Toys R Us (photos attached)

[toastcollective]

Hope I'm posting in the right place, I don't actually have any children myself but I've been shopping for my new niece today. Had a wander round Toys R Us and couldn't quite believe what I saw (I've attached pics)

Would be really interested to hear your thoughts. I'm sure its been ages since shops stopped splitting things by gender? I remember seeing on the news ages ago that Boots, Toys R Us etc were stopping all of this 'boys toys' and 'girls toys' nonsense. I appreciate the signs are neutral now like toy brands or categories 'science' 'arts and crafts' but it is so ridiculously obvious that the toys are gendered it makes me think why on earth they even bothered getting rid of the signs!

If a child spent just 5 mins in this shop even without being bought a toy they would leave will a million stereotypical ideas about gender :(

I have 8 PhDs and numerous awards.

Delusions of Gender was on on my reading pile! That's one to avoid then?

wishing shops don't label the aisles boys and girls, but when a whole aisle has mostly pink packaging and practically every toy has a picture of a girl on it, kids get the message who those toys are intended for. Ditto the 'boys' aisle.

llangennith

My children do give a monkeys about gender stereotyping! They are put out if they feel they can't have something they want because it's for boys, and they know their friends may laugh if they have it.

Correction: because 'it's for boys.'

Isn’t there a picture of a girl above the science display and a picture of a boy above the craft one

YABU. Yawn yawn.

Isn’t there a picture of a girl above the science display and a picture of a boy above the craft one

Isn't that shocking, Toys-R-Us trying to create a stereotype that science is for girls and Crafts are for boys. What is the world coming to.

endehors, don't be put off. It's very good. Of course it attracted a load of blog posts from people saying "it's rubbish because I am deeply invested in believing women are intellectually inferior" - women committing the grave sin of thinking rationally in public always attracts such a response, has done for centuries. Most of the reviews in reputable places, by people who actually understand the science, were pretty good.

What I don't get is why some parents are so invested in defending the idea that boys and girls are intrinsically different. Why would you want to cut your child off from half the activities available to them? Why not simply say "there's loads of interesting stuff out there, do what grabs you?" My DS loves some stereotypically boy stuff (football, rugby - though, as a former woman footballer, I'd argue that labelling football as stereotypically for boys sells women short), some stereotypically girl stuff (crafts - again, why the hell label this as "girly"?), and sometimes produces fabulously mixed up activities (as a toddler, he used to have tea parties for his toy cars in my old dolls house...) Why bother with the labels? Why not just let them get on with what they find fun.

I think I feel all of this stuff on a very personal, visceral level, because as a woman who was always drawn to STEM stuff I had to fight tooth and nail to get to do the subject combinations I needed in my (all girls') school, to fight my way through sexist admissions tutors (quote from one of the academics on my undergrad course to an all male group of students: "of course I have to take a woman every three years or so just to keep the equal ops people quiet...") right through to (a few years back now, but still over 3 decades after the equal pay act) having to take my employer to court to get paid the same as the men in my workplace doing exactly the same job.

This sort of pink and blue crap has real world consequences which damage women (and men too) in very real and tangible ways in terms of career prospects and pay and employment. It's not just a load of navel gazing lefty feminists with too much time on their hands getting upset about nothing - it screws women over. It screws us over big time.

(Oh and congrats on the 8 PhDs fricative - were they from the same correspondence college that Ben Goldacre used to purchase a PhD for his deceased cat?)

Fricative & mum56

I’m assuming you haven’t read Delusions of Gender as your statements are simply incorrect.

The book provides clinical evidence of how deeply ingrained our biases are to see women as inferior, including ignoring facts and real life evidence.

I’m half way through and literally every few pages she refers to a different trial or test that backs up the reality that men and women are biologically different but our brains are not weaker and we have the innate competence to be leaders and to work in highly valued jobs. But that as a class women are held back by society’s prevailing view that there are women and men’s jobs.

Endehors - may I ask why you would not want to read Fine’s book?

I've tried to keep options open for my DCs, but they are influenced by society. In reception class, DS had brightly coloured finger nails one day. Another child called him a girl because he had painted nails and a cardigan. He has never permitted his nails to be painted since.

We were in a toyshop the other day, the DCs thoroughly explored all aisles, except one that they did not step foot in... They've had a doll each since they were little and a few accessories such as some bottles and a purple dolls pram, and they do like them and play with them with a mild frequency. Seeing an aisle plastered in what they perceive to be as a "girl" colour puts them off and shuts down choices. Some girls will also be put off by the lack of diversity in colour.

This is more down to the manufacturers choosing their packaging which means that when the shop groups dolls/ super heros etc, you end up with this wall.of colour effect.

I don't see the need for a "girly" Lego Friends range, why not incorporate the ice cream.parlour/ fair ground/ beauty salon etc into the City range- it would do wonders for diversifying the City's economy

Fricative & mum56

I’m assuming you haven’t read Delusions of Gender as your statements are simply incorrect

Which statement is incorrect? The quote I posted from the author?