To complain to ELC about the misogynist attitudes in Happyland?!?

[Bramshott]

DD2 was given a Happyland Rose Cottage for Christmas, which is great and she enjoys playing with. So far, so good. But I was at the packing which trumpets:
"Mr Barley teaches geography in Happyland"
and then
"Mrs Barley keeps the cottage tidy and clean"

Am I turning into a grumpy sod in my old age, or is this a really bad message to be sending out to young girls? Obviously DD2 can't read it, but DD1 (6) can.

I'm going to email them I think (quick, before you all tell me I am being unreasonable and need to get a life !)

YANBR - it's quite shocking what stereotyping goes on in toys and the manufacturers need to know that consumers aren't impressed by it. You'd never get away with racial stereotyping anymore in toys but gender stereotyping is entrenched.

Go for it. That is just the kind of thing I would get upset about

On the other hand, it isn't illegal for a Mister to be working and a Mrs to be at home, working as well!

Complain!

I'm sure I saw something else on HappyLand packaging that was a bit dodgy...something about a boy playing football and a girl doing something girly...can't remember what specific toy it was though which doesn't really help.

Okay, I have emailed them as follows:

My daughter was given a Happyland Rose Cottage for Christmas which she loves, but I was dismayed to read the outdated gender stereotyping you use when describing the characters on the packaging. The packaging reads "Mr Barley teaches geography in Happyland; Mrs Barley keeps the cottage tidy and clean" (or similar). Do you really think this is an appropriate message about gender roles to be sending to young girls in the 21st century?

Their autresponse tells me they will be in touch within 24 hours "and that's a promise" so I'll let you know what sort of bland claptrap I get back!

maybe that is just how these two modern and responsible adults have decided is the best way to organise their domestic unit.

Actually Hensmum, the boy/girl think on the Rose Cottage is almost as bad (but not quite as jaw-droppingly misogynist) - it says "Stan (or whoever) likes to play outside with his train"; "Polly prefers to play inside with her teddy"

YANBU at all, I was in Borders today and got all annoyed because they had a "Boys' doodle book" or some such - blue, with pictures of boats, trains etc all over the cover - and a girls' version all covered with horses, mermaids and pretty flowers etc etc! As a kid this would have really irritated me, yes I liked horses but also liked pirates, red indians and plenty of "boyish" things, and was fairly unimpressed by pink fluffy stuff!

fgs get a grip.

Some women stay at home.
some men go to work.

in a year's time happy land will be long forgotten and your dd is not going to learn about rl from rose cottage.

This whole attitude that men and women should not be allowed to be portrayed in certain roles (which most of them have fulfilled for centuries) is madness.

No YANBU, totally agree. Actually I think the gender stereotyping on toys is worse now than in the 70s (or so my mum tells me ). Many toys are only available in blue or pink options (e.g. micro scooter) and the advertising for certain toys leaves ALOT to be desired.

But I am quite a grumpy mare at the moment and slightly tired of the tools/cars/rockets/blue clothing both my DSs got for xmas.

agee with Wannabe

shame on the elc

complain

Frog's right. Do keep it in perspective a bit.

But basically yanbu, or not very anyway. It's a bit outmoded.

Or is it just refreshingly NON right-on? Hmmm.

I wouldn't call it mysogyny, I'd call it sexism or gender stereotype.

But Wannabe you are wrong that women have fulfilled tidying cottage roles for centuries. a) most of them had shacks not cottages and b) most of them had to go out and work for their living, jsut as they do today.

The stereotype of woman staying safely at home while man goes out into the world, is a very very modern one - no older than about 150 years - not centuries old at all.

its shit, i hate this crap, like everything coming in pink or blue at ELC. TBH, I think all you can do as a parent is make sure they are not exposed to it i.e throw away the packaging etc. My ds1 aged 4 has a dolls house which he loves - both as a trad dolls house for arranging the tables and chairs etc, and for creative things he has come up with like parking a car in every room etc. Took me months to find a plain wood one that was not completely pink as he had already been turned off the colour pink by silly boys at nursery saying it is a girls colour (why?). Anyway, at his birthday party at the weekend one of the dads said why the hell have you got a girls dolls house in here (have 2 boys) and I saw his little face fall. They are 4 years old, so young to be exposed to this crap. It is the way of the world though unfortunately - all we can do is minimise it. I mean his dad does housework and we both work so I dont think he is getting overly trad role models from us, all you can do.

i try and just control what I can in my own house but another one that makes my blood boil is the KFC ads for "Mum's Night Off" - not that I eat the stuff but why is it her night off if you get a take away - my DP cooks more than I do!

It's not mysogyny - it's just stereotyping.
What's wrong with an old-fashioned family with "traditional" roles? Better that than some irritating pc-version where Ms Barley is a mechanic, and Mr Hay is a SAHP.

The one that gets me most angry - is the nintendo ds game called something like 'mummy I can do it' - they have a boys and a girls version - the boys version is all trains and cars and the girls version is all princesses, babies and cooking - so which one will I not buy for my dd who wanders along our road in a princess dress identifying all the car makes??

maybe we should just abolish the terms men and women. And mum and dad. since it is apparently wrong to see any particular gender in any particular role.

In fact maybe 'rose cottage' shouldn't have a mum and dad at all but a same-sex couple. Just to ensure that it is brought in line with political correctness.

Fgs it is a toy. And what is written on the packaging has no bearing on how the child will play with it. If the child has imagination then he/she will play with it however he/she sees fit.

Do people not have enough issues to deal with in their lives that they need to spend time worrying about this crap?

LOL in our house -mrs believer keeps the house clean, Mr believer goes out to work. Are we bad.

Maybe you want.

Mrs Happy land is out all day kicking ass with her Jimmy choo's.

While Mr Happyland happily does all the chores and thanks his luck stars he is married to a modern lady.

oh please don't pretend toys don't contribute to children's views of the world.

btw here's an interesting take on the obsessive pinking of stuff for girls. Quite amusing. As late as the 1920's, pink was still a boy's colour. pink pink pink