I was recently in a large chain toy store and I was rather overwhelmed by the clear separation of boys’ toys and girls’ toys.
The sea of pink that indicated the “girl-appropriate” toys was filled with such gems as make-up kits, kitchen play sets, toy vacuums and a number of highly sexualized dolls.
The yellow “boys’ section” was filled with building bricks, tool play sets, cars, action figures and scientific exploration toys.
I have long been angered by the types of toys marketed to girls as they often reinforce outdated gender roles such as looking pretty while cooking dinner. While boys’ toys, on the other hand, encourage scientific thinking, creativity in terms of building or designing objects and career goals.
Put simply, gendered toys support the traditional roles of women as mothers and men as providers.
While there is nothing wrong with a woman choosing to be a stay at home mom or a man choosing to be the family provider, there is something disheartening about toys that limit boys and girls to these role options.
My husband’s niece recently celebrated her first birthday. The lovely little girl received a plethora of frilly, pink toys. I opted to get her a Little People® airplane set. The plane was white – not hot pink – and though the pilot was a man, the kit came with a female passenger who I figured could be the pilot if my niece wanted.
When the gift was opened it was immediately apparent it was different from all the rest. It was not princess-themed, it offered no obvious signs that it was meant for girls only and it was not frilly. And guess what? My niece really liked it. Of all the toys she got that day, the airplane was the one she chose to play with.
I’m not saying we should force girls to play with traditional boy toys or vice-versa, but I am saying we should give children the option, especially at such a young age as my niece who really doesn’t care at all if a toy is pink or blue.
The same goes for boys. Why shouldn’t we let boys play with dolls if they so choose? My nephew loved to play dolls with his sister and cousins when he was younger and will still occasionally play “house” with them to this day. Does that make him less of a man? I think not. It makes him a kid who hasn’t yet been weighed down by gender role expectations.
While I support choosing toys your children prefer, I don’t see why we have to lead them to the “boys’” or “girls’” toys. A young child won’t care if they are playing with Barbie or G.I. Joe, so why do we as adults care so much?
