To feel uncomfortable about gender representation in kids toys?

[stereeotype]

I was looking for a birthday gift and have to say the shopping made me feel...slightly uncomfortable on how badly the toy options played into gender stereotypes. I haven't looked for a kids present for years as I don't have children, but I think I'd be frustrated if I did!

I would go as far as to say I found it disturbing. There was relatively little of use in the 'pink' section and nothing but practical/technical learning material amongst the boys.

Now I appreciate you don't have to buy girls toys for girls and boys for boys - but a girl is likely going to assume she subconsciously wants the girls toys as there are pictures of girls all over the boxes so likely to veer towards those.

Also, why can't the girl section appear girly but the actual toy still be of use, not just a dolls head for hairdressing or a kitchen for cooking?

Can't believe it's 2021 and we are still dealing with this.

I was in Aldi's aisle of wonder yesterday and was very pleased to see that the packaging for a toy kitchen, shopping trolley and doll with a feeding set all had pictures of boys on. Think there was a garage with a girl on too

@Legoisthebest

Babdoc I think I told you this in another thread the other day - Early Learning Centre as not gone. It is sold within The Entertainer toy shops. It is all branded ELC and has it's on section on their website.

I was going to say this, ELC is definitely not gone

I was in Tesco. Tesco is very much divided as boy girl - pink and blue

@stereeotype

I was in Tesco. Tesco is very much divided as boy girl - pink and blue

In tesco its very clearly a blue section with cars figures etc and pink section with dolls and kitchens i dont think thats not deliberate

Yes but Tesco don't have any signs that say 'boys' toys or 'girls' toys do they? The last time I looked at Tesco toys it was one aisle (and only one side). Yes some of the packaging was pink, some blue but plenty in other colours. If you dislike the colour of the box it comes in just take the toy out the box before giving it to the child. Most children just rip the box off anyway.

YANBU.

As I child I always had this disappointment when I was given a toy which promised fun but didn’t actually do anything other than sit pretty.

I have an older boy and a younger girl, so we effectively just have “boy toys” (or gender neutral). It’s profoundly stupid to limit girls like that.

I just checked Tesco website. Toys are divided up by age and type. The words Boy or Girl aren't mentioned anywhere.

I sometimes wonder if posts like these are a wind up.

Local ASDA still pretty much sections toys by gender. Most other shops still do. A few years ago, there was this thing with McDonalds happy meals - Hot Wheels or Hello Kitty. Then be asked - do you want a girls' toy or a boys' toy? Annoying as my DS didn't need a 478th toy car and loved cats.

I’m with you on this OP. Take a look at Pink Stinks. I remember when Hamleys was forced to rethink their pink and blue aisles but the gender stereotypes still persist.

Smiggle is totally awful

YANBU. It is very much still an issue. And to the poster saying 'maybe they do it because girls like playing with girls toys and boys like playing with boys toys', that the whole point! By gendering toys you are telling boys from a tiny age that they should like hammers and diggers and telling girls they should like things related to the way they look or homemaking.

Not all retailers to do this, but some still do. The same with clothes - still very much split by gender and frustrating when you just want something practical for a girl without sparkles and a bloody unicorn on it.

I don't really mind the old-fashioned division that boys prefer cars and warfare and girls like dolls and fashion. But who the feck decided that sharks and dinosaurs and tigers are for boys and cats and horses and giraffes are for girls?

We need to stop saying that pink toys are less worthy than other colours and teach boys (and their parents) that pink is just another colour that anyone can at with.

The exception being changing the colour if a realistic item like a globe or a puppy. But that equally applies to making a globe orange/red or a puppy bright blue.

Yanbu it's so over the top. I believe lego have recently realised it isnt helpful and have decided to stop overly gendered ranges?

@RussianSpy101

Does anyone who is desperately trying to be “woke” ever stop to think maybe the girls like playing with things from the “girls” section and the boys like playing with things from the “boys” section.

This is all getting rather dull now tbh.

@RussianSpy101 exhausting isn’t it.

Just buy Lego. Problem solved.

CatsArePeople Asda's website. Where is it divided by gender? I don't see anything about gender here.
McDonalds haven't done a happy meal promotion like that for years.
I honestly think people like to look for things to complain about. Children don't think pink = girl, blue = boy or car = boy, doll = girl etc unless an adult puts this idea into their head. If an adult never said this concept children wouldn't even think about it.

Yep it infuriates me. Why does everything have to be pink or blue??? I was looking for cups for my baby got when she starts drinking water, so many of them come in either pink or blue - why??? Why not orange or green or yellow? I can only presume the answer is so that you buy it all again if you have a second screen of the opposite gender but really who would do that? I can see why you’d buy new clothes but I wouldn’t be buying cups, if I have a boy in the future he’ll have to have a pink drinking cup. And yes I know boys can have pink cups and girls can have blue cups but the whole thing annoys me.

We have a lovely traditional toy shop Bagatelle in Henley on Thames, it's my go-to place for gifts. Their toys are pretty much sorted by type (pocket money toys, crafty type toys, puzzles, board games, animals and soft toys) and by age.

Sorry that was off on a tangent a bit but I agree with you OP it’s ridiculous in 2021.

Skiing yes indeed. Lego. A Classic or Creator 3 in 1 set cos they are in yellow boxes. Or just don't give a toss about the colour of the box and buy what the child will find most interesting.
Oh and before anyone says it - there is no 'pink' range in Lego so don't even say that.

CatsArePeople forgot the picture.

Oh and before anyone says it - there is no 'pink' range in Lego so don't even say that

Lego friends?

Oh and before anyone says it - there is no 'pink' range in Lego so don't even say that

Quick google image search for lego friends- it’s definitely “pink” and aimed specifically at girls.

But who the feck decided that sharks and dinosaurs and tigers are for boys and cats and horses and giraffes are for girls?

The clothes manufacturers' aim is to make it less likely that parents will "hand down" their son's clothing to any future daughter. That's why creatures with large sharp teeth feature on boys clothes, along with skeletons, etc. The reason, of course, is that they want those parents to spent more money by buying new clothes for their daughter. Giraffes etc would not have the desired effect.