Making a list and checking it twice? Is it “naughty or nice” or “girl toys and boy toys”? Laci Green breaks down a big problem with the holiday season.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for gender stereotypes! ’Tis the season to get the right gifts for the little ones, but isn’t it kinda weird that toys are still labeled “for boys” and “for girls” when they can be interested in the same things? It’s almost 2015! Men are stay at home dads! Women are CEOs! So should you feel bad for getting an EZ Bake Oven for your niece?? No! Should you feel bad for getting one for your nephew? No! –Laci Green, MTV Braless
But that EZ Bake Oven is pink, you say. I can’t get that for a boy. Well, maybe it’s time for the toymakers to rethink their paint jobs. Or maybe we need to rethink how we teach kids what colors and toys are for what kids.
So, still need help figuring out this toy thing? Here’s a guide to tell if a toy is for boys or for girls.
See? EZ.
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All ya have to do is walk a couple of isles over and get what ya want. No need to integrate the stock. Why is it so hard for so many to just accept that most boys like the things they like and most girls like the things they like.
So why don’t we mix housewares with power tools. I mean c’mon already
Tom, I don’t have a problem with kids liking what they like. I have a problem with makers, marketers, and advertisers telling kids and parents, subtlely or explicitly, what the kids should like and separating this by gender. Give me a toy catalog with color neutral toys (bright colors, no pinks, no pastels), and boys and girls all playing with whatever and I’ll not fuss. Give me one with boys and girls both playing with current toys, no matter who they are intended for or what color they, and again I’ll not fuss. If kids are given opportunity to play… Read more »
JJ, thank you for your response …. I was gonna ask you if you knew of a study but I just found this: Girls prefer pink from age two Girls instinctively seek out pink objects from the age of two, according to research that shows they do not start out with a preference for the colour.” My sister passed away when she was very young so it was the me and my 6 brothers. “Pink” was a color I seldom seen in our house. It’s simply marketing. Take a look at labels on food, red and yellow are the most… Read more »
Tom, I would be very interested to see what colors children gravitate to in cultures with different color cues, or in family and care groups in the US where colors are atypical. Using your girls-pink example, if girls in Culture A are raised with orange the way US girls are raised with pink what color will they instinctively seek out? Or, if a US girl is not raised exposed to pink, or not exposed to it more than any other color, will she seek it out? Is the instinct for pink in your study biology or environment? To carry that… Read more »