Pinkification

[Kate&Lucas]

Grrr that cookbook thing is EVERYTHING I hate about kids toy marketing. If I go into a shop or on a site looking for a toy and I come across boys toys/girls toys categories - I literally won't buy from there. What is a boy's toy?? What is a girl's toy?? Surely the gender of the toy depends on the gender of the child playing with it

I just don't think you can force a child to be girly/boyish. Lucas plays with a wide mix of toys but an aunt of mine (who is obsessed with her son 'not becoming gay' and tries constantly to toughen him up) bought Lucas a set of play tools for his birthday, because it's 'what boys like to play with'. He uses them to play hairdresser

I can't really dress him in pink though, even though it suits him - his long hair confuses people enough as it is

 

[Tasha]

the song on that doll is awful, so inappropriate that I couldn't help but laugh.

I am very careful not to limit my children to the boys/girls aisle. They all like what they like, Morgan is too old for dolls, toy kitchens, dolls houses etc now but did once love them, the girls often have things from the 'boys section' because they like doing science things, and Morgan will sometimes pick out a set from the 'girls section' like painting the piggy bank or the friendship bracelets he made. They are all old enough to pick their own clothes now and Kaysie Blossom often picks clothes from the 'boys aisle' because well as much as she likes pink (and I don't limit that because it should be about what she likes not what I force on her) she loves yellows, blacks, blues and often likes the style more.

This gender sterotyping actually did have an impact on me as a child. I was football mad, I completely loved it and it was my life from the age of about seven until I had my first child. Any way at 13 I was given the opportunity to go to a football academy for gifted football players, and my Dad said no because I was a girl. I was gutted, I wanted it so bad and to hear that had my brother been offered he could go because he was a boy, was pretty sole destroying. I finally felt like I was great at something and it couldn't be celebrated because of my gender.

So yeah, that is why I never want to limit my children, I never want them to feel inferior or inadequate because of their gender.

 

[MrsKyliePaton]

I have 2 daughters and when DD1 was born I was all for the pink and girly painted her room pink etc but when she got old enough to look and ask for toys herself she went for a mixture of boys and girls stuff, she's 6 now and is into dinosaurs, moshi monsters, dolls, barbies, cars, play mobil farms and she loves nothing more than going fishing with her dad (she does have a black and pink fishing rod though lol) she loves dresses and pink frilly things but she also has jeans and t shirts in varying colours.
I think if you don't make it a big deal they won't make it a big deal that toys are just for boys/girls.
DD2 will be brought up to do the same.

 

[Piper84]

I have 2 daughters and when DD1 was born I was all for the pink and girly painted her room pink etc but when she got old enough to look and ask for toys herself she went for a mixture of boys and girls stuff, she's 6 now and is into dinosaurs, moshi monsters, dolls, barbies, cars, play mobil farms and she loves nothing more than going fishing with her dad (she does have a black and pink fishing rod though lol) she loves dresses and pink frilly things but she also has jeans and t shirts in varying colours.
I think if you don't make it a big deal they won't make it a big deal that toys are just for boys/girls.
DD2 will be brought up to do the same.

I think it's true that making a big deal out of it is unhelpful and will encourage children to do the opposite

But I think it's interesting that you and other people refer to your kids' toys as "boys and girls stuff", as if there are boys' toys and girls' toys. That shows how much effect this kind of stupid marketing has on us. Aren't there toys that are just toys anymore?

 

[Dragonfly]

Someone got me a baby gift the other day that was for a boy, said I didnt know what I was having. But apparently ok to put boys on a girl but not girl on a boy. Strange.

 

[bumpy_j]

I wouldn't buy pink toys for a girl or a boy if I can help it (I wouldn't say 'no' if they asked but I'd probably list out some alternatives first) - simply because whilst they are still in demand, manufacturers will keep churning it out. It's not as if they know who you're buying it for and assume they're still catering for that demographic.

I used to hate it when I was younger anyway - I much preferred toys that looked like the real thing rather than just a pink, plastic version of it.