I know I am, but am I alone? Paw Patrol

[monkeymamma]

Right, this is really grating my cheese right now.

My kids love Paw Patrol. Obviously. They are 2 and 5, so... of course they do.

They are boys. This is relevant (though it shouldn't be).

Their favourite character is Skye. Probably because she has a helicopter and is a nice bright colour (pink). I can promise you I have not encouraged this in any way (Chase is obviously the coolest imho).

Bought PJs for the youngest DS, he was pleased as punch. Bedtime comes, he puts them on. DS1 is puzzled. "Someone's missing," he says, ominously, pointing to his brother's chest. I spot exactly who he means. There are five pups featured and Skye has been omitted. Presumably she's not a "primary" pup. WTAF? She does way more rescue missions than, say, Zuma. Or even Rocky. Cue me going on a rant about everyday sexism etc etc. To the bemusement of my offspring.

Since then I've noticed that EVERY SINGLE BIT of PP merchandise is the same. If you want a t-shirt, bag, sock, shoe, lunchbox, drinks bottle etc with Skye on, you have to buy one with JUST her (or her and Everest) and it will be 100% pink or purple, or covered in frills. I've got no objection to buying these for the boys whatsoever, but I know that other people think I'm making an aggressively feminist statement with my DS2's pink frilly Skye socks. And he'd be way more pleased with socks that have all the pups together, the whole point of the show is team work right?

Just - why? Why to the manufacturers and designers think boys won't buy PP merchandise with all the pups on? Or that girls (or boys) who want pink and frilly will somehow be put off by the inclusion of the male pups on their things. Kids clearly love the show - they won't stop buying it because there are all the pups on all the things.

Fully prepared to be told 'there are bigger problems in this world' - there so clearly are! This has just been bugging me for a while and I needed to get it off my chest!

I'm totally with you. My DS (2) loves Skye the most, and it's so hard to find merchandise with her. I don't get it - they're missing a trick with that one!!

I have the same issues with Thomas and Friends though. My daughter is obsessed with Thomas and all her Thomas stuff is from the "boys" section.

zoobaby I thought the same about the M&S website. Would make total sense if the actual clothes weren't so aggressively gendered.

Plus I hate the fact that Skye is tiny compared to the boys. I just console myself that Marshall is an incompetent arse like so many men...

Yanbu had to buy ds2 bright pink obviously girls knickers because she's not on any boys pants
Yabu chase is a brown nose twat

Exactly, D's loves anything that flies at the moment. Unfortunately Skye is almost impossible to find. Like a PP said, it's all about teamwork, except for the merchandise. It's sad really.

*DS

My ds loves Everest and she's not on anything!

@zoobaby Marketing people are living several decades in the past

They are very much in the now and the future. They know what sells and target it ruthlessly.
Just because you may not buy it doesn't mean that loads others won;t either..

Interesting about the poster that uses she and her for Zuma as we went to Paw Patrol Live yesterday and Zuma was voiced/animated by a woman. Skye got the biggest cheer when she came out, so obviously has more universal appeal.

Re the merchandise, dd currently has boy pjs from Dunnes as she likes Marshall and Rubble (and I don't like pink). It pisses me off that girls only get Skye, Everest and at a push Marshall on their pink sparkly garments

Yes I've found the same, my kids also 2 and 5, love it. They both have had pjs in the past, my daughters just had Skye and Everest on, my sons had the rest on.

I have two boys of a similar age and they love Skye. It is daft not to have them all on. He often says 'where's Skye' like would you not put boys and girls in the sane group at playtime but they can't play with a girl figure. Crazy !

www.backtobeyond.com/post/178886500960/where-is-skye-and-why-it-matters

I was reading this last week. You are not alone!!

Its bonkers the lengths they go to, to seperate her out as well. Took my kids to Sainsburys the other day to get some clothes and DS(3) found paw patrol socks he wanted with the pups faces on. DD (4) noticed before I did that it just so happens that there were only 5 pairs of socks in the pack and no surprises which pup was missing. How hard would it have been to put an extra pair of socks in with Skye on? Its the deliberate exclusion of Skye and Everest for 'boys' clothing that annoys me though and leads to me having to talk to DD constantly about how both her and her brother can like any colours they want and play with any toys they want, that they aren't restricted to certain ones because shes a boy and he a boy

Mine are too old for PP and I've never seen an episode but I'm annoyed just reading this.

I bought DD a Paw Patrol torch in Aldi the other day and it's one of the few pieces of merchandising with all the pups (excluding Everest) on. I also bought her the "girls" (Skye) and "boys" (everyone except Skye) pyjamas.

another vote for this article

www.backtobeyond.com/post/178886500960/where-is-skye-and-why-it-matters

Skye is DS favourite too. He wanted a Skye dress up outfit just like his cousin (girl) and there was nothing for him with her on. I know it's the not done thing on mn but I wasn't buying him the pink dress with the tutu that my niece had. It's so annoying.

The only way to change this is with your wallet. I absolutely refuse to buy any team merchandise where the female characters have been omitted. DS has no PP clothing despite having loved PP since he was a baby, because I won't buy it without Skye.

I have the same rule for everything. No Star Wars that omits Leia/Rey, no Avengers that omits Black Widow, no Cars 3 that omits Cruz, etc. I've no problem with single male characters so he has plenty of Spiderman, Batman, Hulk, stuff. But I try really hard to ensure a mix of genders in his toys, posters and clothing, ordering from abroad or making my own when necessary.

patriarchy innit!

Ooh ooh! Thank you all so much for the comments. It's so nice to know I'm not alone!

Neutrogena - I know what you mean, in general terms marketing people do know what they're doing, and there is a much bigger appetite for gender specific stuff than MNetters would guess. But in this instance... I genuinely think that there's a commercial benefit to mixing up all the pups. So many PPs here whose boys love Skye!

RNBrie thanks for the link! I will enjoy, I think!

Whinesalot thank you for supporting this even though you aren't being directly exposed to the magic of PP on a daily basis like some of us! I really appreciate it!

Another PP who also said (I'll have to paraphrase - sorry!) that it's little things like this that pave the way for bigger problems/wider sexism: thank you. I think that's what's really bothering me. I have two boys, and I try and try and try to raise them in a way that respects everyone. But sometimes it just feels like an overwhelming battle!

And it's not just Paw patrol. My DS loves Frozen Anna. can you get anything with Anna that's not covered in lace and frills? Nope. Search for Frozen merchandise for boys - you can get Olaf.

Same thing with Moana now. He knows it by heart. Amongst the eleventy billion things available, I have managed to find 1 t-shirt that's not pink and sparkly, and a cap.

Why? Of course boys like girl characters (before they are told they shouldn't) Don't companies like money?

Skye isn't missing on some of the things I've bought for dd (her faves are Rocky and Zuma though) - she's on the water bottle, the cushion, the poster etc unless I've bought something that specifically focuses on one pup, such as the Zuma sun hat.

What annoys me though is that only the female characters have eyelashes. Why? Do boys not have eyelashes? Why does she have to be pink? Is it not obvious she's a girl from her annoyingly shreaky voice?

That is a fantastic article thanks Brie and Stink - it perfectly articulates why this is such an important issue

The only thing I 've found that's gender balanced is the bubble bath! It has chase, marshall, skye & everest. Apart from that - total joke. Drives me up the wall.