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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think kinder are really sexist?

87 replies

DSM · 03/10/2013 20:00

Kinder eggs have launched new eggs - one with a pink topped wrapped and one blue.

Pink one contains dolls, blue ones cars.

How are they even allowed this?!

OP posts:

BullieMama · 03/10/2013 20:10

My daughter saw them in Aldi and said dont look mam it will give you the rage! !

SPsTwerkingNineToFive · 03/10/2013 20:12

Because its not illegal maybe.

I have no issue with it tbh. Toys are shit no matter the colour.

picnicbasketcase · 03/10/2013 20:16

I knew there'd be a thread on this. I think it's kind of a shame, the fun of them is not knowing if you're going to get a small alligator, an ugly plastic doll or an aeroplane that's impossible to assemble. Takes away all the mystery.

GrumpyKat · 03/10/2013 20:20

They are only "limited edition", which is good because I'm not buying them again until they go back to being orange and random.

Helpyourself · 03/10/2013 20:24

Bullie!

Original poster

DSM · 03/10/2013 20:41

I just hate that kind of gender stereotyping sexism.

And no, gender stereotyping isn't illegal but sexism is. And it's certainly morally and ethically wrong.

OP posts:

birdsnotbees · 03/10/2013 20:58

Another one who won't be buying them. Total utter gender fecking stereotype bollocks, of the most insidious kind. And if anyone says oh don't be so touchy I will stick one of the pink foil wrapped plastic pieces of tat where the sun don't shine.

EarthMither · 03/10/2013 21:02

YANBU OP - I saw these gendered Kinders at the Aldi checkout today and got the rage. Pleased to hear they are limited edition

TooOldForGlitter · 03/10/2013 21:05

I do agree and yes in the grand schene of things of course it is 'minor' but IMO these minor things just constantly reinforce girls = dollies boys = dinosaurs and before you know it you have fully fledged beliefs in adults that girls are capable of one thing and boys of another.

Fakebook · 03/10/2013 21:06

Meh. Don't care.

But you've reminded me of this old kinder egg advert.

Original poster

DSM · 03/10/2013 21:18

I think it's really sad when people don't care about this stuff.

Don't you want to promote sexual equality to your children? Or are you really so apathetic about them being brought up in such a sexist, stereotypical world?

OP posts:

SPsTwerkingNineToFive · 03/10/2013 21:21

I don't care because its chocolate wrapped round a yellow case containing a shit toy. My son might decide he wants a doll or might decide he wants a car. Either way still shit

CajaDeLaMemoria · 03/10/2013 21:26

Kinder did do a study on this, and a lot of parents said they wanted it.

That aside, I'll buy a pink one if I want a doll, and a blue one if I want a car. If they forbid girls from buying a blue egg, or vice versa, I'll get annoyed. Until then, it doesn't matter. They could, and maybe should, have picked green or yellow or purple or silver, but they did ask people, and this was what people wanted.

Most people segregate colours into genders anyway. Green is a back-up boys colour, purple is a back-up girls colour, etc...

Fakebook · 03/10/2013 21:32

My dd is 5 (almost 6). Her "world" at the moment is home and school. Today she chose blue glasses at the eye hospital, not the pink or purple ones the optician laid out infront of her. She chose to take in her scooby dog to school for show and tell this week, not her 3 dolls. She chose a pirate themed birthday party last year and has dinosaurs on her bedroom wall.
DS wore pink and red tights when he was a baby and uses Dd's old pink pushchair. He also loves rocking Dd's teddies like they're babies but also loves his cars and motorbikes more than dd ever did.

Tbh, I don't think my children are growing up in a sexist or stereotypical world. That's thanks to their home life. So if dd wants a pink kinder egg, she can have one.

Original poster

DSM · 03/10/2013 21:47

Aaahhhh massive banging head on wall moment.

most people is exactly the issue.

You can see that, right?

OP posts:

SHarri13 · 03/10/2013 21:50

Oh for goodness sake, this is just bloody annoying. We'll have gender specific bread soon.

I feel like I'm fighting a loosing battle when trying to I still non gender stereotyping to my boys.

Elsiequadrille · 03/10/2013 21:52

Yanbu. I dislike this sort of thing, I hadn't seen it but will definitely be avoiding.

birdsnotbees · 03/10/2013 23:03

That is horseshit about Kinder asking parents what they wanted, btw. I work in marketing. You never give people what they "ask" for; you either tell them or you see what sells best. This has nothing whatsoever to do with parental desires and everything to do with boosting sales and increasing market share/saturation. It exploits gender stereotypes - that's our kids, people; it exploits our kids - in order to increase profits.

As for the comment about "we'll my kids are fine because I'm not sexist" - you may not be (neither am I) but sadly the world is. And one day you won't be your kids' world and they'll be out there dealing with a society that defines and constrains them by their gender. Question is, do you want to stand up and change that or are you just going to accept the sexist status quo and hope they'll be ok when they're out there without you?

Sinful1 · 04/10/2013 00:38

out of curiosity are they specifically "girls and boys" and advertised as such?

or are they simply pink and blue, with a car and a doll?

as if it's the latter there's no gender stereotyping at all just color coding the toy, the stereotyping is done when you pick which color you want for your dc.

samithesausage · 04/10/2013 00:46

I thought pink = doll and blue = car/motor vehicle. I don't think it was labelled boys and girls. I suppose it gives the buyer a small amount of control in what they're getting.

EarthMither · 04/10/2013 07:54

If it's just colour-coding to make identifying the toys easier, why aren't the eggs, say, green for dolls and orange for cars?

DropYourSword · 04/10/2013 07:59

I wouldn't have a problem with color coding. I would only have a problem if boys were ONLY allowed the blue, or girls ONLY allowed pink. Kids can decide which one they want and get on with things. Don't see the issue.

Original poster

DSM · 04/10/2013 10:10

It is a problem because it is ingraining into children (and society) that separating gender is acceptable. It might not be labelled boy and girl, but by labelling pink and blue, it may as well be.

If Kinder were so keen on helping you gain control of your 'surprise', they would write car or doll on the wrapper, not label them pink and blue.

Apparently, 66% of parents said this was a good idea. Which equates to 66% of survey responding parents being idiots.

OP posts:

FlapJackOLantern · 04/10/2013 11:31

I knew there'd be a thread on this.

There were threads..............several weeks ago

ScarerAndFuck · 04/10/2013 11:45

If it was just about choosing your toy in the colour coding they could have chosen red and green or silver and gold or yellow and brown. Any colour combination at all really.

Or why not pink for cars and blue for dolls, if it had to be pink and blue. Which it didn't.

I thought the point was in the surprise anyway. Not that there is a surprise. We've been getting blue ink stamp rings with arctic animals footprints on them for months now, with the odd Monsters University eagle with horns thrown in once in a blue moon.

When I was little I was just as pleased with the cars as with the plastic animals and dolls or whatever else came out of them. In fact I still have some of the cars and DS plays with them now. The cars were the only toys I saved.

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