'Let Toys Be Toys' Organising Thread - Part 2

Ooh fab - we could see if anyone has a writing girl here and ask on fb and twitter too.

Well done for your response to that stoopid card mmeL.

hellooooooooooo

Sorry, you guys have been on my radar, but I haven't had the time to stop and find out exactly what you are doing. I saw that Jump! Mag had been linked to here - thanks for that. It went a bit wild today.

I would love to do something but am totally snowed under at the moment and working FT too.

If anyone wants to write a post for Jump! Mag, I woudl gladly publish it - if you could get a pre-teen to write it, even better.

Feel free to give me a kick and I will tweet/Fb etc

AndIfATenTonTruck, pm'd you about admin group.

That was great response, Newsworthy. I wonder if they could actually sell more stuff if they stopped genderising. Ie. the market widens when you include both genders.

oh yes if we could get a mnetter to blog about it that would be great!

We could post in the bloggers forum - where MMe Lindor is often found - and say, anyone want to blog about this? - No prize, but lots of love?

Great response, Newsworthy. Better than mine which would have been, "Gah, people are sooo stoopid."

Hopefully we will be in the Independent on Sunday this weekend.

I have just spoken with the journalist and the hardest Q she asked me was 'when I have spoken to the companies they tell me that their customer feedback tells them this is what their customers want, how do you respond to that?'

I bullshitted said that I thought that when people say they find girls toys/ boys toys divisions easier they tend to be thinking off Action Men and Barbies etc... but when they realise that stores are classifying every single every single thing as a gendered toy, even the ones that are clearly not then they think it has gone too far.

no idea newworthy but my link takes you to jump magazine which she runs doesnt she?

infact it would be great if we could get her on board with this campaign if she could mention it in the mag?

Where is MmeLindor??

Andifatentontruck - i think you have to make yourself known on FB by sending a message to the page?

jumpmag.co.uk/why-do-we-need-jump-mag/

look at this, words fail me :(

I like that Parsing. Something like, because its not up to shops to tell our children what they can and can not do.

Does it make sense to talk in terms of "shops creating stereotypes" rather the "needing to challenge stereotypes?" Onus on the shops to stop deviating from the ungendered norm?

Some of this marketing shit seems so much worse than in my childhood.

This has to be the right place for this link

Hello, I'm still here, still willing to be part of the admin group. Ashesgirl has my email address which is the same as my name on fb. My skills... Well, I work in central government so I know how to write things in "policy language" if it comes to that. I know how to draft letters to MPs, government depts etc which might actually get answered. I could probably write a good FOI, if it comes to it (lord knows I've answered enough of them...!)

Q: Why is it important?

A: Because we can't afford to waste the country's talent, be it in fashion design or designing bridges, just because someone is the "wrong" gender.

Discouraging children from exploring their natural talents is just daft. It's detrimental on the national level and it's detrimental on the personal level.

aufeie i have already bern asked about a website.

I think would be good to put links to pages/sited such as towardthestars and there is a similar campaign in usa something to do with pigtails? Its called. Gain.a link.

Online surveys fir people to fill.in?

A statement if aims/our brief. Few pics.

Wpuld be put a questions bit? ie freqyently asked questions?

How to help the campaign. Link to the petition?

I am not that tech savvy but happy to help. Also thanks for adding me to fb admin bit was out at toddlers this am so still catching up and trying to catch up on housework now we are over the norovirus... Plus bday party for dd tomorrow.

Why is it important? Because it impacts our children griwing up. This generation i think.is more subjected to the power of social media, advertiding than ever befire. Like it or not it does impact on our children, esp as they get older.

Curtently the toy market is reinforcing awful steretypes. Outdated syeteotypes that women have fought against.

And for me personally i am witnessing first hand my ds3 a big fan of pink, purple, fairies etc as he gets older (8 on 23rd dec) the marketing and peer pressure is having more of an impact on him and he has spoken to me about how he shouldnt like these things as he is a boy etc. He has bern looking at stuff in the 'girls' sections of toy shop and has had shop assistants say 'the boy bit over that way' or worse 'you wont/shouldnt like those these are for boys'

We have said its ok to like stuff, gender diesnt matter and he accepts that but i can see he still doubts himself and thinks maybe he is wrong or odd to like these things, its crap :(

As an aside for his bday treat he has chisen to go see the new tinkerbell film with two friends :) he wants to wear his purple fairy dress to the cinema. Its the videya? Fairy the purple one from the disney films. his two friends (both girls) will be up for wearing fairy costumes. I think it should be fine but am aware as he gets older people will view this as 'odd' three yr old boy in fairy outfit...cute.

Eight yr old boy in fairy outfit
..odd...gay...etc :(

I am tempted to do a thread aibu to let my 7/8yr old go to the cinema in a fairy dress....i can guess the answers already! :(

Another request - as the interest in the campaign is growing, a website would be a good thing to have. Myself and murderofgoths should be able to rustle up a pretty decent site between us.

Can I ask, what would you like to see on it?

(We will probably do a very basic one for now, then something more comprehensive longer term).

A request - we are getting asked to explain why the campaign is important - by people critical of us on Facebook ("this isn't important", that kind of thing) and also by people genuinely interested and/or keen to give us a platform.

I'm compiling a list of reasons it's important, and I'd like your help - why do you think the campaign is important?

Any kind of reasons are good - from the personal, to examples of scientific studies which back us up.

All help much appreciated!

I wouldn't ask MNHQ for libel advice - it puts them on the spot. There was someone here who said they were good at this stuff?. I think it is ok, as long as we say "these are our campaign targets and this how we are rating them" (which is true) and "this is what we saw in the shops we visited" (also true) and don't go beyond that.