Girls' and boys' yogurts from Muller - AIBU to be a bit WTF??

[nicecupofteaplease]

Here they are - the product you never knew you needed. I sort of understand how toys have become sexually stereotyped but food products. Really? It's utterly ridiculous. Isn't it? Or should I only be feeding my daughter yogurts suitable for a girl? All these years she has been making do with unisex yogurt. I feel I have let her down.

According to Muller, boys like monkeys, space, pirates and cars, and girls like flowers, popstars, superstars and fashion - and it's only right that these interests are reflected in the dairy products they consume. My DD likes climbing trees, I am confused about which yogurt I should choose.

[phantomnamechanger]

This is the silliest thing since the ELC pink and lilac toy globe

But then again, character tinned spaghetti - surely that too comes in his n hers types? though many are either gender

[phantomnamechanger]

I love the bic pens reviews!

[honeybunny14]

I got my sons the rocket and stars boys ones they are amazing lol :-)

[stargirl1701]

YANBU. Un-fucking-believable.

[Crowler]

Really, Syria isn't even that important when compared to clean drinking water in terms of death tolls. You should spread the word.

[Growlithe]

Crowler you are getting very sneery on this thread. You didn't answer my question on what would happen to my DDs if they eat yoghurts with accompanying chocolate coated cereal shoe shapes. Could you stop poking fun at other posters opinions for a minute and answer that one?

[Crowler]

Growlithe:
Crowler what do you think will happen to my DDs if they eat this gender specific yoghurt?

Crowler:
I would think it should be obvious that this one hypothetical pot of gender-specific yogurt in and of itself is not a problem. It's the larger marketing effort divides children into potential princess/popstar consumers (girls) and potential soldier/pirate consumers (boys).

If someone wants to come along and say this is not as important as clean drinking water, I shall put this into perspective. That's not snippy.

[Growlithe]

So Crowler you are saying my DDs are becoming princess/popstar consumers? That the boys they know are becoming soldier/pirate consumers?

Can you define a princess/popstar consumer and a soldier/pirate consumer please? So I can know the true effect these yoghurts are having on our children?

[Whatsthatnoise]

My DP loves the hearts ones, he is a 6 foot body builder and most definitely male. He even takes them to work for lunch

I had a moment a couple of weeks ago when buying night nappies as I couldn't decide if the boys/girls were actually different and the girls were out of stock. I phoned my mum in asda and she told me not to be so fucking gullible (exact words)

[Growlithe]

None are doing as well salary wise as their male peers afaik though - encouraging young women to aspire to sparkly, pinkness does not do them favours in the real world.

And this is right? And acceptable to you?

[Blu]

The objective for Muller / Nestlé is selling more yogurt. Buy exploiting the already well embedded stereotypes they hope that the hard pressed Mum (and surely it is a mum on the story board for the campaign) will now put two packs in her trolley, one of each type, rather than one. And half will go to waste....

I have resisted every single foodstuff with child-focused characters and themes.

[namechangesforthehardstuff]

YANBU.

Is this one for change.org?

[Growlithe]

Sunny the thing with these little girls who like pink sparkly things is they grow up. They don't need to dress as boys when they are 5 to be able to know how to dress professionally as an adult.

Blu any mother putting two packs into their trolley is not teaching her children how to take turns.

[Crowler]

Growlithe, do you understand what it means to treat a child as a consumer, and do you have a problem with this?

I just don't know how to answer "what is a princess consumer". Do you know what consumer means?

In the kindest terms possible, I would suggest you've not given this issue the thought it deserves.

[Growlithe]

Crowler I think I know what a consumer is. I just don't know if you would class my DDs as a 'princess/popstar' consumer. Could you enlighten me if I describe them maybe?

I'll start with the youngest, as she will surely be more 'princessey'. DD2 is 5. She loves pink stuff. Any pink t-shirt she's there. Especially with a picture of a princess or a fairy on it. She doesn't like jeans. This is because they have those buttons in them for tightening the waist, and the button digs into her. So she likes leggings. She doesn't like princess dressing up. It restricts her at parties. She likes monsters, especially disgusting ones like the ones described in Ricky Gervais' Flanimals books (yes sorry its RG - DH was bought the book as a present years ago and it's captured her imagination). No really defined hobbies as yet, but she has swimming lessons and is just about to start gym lessons after school. Nursery and reception teachers have both said she seems very 'arty'. She wants to work in Aberkhan when she is a grown up.

DD1 is 9. She says she doesn't like pink but likes 'hot pink' as she calls it. She wears jeans because I buy them for her, but likes a casual dress best with a demin jacket. Never pink, mostly blues and black. She picks them, I do face, then she tries them on and they really suit her. She likes 'girly' hairbands in school. She thinks girls in her class with boyfriends are silly. Hobbies are riding rollercoasters, swimming and playing cello. She wants to be a scientist, because she wants to help people but can't bear the sight of blood so could never be a doctor. She is academic in school.

Both of these girls like these yoghurts. Are they the consumers you are concerned about?

[JamieandtheMagicTorch]

Boozy

"They're just saying blue for adventure, pink for glamour"

Yes, and The World has already established that Pink is for Girls (ask any Infant School child). So the work is done.

[JamieandtheMagicTorch]

kin

those Amazon reviews are great though

[JamieandtheMagicTorch]

sorry, that was meant to be kim

[Growlithe]

FourGates With all due respect I say you miss my point. Muller do not define the opportunities available to my children. Neither do their peers. If DH and I can make them comfortable and confident with their choices from an early age, it shouldn't matter what society throws at them. That is our responsibility as their parents.

As for the 70s (as an aside) I remember having a lovely red dress with daisies all over it (hardly unisex) and have seen a cracking photo of DH in a jumper with a plane on, that I wouldn't have been seen dead in.

[Crowler]

Growlithe, you're vastly oversimplifying the issue at hand, which is "let's not reduce our kids to either A.pink/princess/girl consumer or B. blue/pirate/soldier/boy consumer" to "Why are you so worked up over a yogurt, guys!".

There's certainly a logical fallacy in there somewhere and to be blunt I suspect you're not an extremely thoughtful or discerning person.