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I was watching a Thomas the Tank Engine DVD with DS when this epsiode (Tickled Pink) came on.

James the red engine is getting a new coat of paint, but has to go out to work before it's finished. He just has a bright pink undercoat.

He spends most of the rest of the episode fretting about how silly he looks with pink paint, and hiding from his friends in case they laugh at him. And his friends do indeed all laugh at him and mock his pink coat when his attempts to hide fail.

At the end of the episode, he picks up some little girls at the train station. They are very happy to see him because pink is their favourite colour. The little girls are dressed in pink from head to toe.

I know this is trivial, but I was a bit surprised and saddened to see an entire episode hammering in this whole "boys wearing pink are silly because pink is for girls" message. It didn't seem quite right.

Thomas the Tank Engine books have been hidden/thrown away in this house. They are horrible. I always thought the TV series was a bit better but that sounds truly awful.

It's the whole thing about the worst thing a boy can be is a girl. Yeuch.

DS hates Thomas. DD wants to be Thomas. She hasn't noticed that some are girls tbh as she doesn't know what boy or girl names are.

Is it one of the modern ones or the old ones?

Oh, DS has the book of that. James is pleased in the end isn't he because it turns out he's just the right colour and that pink isn't a silly colour at all?

DS insists that Percy is a girl, I haven't corrected him

It's one of the modern episodes.

Yes, James is pleased in the end because the girls thought that he was a nice colour, what with pink being their favourite colour.

But IMO, that last little bit didn't make up for all the "Ha, ha, I'd hide too if I was a pink engine" stuff earlier.

James is very boastful about his usual red coat of paint though, presumably why he was the chosen engine for the story - but they could have gone for an under coat of grey instead. The whole "pink is our favourite colour" is very lazy writing imo - to give the story some kind of happy outcome. The modern ones strive to do this - in stark contrast to the rambling tedious older ones.

Me: is Emily a girl or a boy?
DS: Emily is an engine
Me: Ok, is Emily a girl engine or a boy engine?
DS: Emily is a steam engine
Me: <gives up>


I give you Peppa Pig 'Washing Day' (I think it's called) in a similar vein - white wash, Peppa puts her red dress in, Daddy's football kit comes out pink - "pink is not a good colour for a football kit"

Well it's not if the rest of the team play in white

I think Everton and Juventus have both had pink strips, at least away strips. West Ham's baby blue and claret - dark pink at least.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7x8tCToBlQ

Episode here

Urgh, thomas is awful. The (new) song goes "james is vain but lots of fun". At least there're some female engines now.

Peppa pig washday not soooo bad, daddy pig is generally presented as a buffoon, but at least does housework / preschool drop-offs etc!

Seen any recent episodes of The Simpsons? Increasingly the male characters (homer especially) are presented as complete idiots and buffoons while the female characters (lisa especially) are presented as smart and intelligent.

Hasn't Homer always been presented as a complete idiot and buffoon?

Most of the episodes I've watched make me wonder why Marge puts up with him.

And in the new Thomas song, "Emily really knows her stuff"

So Emily the female engine comes out of the song quite well.

I haven't seen many Thomas episodes featuring Emily, though, so don't have a feel for how she's portrayed in the series.

Hmm, but that's a problem/stereotype in itself isn't it? The bossy, know-it-all, boring nerdy girl while the men/boys might be "buffoons" but hey, at least they know how to have fun! And are more rounded characters rather than just being bookworms as their only character trait.

Hadn't considered that side of it, BertieBotts.

"Hasn't Homer always been presented as a complete idiot and buffoon? "

Pretty much. But each season he gets stupider and stupider to the point he's a danger to himself unless there is a female around to keep him in line.