It amazes me that so many people seem to genuinely believe that very small children are immune to marketing messages. It's pretty clear that they has adults have swallowed them hook, line and sinker.
Why have one toy in a boy and a girl version? So they can sell two lots to the same family if they have children of both sexes rather than one.
As a child in the 60's, we didn't have the pink for girls, blue for boys crap. Even though socially and politically, there was less gender equality, there were fewer constraints on children dressing and playing with toys designated by gender. I think I and my friends turned out fine without a single princess costume in the dressing up box or a preschool make up set.
What worries me is not just the segregation of "this is for boys" and "this is for girls" which starts at birth. It's the messages conveyed in those different toys, clothes and activities.
Ever tried buying shoes for girls that are hard wearing, practical for serious physical activity, easy to clean, let alone not in pink or maybe purple at a stretch?
The "princess culture" tells little girls that being pretty, passive and pleasing to others should be their goal. Boys get the message that being tough, competitive and making/doing things is what they should aspire to. Oh, and whatever you do, just don't do anything that makes you look or be seen to act like a girl. What does that say about the relative value of boys and girls?
What gets me is so many people insist that this is all natural, like it's been this way forever. Nope, this has evolved to the current state of play over the past 10-15 years. I can see it from photos of my own childhood and my nieces and nephews after that. I remember it from trips to Early Learning Centre in the 80's when it was a sea of primary colours, hardly any pink in sight and far, far less gender segregation of toys (and sections certainly weren't labelled by sex, as they are in many shops now - crikey!)