Nerf is a brand that makes toy guns, this already brings up interesting dynamics surrounding gender. Guns are weapons that have always been heavily associated with war, active combat, soldiers, strength, power and ultimately masculinity (Machin & Van Leeuwen, 2009). Guns have always had a strong presence in our culture, seeing as combat and warfare is a guiding force in humanity (Machin & Van Leeuwen, 2009).
We can see several elements of gendering on our gun. The use of the colour blue, traditionally perceived as a colour representing boys, is the primary colour. We also see darker tones like grey black and the exception of the bright orange (Fulcher & Hayes, 2017). These colours feed in a stylization that heavily implies it has been designed for boys. This is especially apparent when comparing it to the colours utilised by the Nerf series aimed at girls, Rebelle, which utilises shades of whites, purples and pinks.
The advertisements that Hasbro created to market Nerf also reveal lots when it comes to its relationship with gender. There are two ads that focus on the “Elite 2 0 Commander RD 6”. Both primarily feature men running around and shooting the toy in a tactical manner. We see them roll over, hunch over, take cover, aim precisely and more. There is a small exception in one of the ads in which we see a woman rapidly shooting the gun. The ads themselves are stylised in a way that can be interpreted as more manly. By the use of sleek and sharp transitions and very technology inspired themes and animations. Again, this is interesting to point out when looking at the contrast found in the “Rebelles'' lines of products. The ads for Nerf Rebelles feature all women and girls, a sleeker aesthetic and focus on the fact that the people using the toys are distinctly women. This is made even more apparent in an ad by Nerf which portrays an all girls team competing against and all boys. The women all use Nerf Rebelles toys whereas the men use toys that seem to be from the N-strike series. This shows how Nerf explicitly genders its toys and designs them differently according to the gender of who is using them.