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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think a library shouldn't categorise colouring pictures by sex?

24 replies

BerniceBroadside · 10/03/2015 20:50

Library kindly provides colouring pictures for children. Except they are stored in folders labelled GIRLS (princesses and fairies) and BOYS (robots and diggers). What will happen if a boy colours in a princess? Will his penis drop off? Will he turn gay?

Librarian seemed most put out when I mentioned that I was surprised that they categorised them that way. Apparently nobody else has ever complained and the children prefer it. Yes, they probably did, in 19fucking50.

OP posts:

woowoo22 · 10/03/2015 20:58

YANBU but a bit over-dramatic. But then, this should not be the done thing. But its a library...

Gaah, I don't know.

Monkey533 · 10/03/2015 23:13

YANBU. Good on you for pointing it out to the librarian.

MrsTawdry · 10/03/2015 23:17

Just take in one folder, remove them from their originals...place them all in the new red one and you will have fixed the issue. I would.

TwinkieTwinkle · 10/03/2015 23:39

Your being picky. Most of the time boys will go for 'boys' pictures and girls will go for 'girls' pictures. Why cause more hassle and work for people by putting them all together when they can be divided? Most children going to a library and colouring aren't old enough to read, they can just ask for a particular kind of picture and not know they are divided into boy/girl. It's a free service. Pick your battles.

MrsTerryPratchett · 11/03/2015 00:05

Most of the time boys will go for 'boys' pictures and girls will go for 'girls' pictures. I wonder why... DD likes cars, fairies, dinosaurs, trucks, princesses and robots. She has been shoved into her box enough now, at 4 yo, to ask in a worried voice, "is it for girls?" when confronted with something new.

Fucking patriarchy.

f1fan2001 · 11/03/2015 00:09

My daughter loves princesses, pirates, fairies and robots but is now at the age where the boys at school are telling her she is a girl and can't do 'boys' things. Luckily she tells them she can do anything she wants but I am so fed up with gender branding! Colouring books labelled 'girls' - nice and pink or 'boys' - nice and blue, sticker books the same. Aisles at the shop full of pink 'girl' toys and all the more exciting (to my mind) toys being deemed 'boys' toys.

I am happy to buy her 'boys' things - including clothes but I can see that in a few years this will be a bigger problem as she will realise the dinosaur trainers she loves are on the 'boys' side of shoe shop or her Minion T-shirt is in the boys department :-(

Good on you for picking up on it and making a fuss

ChipDip · 11/03/2015 05:06

Good for you

poshfrock · 11/03/2015 06:40

Totally agree. If they want to categorise them then have one folder labelled "Fairies and Princesses" and one labelled "Robots and Diggers" or "People" and ""Machines". Then kids of both genders can choose from either folder. It's not difficult.

MothershipG · 11/03/2015 06:47

Well done for saying something, if nothing has changed by your next visit please following it up with an email. What next? Will we have to shelve the books into boy's books and girl's books?

LittleBairn · 11/03/2015 06:51

YANBU its sad that its seen as perfectly fine.

SoonToBeSix · 11/03/2015 06:51

Er no nobody is saying a boys penis will fall of if he colours in a picture from the " girl" folder. It is however a fact that more girls will prefer to colour in a picture if a digger than a fairy.

SoonToBeSix · 11/03/2015 06:51

Sorry more boys

strawberrypenguin · 11/03/2015 06:52

I'm all for children not being gender stereotyped but just to look at this from the other side, it's a nice thing for the library to have, it's free, try no to be so PO and enjoy the nice thing they are doing.

Uppatea · 11/03/2015 06:53

I used to work in a small library where we had colouring pages for the children. I use to spend many a happy hour selecting them . A good range of different styles and subjects.

They were kept in one ring binder, and if anyone had suggested to me we should separate them by gender they would have got a raised eyebrow from me at the very least.

I was going to say it's lazy to do that but actually you'd have to put in more work to keep two folders tidy and filled rather than one.

I'm glad you pointed it out to them. If a girl chooses a picture of a princess from a selection of Princesses and fairies it's a different choice to that she makes from a selection of Princesses, fairies, trucks and robots.

lionheart · 11/03/2015 07:02

How would you know the girls prefer the fairies and the boys prefer diggers if the choice is made for them?

AlternativeTentacles · 11/03/2015 07:32

It is however a fact

A - where is your research on this?
B - when you publish your research, did you consider that is because everyone puts the colouring into 'girls' and 'boys' folders which means that they think 'the other' is not for them and this may affect future decision making.

For example - I used to enjoy eating Yorkies. Once they started the 'not for girls' advertising campaign, even though I knew it was stupid, I swore never to give the company money again because of their ridiculous campaign. It's not just 'it is not for me' but 'apparently it is not for me so they can fuck off' attitude that can effect your research.

AuntieStella · 11/03/2015 07:33

I don't think that sexist stereotyping of children should be given a free pass because it was meant to be a "nice thing"

Especially as the remedy is so very easy (and leads to less, not more, maintenance)

pinkr · 11/03/2015 07:37

Yabu only because I read library and sex and thought this thread might be mildly interesting

Mcnorton · 11/03/2015 07:52

I'm a librarian and a bit surprised at this, but maybe that's because Brighton is too right-on for that sort of thing! There is a lot of pressure to be accountable to tax payers though, so they are probably going to do what the majority want (so you might be able to change it if you get enough people to complain). In my experience libraries are doing their best under difficult circumstances -you can't please everyone. My library categorises by genre and files some sections separately, which as a reader bugs me because often it is a subjective or arbitrary judgement.

liquidstateisonthemulled · 11/03/2015 08:15

YANBU

Don't really need to say anything more. I would go in and ask for digger pictures for my DD on a daily basis just to be awkward.

Original poster

BerniceBroadside · 11/03/2015 08:38

I'll report back on my next visit.

I bet the princesses are still festering in the bloody 'girls' folder. Just sort them by theme, in alphabetical order, if you have to categorise them at all.

OP posts:

DilysDerwent · 11/03/2015 09:20

YANBU.
If a girl chooses a picture of a princess from a selection of Princesses and fairies it's a different choice to that she makes from a selection of Princesses, fairies, trucks and robots.
Exactly. Even if every girl were to choose a princess and every boy were to choose a robot it does not mean princesses are for girls and robots are for boys.
Shall we start a "Let colouring in be colouring in" campaign?

TheFecklessFairy · 11/03/2015 10:50

I am sure you are quite capable of opening the 'wrong' folder and taking out a picture more suitable for your pfb.

As Dilys said - let's start a campaign.

MothershipG · 12/03/2015 06:41

Argh! In the library I was working in yesterday I had to copy some colouring sheets and they had lots of categories; animals, flowers, flags etc. Then right at the back I found a girl's and boy's section, so I helpfully renamed them and copied some flags.

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