Pinkification

[Piper84]

I don't have issues with this,my kids have all had free reign of which toys they want and I don't care if they are pink/blue/luminous yellow,they are just toys.Everything has to be labelled these days.

I think people underestimate the effect that is had on children when they're told "that's not for girls/boys". It's fine up to a certain age but at some point they get self-conscious.

I remember feeling crushed when some stupid boy told me I couldn't play football cos I was a girl, and this was at the age of 7. No matter how much of a confident child my parents raised, that kind of thing goes to your head.

 

[Bex84]

All in balence is my opinion. My lo has pink and every other colour of the rainbow in her wardrobe and toys. I often get sneered at by several friends with boys how uni sex her toys are and if they had girls it would all be pink and dresses. We go around all aisles of toy stores. My lo loves disney princesses as well as any thing with animals. She loves dinosaurs, cars and kicking a foot ball around. She loves her dollys and doll house and doing art and dancing. For us its not about excluding things just as if we have a boy and he wanted to play with dolls etc we would have no problem. Pink is just another colour. With disney princesses i would say modern ones are quite a good role model for girls. Brave is about not needing a husband, she is independent and strong. Princess and frog shows working hard for what you want, mulan shows loyalty and bravery and tangled being a strong person. I hate things labeled girl and boy. Should we not encourage children to make their own choices regardless of gender. Every birthday and christmas so far i have been given loads of dresses which she wears once in a blue moon.

 

[Meredith2010]

I have to admit that due to the fact that I LOVE pink, DD has loads of pink things. It's subconscious a lot of the time, as I just buy stuff I like (or think she'll like to play with), and a lot of the time it is pink. But she does have loads of non-pink items though, as as her brother is only a year older than her they tend to share most of their toys anyway.

DS has loads of boys toys but he's also got a pushchair, a kitchen, a shopping trolley and his favourite toys are DD's purple picnic basket and her pink tea set. So whilst I do tend to buy a lot of pink stuff, it doesn't bother me in the slightest whether it's DD or DS who plays with it and when DD is able to express what she wants then I'll calm down on the pink, if that's what she wants.

 

[steph.]

I don't have issues with this,my kids have all had free reign of which toys they want and I don't care if they are pink/blue/luminous yellow,they are just toys.Everything has to be labelled these days.

I think people underestimate the effect that is had on children when they're told "that's not for girls/boys". It's fine up to a certain age but at some point they get self-conscious.

I remember feeling crushed when some stupid boy told me I couldn't play football cos I was a girl, and this was at the age of 7. No matter how much of a confident child my parents raised, that kind of thing goes to your head.

I agree, but I think boys are affected by this way more than girls. If a girl is interested in boy toys she can be seen as 'cool', but if a boy is interested in girl things he will get called a "poof" and be made fun of.

 

[Piper84]

I don't have issues with this,my kids have all had free reign of which toys they want and I don't care if they are pink/blue/luminous yellow,they are just toys.Everything has to be labelled these days.

I think people underestimate the effect that is had on children when they're told "that's not for girls/boys". It's fine up to a certain age but at some point they get self-conscious.

I remember feeling crushed when some stupid boy told me I couldn't play football cos I was a girl, and this was at the age of 7. No matter how much of a confident child my parents raised, that kind of thing goes to your head.

I agree, but I think boys are affected by this way more than girls. If a girl is interested in boy toys she can be seen as 'cool', but if a boy is interested in girl things he will get called a "poof" and be made fun of.

That's a really unpleasant byproduct of the whole sex segregation thing. Why shouldn't boys be interested in cooking for example? Most Michelin starred chefs are male and they don't have their sexuality called into question.

Then you get Usborne, which used to be a great publisher, coming out with stuff like this:

https://www.usborne.com/images/covers/eng/width_223px/cookbook-for-boys.jpg

vs

https://www.usborne.com/images/covers/eng/width_223px/cookbook-for-girls.jpg

I think one of the worst things is when adults try to intervene in a child's playtime with the whole girl/boy thing. One (female) friend of LO's was stopped from trying out a blue bike and given a pink princess one by the shop assistant, who said "why don't you try a princess one instead, I'm sure you'd prefer it". What the hell? Kids get self-conscious quickly enough, why can't they be protected from that kind of crap while they're young enough to be oblivious to it?

 

[vaniilla]

I'm not sure if anybody has pointed this so I'm sorry if I'm making the same point but why do you only hear of parents actively ensuring their daughter plays with blue, red, yellow etc but are not doing the same thing with boys and pink.

Why can't boys play with toys aimed at girls? people are saying there is little choice for boys toys now but why not buy toys also marketed at girls? It's seen as great (which it should be) for girls to play with stereotypical boys games but for vice versa you're seen as pushing ideas

 

[Tiff]

I'm not sure if anybody has pointed this so I'm sorry if I'm making the same point but why do you only hear of parents actively ensuring their daughter plays with blue, red, yellow etc but are not doing the same thing with boys and pink.

Why can't boys play with toys aimed at girls? people are saying there is little choice for boys toys now but why not buy toys also marketed at girls? It's seen as great (which it should be) for girls to play with stereotypical boys games but for vice versa you're seen as pushing ideas

Actually my friend's son (he's 5 turning 6 in January) LOVES the colour pink. He wanted a pink cake for his birthday two years in a row, and went out as a pink cat for halloween.

My friend admittedly tried to convince him to want blue instead, then realized what she was doing and went along with what he wanted. He's got pink toys, a pink bed spread and is happy as a clam.

 

[Bex84]

I'm not sure if anybody has pointed this so I'm sorry if I'm making the same point but why do you only hear of parents actively ensuring their daughter plays with blue, red, yellow etc but are not doing the same thing with boys and pink.

Why can't boys play with toys aimed at girls? people are saying there is little choice for boys toys now but why not buy toys also marketed at girls? It's seen as great (which it should be) for girls to play with stereotypical boys games but for vice versa you're seen as pushing ideas

Actually my friend's son (he's 5 turning 6 in January) LOVES the colour pink. He wanted a pink cake for his birthday two years in a row, and went out as a pink cat for halloween.

My friend admittedly tried to convince him to want blue instead, then realized what she was doing and went along with what he wanted. He's got pink toys, a pink bed spread and is happy as a clam.

Well done your friend if I ever have a boy in the future I will be happy for him to play with and wear anything pink and play with whatever he wants just like I do with my daughter. The amount of time I taught children and they said I cant like this as for girls/boys. I told them they could like what they wanted and that my favorate colour was blue. The amount of parents who had a heart attack if their son played dressing up and picked a dress is shocking

 

[highhopes19]

I do really like Isabelle wearing girly clothes pretty dresses etc... But I also like her in "boyish" or what's considers boyish colours as they really suit her.

Isabelle's very much a girly girl when it comes to clothes hair etc already but she hates toys aimed at girls like prams dolls etc she would much rather play in mud with cars etc.

I let her have free rein on toys I'd hate he to think I've limited her gender specific items

 

[Tiff]

I'm not sure if anybody has pointed this so I'm sorry if I'm making the same point but why do you only hear of parents actively ensuring their daughter plays with blue, red, yellow etc but are not doing the same thing with boys and pink.

Why can't boys play with toys aimed at girls? people are saying there is little choice for boys toys now but why not buy toys also marketed at girls? It's seen as great (which it should be) for girls to play with stereotypical boys games but for vice versa you're seen as pushing ideas

Actually my friend's son (he's 5 turning 6 in January) LOVES the colour pink. He wanted a pink cake for his birthday two years in a row, and went out as a pink cat for halloween.

My friend admittedly tried to convince him to want blue instead, then realized what she was doing and went along with what he wanted. He's got pink toys, a pink bed spread and is happy as a clam.

Well done your friend if I ever have a boy in the future I will be happy for him to play with and wear anything pink and play with whatever he wants just like I do with my daughter. The amount of time I taught children and they said I cant like this as for girls/boys. I told them they could like what they wanted and that my favorate colour was blue. The amount of parents who had a heart attack if their son played dressing up and picked a dress is shocking

She did struggle with it at first, admitted to trying to get him to wear blue, want blue for his cake instead of pink. But then she realized that she was gender stereotyping him and backed off. It was hard for her for sure! But I have NOTHING but respect for her.

There is definitely more of a stigma if a boy is playing with "girl" stuff rather than a girl playing with "boy" stuff.

 

[m_t_rose]

I am going to admit in terms of clothes I put my daughter in dresses nearly everyday and my son wears very boyish clothing as well but that's as far as gender roles go in my house. My son has a few dolls and I encourage him to play house with me and then we will play with diggers and trains. I will not be buying anything for my daughter that sexualizes little girls and limits the scope of beauty to tiny waist big boobs and blond hair (which means Barbies are out). One of my sons favourite toys right now is a little vanity with fake lipstick and blush and it sing which I hated at first because it was given to my daughter and I though ugh why does she need pretend make up at such a young age but once my son played with it I realized he just wanted to copy me when I put on my makeup.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I wouldn't buy a boy pink clothes or toys unless they asked.

 

[sequeena]

To be honest I don't care about colours. Thomas picks out most of his toys. For his birthday he's having 'boy' toys an a pram and doll. He likes what he likes I don't limit toys with certain colours.

 

[Button#]

I saw plain black and grey tights in mothercare the other day labelled as girls tights and that really annoyed me. Tights are really useful in the winter for both genders.

Ashley has a shopping trolley which he loves and he also plays with the kitchen and the prams at play group. He also is obsessed with cars.

 

[sequeena]

I saw plain black and grey tights in mothercare the other day labelled as girls tights and that really annoyed me. Tights are really useful in the winter for both genders.

Ashley has a shopping trolley which he loves and he also plays with the kitchen and the prams at play group. He also is obsessed with cars.

I agree! Thomas has 2 pairs of white tights but they have butterflies on them (like the socks with holes that make patterns). They were the only ones I could find which irked me a bit.

 

[Dragonfly]

you know who has a few pink clothes for boys, verbeduet , They have loads of t shirt's in pink for boys this summer. I see my friend today wearing a pink shirt, I admire a man who can wear pink.

 

[Button#]

you know who has a few pink clothes for boys, verbeduet , They have loads of t shirt's in pink for boys this summer. I see my friend today wearing a pink shirt, I admire a man who can wear pink.

Me too, Ashley doesn't really have the right colouring to suit pink but my brother looks fab in pink and my other brother wore his pink lip ring especially on my wedding day to match my colour scheme.

 

[Piper84]

I'm not sure if anybody has pointed this so I'm sorry if I'm making the same point but why do you only hear of parents actively ensuring their daughter plays with blue, red, yellow etc but are not doing the same thing with boys and pink.

Why can't boys play with toys aimed at girls? people are saying there is little choice for boys toys now but why not buy toys also marketed at girls? It's seen as great (which it should be) for girls to play with stereotypical boys games but for vice versa you're seen as pushing ideas

Good point. I think "tomboys" are considered fun and cool (at least while they're young and only if they grow out of it one day) whereas girly boys are considered a worry.

The problem with "girls'" toys that I have is that they are SO limiting, not just because they are invariably only available in one colour, whereas "boys'" toys seem to be more exciting, stimulating and varied. Boys are encouraged to experiment with science, go exploring, build complicated models, set up cityscapes etc., while girls alone are encouraged to look after dolls and look "pretty" from a very young age.

FWIW we'll be getting DS a cooker to go with his kids' cooking set, and DD will get the same one when she's old enough. They will not be getting separate cookbooks according to gender

 

[steph.]

Well i bought dd a cheapie doll today which she really liked in the shop, at the checkout the guy says "You know this doll is musical too, just press her belly" i say oh cool. we leave the shop and i press her belly and she start singing "Boom boom boom boom I want you in my room, to spend the night together..." Inappropriate much?

If i had a son I wouldnt have a problem dressing him in pink boy clothes, I think men, especially ones with darker colouring, look really good in pink. Though i wouldnt buy him pink girl clothes.

 

[sequeena]

Steph yes that is so inappropriate!! Tbh I'd complain to the manufacturer. Why put such a suggestive song in a child's toy?? What happened to the usual nursery rhymes (iPhone autocorrected that as nude leery rhymes!! )