy, one boys’ toy, and one atypical girls’ toy to explore how gendered play is constructed. I chose popular toys from the Amazon.co.jp boys’ and girls’ toy rankings. Marketing media, including the advertisements and product descriptions I have selected for this study, reflects consensus beyond an individual’s conceptual system. The language use, and its implications, have likely passed through multiple levels of internal review and approval before being released to the public. We must also consider the intent with which this media is released. Because of a strong financial incentive to avoid offending potential customers, we can expect mainstream products to reflect assumed cultural values.
Toys are categorised into masculine or feminine domains through marketing language and site-level classifications, highlighting how third-party platforms may reinforce gender norms even when manufacturer intent is more inclusive. This mismatch can give us clues as to what is expected to be generally accepted. Even if manufacturers are more inclusive in their marketing (e.g. depicting dolls as gender neutral rather than girls’ toys) a third-party seller might still categorise them as being for girls. Amazon was chosen for its consistent formatting, unlike Japan-based Rakuten, where listings vary across shops. I analyse the use of multimodal resources, including multilevel linguistic features and other semiotic means. English translations and romanisations are mine.
3 Results
3.1 Macro-level Observations
Amazon.co.jp offers both functional and gender-based toy categories, contributing to legitimising gendered expectations. For girls we are shown playing house, dress-up dolls, stuffed toys, makeup and cooking toys. For boys it shows trains, minicars, radio-controlled vehicles, transformation goods, and soft-vinyl figures. Clicking through to the gender-specific pages, the URL to the girls’ page includes the types of toys listed, while the boys’ page includes the respective one, as well as two distinct terms that both translate to “boy toys”. The two instances of “boy toys” – “
3.2 Conceptualisation of an Expectedly Feminine Girls’ Product
Each example will be analysed with respect to the conceptualisation of the user through the product naming, description, and other materials. Special attention is paid to prototypicality, categorisation, and context.
The first toy to examine is an add-on to the classic Mell-chan doll, the Mell-chan care parts Mell-chan kid’s plate, which features a plastic kids’ meal for users to take care of Mell-chan, and includes a fork for twirling pasta and a spoon that makes it look like the doll is eating rice scooped from the plate. This product was Amazon’s top-ranked toy at the time of this writing. Mell-chan is an iconic and ubiquitous doll fashioned after an older infant or young toddler, judging by the inclusion of a baby bottle with the introductory and basic sets (Pilot Corporation). The Amazon listing and the page on the manufacturer’s official site differ slightly.
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
Both versions include the classiness marker of “
The Amazon listing uses formal
The page includes a video labelled #
Showing children playing in tender ways that mirror adult women’s roles in the home – hugging, feeding, bathing, and napping with the doll – further cements the expectations of play. While boys are not entirely excluded, they are not the prototypical user. The product is well within the feminine frame, which includes caring for children, cooking, and cleaning, and the user is conceptualised within that.
The video is also viewable on the official Pilot YouTube channel with the following description:
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
The Amazon top-level category and the description of the playset uses the term “mamagoto”, a word associated with domestic roleplay and traditionally feminine activities. This hashtag, however, lists only the more general “
The descriptions, colours, symbols, and content of the play firmly situate this within the feminine domain, signalling the product’s appropriateness for a given potential user. The colour pink plays a central role in the product itself, the marketing images, and the text that accompanies them. As discussed in Koller (2008b), pink is not only a colour that tends to be associated with girls but can be a symbol of femininity in and of itself. Mell-chan features pink clothes, arguably pink skin, pink accessories, and hair that turns pink when wet.
The lyrics that play during the video describe tender, caring play from the point of view of the user:
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
In a 2020 post on X, the official Mell-chan account shared an earlier version of the song that reflects a more explicitly feminine caregiver role. Compared to the current promotional materials, which adopt slightly more gender-neutral language and imagery, this older version highlights a subtle shift toward broader inclusivity. The post reads:
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
This example shows both the expectations of the company and content creators through the song lyrics and quiz creation, as well as the audience through the choice of appropriate answer through the polling results of the 1036 votes. Because only one word changes, we can observe the difference in perceived appropriateness of each one by the audience. Those who responded to the poll have chosen the most expected answer, not necessarily that they believe that this is an appropriate ideal for girls.
While respondents most obviously rejected “clever” as an expected trait for aspiring doll mommies at 3.3%, “cute” was also not highly valued at 10.1%. The second highest rated result of “kind” received many more votes at 37.8% and “wonderful” took first place at 48.7%. “Wonderful” (and the Japanese “
The older version of the song referenced in this post specifies that the user becomes “Mommy” and ends with
Gender is strongly implied through other, less overt means, such as symbols, font, and evocation of caregiving as a culturally feminine frame. The removal of the overtly gendered title of “Mommy” and stylistic features like “yo”, while including some images of boys in the marketing media is a subtle but important shift in the category of caregiving toys. While girls remain the prototypical user, and women the expected occupants of the caregiving frame, representing caregiving as an option – even if atypical – has the potential to stretch category boundaries.
The Amazon page also includes an introduction for Mell-chan and the other dolls in the series. The following images are visual quotes that approximates the greeting from Mell-chan. I used fonts and colours to highlight relevant features.
Following is the text from the image describing the other dolls. It is entirely written in hiragana, except for some names such as
Two of the nine dolls appearing in this image are boys, At-chan and Ao-kun, as understood by explicitly stating the relationship of younger brother to Riko-chan or using a masculine name with the masculine “-kun” affix. Ao-kun is explicitly marked, being the only character, human or animal – whose name does not use some variation of “-chan”. While there are two little sibling dolls, Nene-chan is described as Mell-chan’s “adorable little sister” while At-chan is simply stated to be Riko-chan’s “little brother”. This passive description and “-chan” affix indicate that At-chan is understood as more similar to the other younger sibling than the other boy, rather than Ao-kun, possibly because of the age difference, with “-chan” indicating a categorical difference from the older boy. No appraisal of physical appearance, however, is a notable difference from the other younger sibling.
The only mention of a physical activity is for the older boy, Ao-kun. Physical characteristics as descriptions for only girls, like the colour, type, and style of hair, while personality traits are listed for both boys and girls. The personality traits, however, such as being delightful or super kind, are centred around how others would feel good through interacting with them. For these descriptions, presumably the most interesting or important information from the backstory condensed to a just a few words for the prospective buyer or user, to include so much information about hair texture or colour implies a prioritization of physical appearance for girls that is not expected for boys. Even though she is a toddler’s little sister and likely still an infant, the long-haired version of Nene-chan reportedly loves to be fashionable. Even as babies, girls are imagined as having an interest in their outward appearance. This categorical difference between babies and older children is not reflected in the language in the case of Nene-chan.
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
Pilot CorporationCitation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
Pilot CorporationNote that while there are several instances of feminine language throughout the Mell-chan examples, particularly beautifying language (“
3.3 Conceptualisation of an Expectedly Masculine Boys’ Product
The following is a popular toy from the boys’ category, which is based on a television series. The target age is listed as 3 and up, the same target age as the Mell-chan Kids’ Plate above. Unlike the Kids’ Plate, this product page for this King Ogher toy does not list a specific gender. While there are official Bandai accounts, the focus on interaction with social media is not observed in this example.
Much of the text has a three-dimensional-like metallic effect, echoing the theme of swords and light. The packaging includes only five hiragana of the 78 legible characters.
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
The rest, including phonetic clarification, is either katakana or English-adjacent. The above packaging is skewed away from hiragana, but the other marketing images seem more normal. The following is text extracted from an image that shows the opened and assembled toy with an arrow running along it in the background.
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
Each kanji character has hiragana indicating the correct pronunciation, which is expected for text a child might read.
The next image demonstrates the main features of the product, the “action triggers” for each of the characters. I have approximated the main features with similar fonts and colours.
There are katakana insects and what appear to be English translations but are, in fact, imagined versions of what they might sound like to Japanese speakers.
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
BandaiBoth the Amazon listing and the manufacturer’s website have the same images and use the same wording on the description, with exception of one line missing from the Amazon listing about the ability to combine with King’s Weapon. The longer text description from the official Bandai website reads:
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
This description includes technical language and words consisting of multiple Chinese characters strung together. As with all the packaging, it is not expected that a three-year-old would be able to read any of it, but the character for martial or equip are not learned until 5th or 6th grade of elementary school. The character for armour does not appear on the list of elementary school kanji or standard use kanji at all (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology 2009, Agency for Cultural Affairs 2010). Especially in an age range in which even katakana text frequently has hiragana clarifying the pronunciation, this is an intentional departure from the norm. Compared to Mell-chan, King Ohger emphasises action and technical prowess over emotional connection.
These examples illustrate how context is built, maintained, and shifted within marketing discourse. Word choice, including gendered pronouns, role titles, suffixes, and script selection plays a key role. For instance, “
3.4 Conceptualisation of a Girls’ Product Inconsistent with Gender Ideology
One example of how toys in a stereotypically masculine domain can be aimed at girls is the “Happy-ence Here and There! Logi-ko!” programming toy, which uses context created through expected features of femininity, redefining a STEM toy as appropriately feminine. Targeted at slightly older children, it is marketed as “just for girls”. The marketing materials are designed with both the child and the adult purchaser in mind. While, unlike the above examples, it is not an originally Japanese product, the series of toys has been rebranded for the Japanese market with different product names, marketing images, and packaging. Other science kits in the series include solar system, programming, and chemistry sets.
The series name “Happy-ence” is a combination of “happy” and “science” written in katakana, while the product name “
The following promotional materials explain the concept of Happy-ence. The image background is pink with multicoloured logo and text. Certain words are emphasised by a difference in colour and font from the surrounding text.
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
The first instance of “HAPPY” appears in English, while subsequent ones are written in katakana (
Girls are expected to have different wants and needs when it comes to learning stem fields. In this case, even though the product is aimed towards girls, and despite the emphasis on symbols of femininity and girlhood, there is still an awareness and need to qualify the reality of girls doing unexpected things. Even with a product trying to make stem more accessible to girls, there is still the need to acknowledge that logic and reasoning are still very much assumed or believed to be the realm of men. While not directly expressed, the mention of a support system in the marketing materials implies an assumed unfamiliarity.
One page appears to be intended for the adult buying the set, rather than the child using it, based on the lack of phonetic clarification on the kanji and the content addressed. It explains how this product meets the needs of girls.
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
This page explains the differences in subject matter and the necessity of learning logical thinking and a logical mindset. Notice that it is in the more polite and mature desu/masu rather than more casual and close language used on the packaging below.
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
The packaging and promotional materials for the Logi-ko toy series include words that are commonly written in kanji, such as “
This packaging includes pictures of the product in use, including a game board with an anime style character with pink hair, different clothing items for the dress up play, food items, Music notes, hearts, stars, and generous use of sparkles decorate the package, and several shades of the colour pink are used. In addition to the product name and brief description of use, a sample list of games the user might play is also included on the outside of the box.
Citation: Contrastive Pragmatics 7, 1 (2026) ; 10.1163/26660393-bja10159
PeopleWe, once again, see the beautifying language in “
These topics, fashion, cooking, fortune telling, and design, are presumably what is lacking in programming to catch and hold the attention of girls. Using feminine themes, language, and symbols emphasises this product as appropriate for girls. Their use not only does not harm their femininity, but they are able to use these programming skills to enhance their femininity.
4 In Closing
The examples analysed in this study, while limited, point to the variety of linguistic and other semiotic means used to uphold femininity or masculinity to some extent, even in when the actions themselves would ordinarily be considered to go against commonly held gender expectations.
Context models integrate overt features like word choice and design, and subtler ones like script use. Boys’ toys use complex kanji while girls’ toys used more hiragana and childish language. Visual elements such as colour and symbols also played a key role in determining gender suitability. For example, the use of pink, hearts, and sparkles in the Mell-chan and Logi-ko materials reinforces femininity, while metallic textures and bold fonts evoke strength and masculinity. Girls are framed as passive and caring, boys as active and self-directed. Even when being encouraged to learn skills for coding, an activity that requires logical thinking and commonly believed to be more masculine, the content provided is hyper-feminine and quite passive: focusing on outward appearance and luck, both ways in which one might benefit through indirect means. Perhaps even more prevalent than the expected themes of activity and passivity were those of seriousness and fun frivolity. Girls were conceptualised as naturally interested in caring for others and beautify themselves, while boys are believed to be more active and self-directed, although more focused research on boys’ products and masculinity is necessary.
While more research is needed, the above examples show evidence of the malleability of categories, including gender. Even within gendered expectations, there appears to be some flexibility if a given action is framed to enhance femininity or masculinity. When one factor is an apparent mismatch with context, others can be adjusted to compensate and maintain perceived appropriateness – as was the case in the more overt appeals to femininity and exclusivity to girls in “Here and there! Logi-ko” example, but also more subtly in the slight shift to gender neutrality in the “Mell-chan” song, as well as inclusion of boys in promotional materials.
As these examples have shown, media offers opportunities to use existing social context to encourage behaviours, as well as create new context that can broaden and shift categories and, thus, expectations. Further studies could explore how these shifts play out across broader categories of discourse and different demographic groups, offering insight into changing gender ideology and expectations in Japan and across the world.
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Bandai. Amazon.co.jp “Bandai” King Squadron King Ohger DX OhgerCalibur [Amazon .co.jp “Bandai” Oosama Sentai Kingu Oojaa DX OojaKaribaa : Omocha]. https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0BSMTHHFK?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_S1QVB67NYDEQ1AADBENT.
Bandai Toys. 2023. DX OhgerCalibur | Super Squadron Toy Web | Official Bandai Site [DX OjaKaribaa | Suupaa Sentai Omocha Uebu | Bandai Koushiki Saito]. https://toy.bandai.co.jp/series/sentai/item/detail/13039/.
Mell-chan ® Official [Meruchan ® Koushiki]. 2020/6/22. https://x.com/mellchan_dayo/status/1274932493410430979.
Mell-chan | Pilot Toy [Meruchan | Pairotto no Omocha]. https://www.mellchan.com/.
People. Amazon | Happy-ence Here and There Logi-ko | Programming /Robotics | Toys [Amazon | Hapiensu Acchi Kocchi! Rojiko | Puroguramingu /Robotikusu | Omocha]. https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0843ZRWQ8?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_B1BCE815XJ18N0J3B2E0.
Pilot Corporation. Amazon | Pilot Corporation Mell-chan Care Parts Mell-chan Kids’ Plate | Dolls | Toys [Amazon | Pairotto Kooporeeshon Meruchan Osewa Paatsu Meruchan Kizzu Pureeto | Ningyou/Dooru | Omocha]. https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B003O65Q2O?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_F0CF1289GCGXWVAVB7SC.
Pilot Toy [Pairotto no Omocha – PILOT TOY]. 2020/08/28. Mell-chan WEB Commercial “My Mell-chan” 45 Seconds [Meruchan WEB CM “Uchi no Meruchan” 45byou]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sqtHicdjsQ.
Biographical Note
Jessica Tynes is an Assistant Professor at Prefectural University of Hiroshima. Her research combines cognitive linguistics and sociolinguistics to examine how media language constructs and transmits gendered expectations. She is currently exploring how these expectations intersect with misinformation and consumer manipulation, particularly in marketing discourse across life stages.
