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Original poster

Gendered objects for kids

39 replies

IamAporcupine · 10/02/2021 16:17

Help me out here please

I was shopping yesterday and saw some drinks (actually just plain water) for kids, one with a dinasour, the other one with a unicorn. I took a picture and sent it to a couple of friends with a Hmm face.

Their reply was that because the bottles do not actually say 'for girls/boys' then there is no real issue with it, as you are free to pick whichever you want.

I somehow agree but I still find this gendering of objects totally unnecessay and in the end, damaging.

They claim it is just marketing, and that dinasours and unicorns sell, and it is up to us to teach our kids they can pick what they want.

Again, I agree, but I would prefer it of things like water, when marketted at kids, had less stereotypical boy/girl options.
Or I am looking for issues where there is none?

OP posts:
BolloxtoGender · 10/02/2021 16:53

It doesn't say for boy or girl, it's not gendered. I think you are looking for issues where there is none, OP. I think the 'gendered' bit is from your own projections tbh.

Original poster
IamAporcupine · 10/02/2021 16:38

@Aroundtheworldin80moves - just plain water, I could nto believe it

OP posts:
Whyistheteacold · 10/02/2021 16:38

I used to get really annoyed as a child actually, pink is my favourite colour but they never had sharks or dinosaurs (obviously the cooler animals) on any of the pink clothes. It was always kittens and bunnies 🤢 They're missing out on a big market! My dsis was the same

Original poster
IamAporcupine · 10/02/2021 16:37

@AuroraBor - I totally agree with you, I have no idea why a bottle of water should be marketted at kids, but believe me, it was.

OP posts:
OmicronPersei7 · 10/02/2021 16:36

It starts with unicorn water and never ends. When I was in my early twenties I used to smoke cigarettes called Vogues. They looked like a box of tampons, I kid you not. (I'm quit many years now!!)

Everything marketed at the "fairer" sex looks like this. I bought my daughter 4 plain white vests from the supermarket last week and there was a pink butterfly next to the world "girls" on the packaging. Totally unnecessary. The vests I bought for my son (also plain white, same supermarket) just said boys. No football, tractor or dinosaur required.

Original poster
IamAporcupine · 10/02/2021 16:35

@MillieEpple - that was my point too - that it would be very hard for a kid not to pick 'the right' one.

My son has extremely long hair, has been mistaken for a girl plenty of times, and is quite aware of these stereotypes and how meaningless they are. Still, I doubt he would pick a unicorn.

OP posts:
Aroundtheworldin80moves · 10/02/2021 16:32

Just water, or was it flavoured water? I've come across different flavours of water with an associated animal/mythical creature/prehistoric creature.

AuroraBor · 10/02/2021 16:29

I think you should have Hmm at "water marketed for kids". The dinosaur/unicorn thing is a secondary issue.

Original poster
IamAporcupine · 10/02/2021 16:29

@AnneLovesGilbert - that's exactly what I mean.

I was told it was me who was sexist for seeing gendered options, when in fact there were simply 'two options'.

OP posts:
MillieEpple · 10/02/2021 16:28

I agree its better that it doesn't say for girls/boys

but there is a huge industry pushing very strict gender roles with the whole blue /pink - predator/ prey dinosaur = boy and unicorn = girl so it would be quite hard for a child to not make those associations and go against this. Maybe a very young child, but I cant see an infant school age child not immediately making that association and knowing which they were supposed to pick.

Rockinmomma · 10/02/2021 16:26

Toys not tots!

Rockinmomma · 10/02/2021 16:26

I hate these stereotypes too, it makes me unnecessarily angry
It’s supply and demand though, as long as people have ‘little princesses’ and ‘adventurous boys’ these things will always be marketed at us
I remember always despising the girls aisle in Tots ‘R’ Us, all just pink shite

AIMD · 10/02/2021 16:25

I know what you mean, even if one doesn’t explicitly say “for girls” things will often be marketed at girls (eg pink, girl modelling it etc).

To be honest with food/drinks I’d rather it was all just plain.

Interestingly I recently cleared out my parents attic and got rid of my toys from the 80s. The vast majority of things like kitchen toys/shops toys were red/blue/yellow and seemed very unisex. I think toys have got more gendered since the 80s

AnneLovesGilbert · 10/02/2021 16:20

My daughter loves dinosaurs. Don’t know why as I can’t stand them, and she doesn’t know what a unicorn is so she’d pick a dinosaur one. But I know what you mean. This is how it starts and pink biros for lady hands is how it ends.