to be fucked off that stroes still feel the need to define toys by gender?

[GretaGip]

I've been wandering around all day looking for inspiration.

And it seems that within toy sales it's imperatiove to be prosciptive.

Surely one of the major retailers could realise that cupcakes and butterflies for grils and transport and dinosaurs for boys is just ouutdated and break free from the molud and then just sit back and wait for hoards of satisfued MNers to boost their sales.

AIBsimplistic?

Sigh.

MrsDeVere ahh I see what this is. I have dared to say that perhaps part of who you are is out of your control and decided by things like genetics. Sorry if that's above your little head, missy.

You no doubt prefer to think of yourself as somehow magical and unique and existing on a plain far, far above the usual one of human experience and simple biology. Typical woman. Right?

ha ha ha oh god you are funny tpf

but yes mrsdevere is rather magical and unique, she is blood amazing actual and far from typical, hth :)

ThePerfectFather look, just accept that you have committed the incredibly dull and common trope of coming along and deciding that, as a man, you know best and explaining everything in a ridiculously patronising way.

I know you probably can't see it. "I'm just giving my opinion, grr, bloody feminists taking my balls away," you think to yourself. You're not though. You're just being a patronising dickhead and men do it all. the. time. It is BORING.

Some people believe in nature not nurture! Shock! That's really all you needed to say, we do all get it.

However, since the very idea that nature trumps nurture is so obviously bollocks, you can probably just leave the explaining to someone who actually understands absolutely fucking anything.

oh and no-one is saying that genetics doesnt play a role, i am pretty sure it does, but having studied sociology you would be a fool if you dont realise the effect that nurture has and unfortunately we dont raise our children in a bubble, right from the moment they are born (or even before if you find out hte sex) then they are subjected to gender stereotyping, we are surrounded by it and it has got much much worse in the last ten years. certainly when my ds1 (13) was a baby it was no-where near as prevelant as it is now.

It's always harder to see the effects of discrimination when you belong to the privileged group, isn't it perfect?

Hazlenutt you said 'I think it's worse on boys. As said, most people don't really mind if a girl plays with "boys" stuff or wears "boys" clothes. You certainly get more of a reaction if you put a boy in a dress and give him a barbie. As it's fine to aspire to be like a boy, but not the other way around.'

But the reason it is OK for a girl to act like a boy, or for a woman to have masculine qualities, is that males are higher status. So for a woman to want to be more like a man is only natural, but it is seen as odd for a man to want to act or dress like a woman, because why would they want to copy the behaviour of the inferior, lower status group?

You also have to throw into the pot peer pressure.

Sunshine - I'm calm honey.

i'll have you know you can have 5 kids and still ahve control of your pelvic floor actually mrsdevere

and yes mrsbugsy it is true that boys cant aspire to be girls as they seen as weaker of inferior in some way, but it is shite that little boys end up feeling this way, my ds3 doesnt see pink and purple and fairies as weak or inferior, he just likes them but is told that its not ok, even if he hasnt been explicitily told in so many words he has picked up on that through advertising and through peer pressure and thats sad :( and its not ok.

cracks up at MrsDevere - I've had ONE and I only have to cough and I piss should change my user name to slack alice

la la la sticks fingers in ears, i am sooo not going to end up 5madpissyknickers....

and squeeze one, two, three, four, five, release and squeeze....

....wanders of to google pelvic floor toners....

Oh absolutely 5mad, I agree the effect on little boys can be just as bad.

it is and yet we try and combat sexism against girls (well some of us do!) but if we let a boy wear girly stuff etc then we are wrong and shouldnt incase they get bullied, well how about we deal with the bullies!! i was essentially told i was a crap mum for letting my ds3 have a fairy dress etc, i was going to 'let him be bullied' etc i would do NO such thing!

this attitude that pink is for girls is what needs to be challeneged, there is nothing wrong with pink (tho i dont much like it as a colour) the attitude that is just for girls is whats wrong, the incessant marketing of it towards girls is the problem!

TPF is being deliberately obtuse, this thread isn't about the differences beween girls and boys. It's about the the way the marketing of children's toys, clothes etc. has changed markedly in the last 15 years ago to encourage kids to conform to narrow gender stereotypes from a young age. I'm aware that the reasoning is to encourage parents to buy twice, this doesn't make it any less harmful.

Some people don't have a problem with this, fine. Other people do not care for this backward step.

"You no doubt prefer to think of yourself as somehow magical and unique and existing on a plain far, far above the usual one of human experience and simple biology."

It's clearly you claiming this status, ThePerfectFather since you're the one who's apparently immune to nurture, marketing and social conditioning.

Is this Mansplaining? Isn't it tedious? And quite rude, really.

Where is the hypocrisy?! I've called anyone I've disagreed wih (you included) regardless of gender.

Blimey, I agreed with parts of his first post then he came back like a frigging bull in a china shop a wolf in sheeps clothing there then.

His posts were cockish and patronising and ranty in the extreme. That's what people reacted to.

What MakeItALarge said.

It is not hypocritical to say that it is specifically men who do something.

Now let's all go and paint rainbows and unicorns everywhere. I had a fairly good day because a 7-year-old boy wanted to paint something in pink. Hurrah.

What did MakeitALarge say, that there were 'back to the kitchen comments'? I saw one. As far as I can see, the reason things got 'nasty' were as a reaction to his posting style, and FWIW, he got off lightly imo.

I don't mind him being wrong, or even being tedious and over wordy. But surely we can call him on ranty, patronising and rude?

Clipped you mention that it saves time to look in the girls section if you want to buy a buggy for ds, but the WHOLE point is - why are buggies in the girls' section? My dh has done his fair share of buggy pushing/sling wearing.