Anyone else watching No More Boys And Girls?

[saanaa]

It's really pissing me off.

The experiment in the first episode where they switched the babies in different "gendered" clothes and adults played with typical boys and girl toys accordingly was incredibly subjective. I played with lego over 30 years ago and I'm a girl. The presenter is making it sound like no girl has ever played with lego or has any spatial awareness.

I like make-up and fashion and hair extensions and short dresses, I like being feminine and girly. But I'm smart and confident too. My girlfriends are architects, geologists, and lawyers. I read economics at university over a decade ago and there were plenty of women on my course.

The show is making it out like we're doomed

Hubby watched a few minutes this evening he was annoyed by the gender neutral loos, the last straw was emptying the little girls bedroom he lost it then and switched over. Said it was brainwashing a whole generation of children.

I know! I would have cried for days if someone came to take all my barbie dolls away as a child. Just because I played with barbies doesn't mean I'm destined to grow up to be a fucking bimbo!

I had Sindy my Mother thought Barbie was too sluttish with her big chest and taste in clothes lol.

😂😂

Said it was brainwashing a whole generation of children.

You could argue that the massively skewed toys that they were given beforehand was a form of brainwashing.

The experiment in the first episode where they switched the babies in different "gendered" clothes and adults played with typical boys and girl toys accordingly was incredibly subjective. I played with lego over 30 years ago and I'm a girl

Wasn't the point of the test to show the many ways in which adults make gendered assumptions about the behaviour and toy preferences of really young babies? I remember the same experiment being carried out during the Child Of Our Time series with similar results.

I played with lego over 30 years ago and I'm a girl

The gendered nature of toy advertising has increased dramatically in the last 30 years.

I thought it was very interesting and am glad it's on mainstream tv to get this talked about. I did think his approach was a bit extreme and therefore met with a lot of resistance from parents - after all, we all want to think we're doing a decent job of raising our kids. Imo the key is balance but this is easier to do with girls than boys (boys in princess dresses anyone?).

Did the statements made by the kids not scare anyone? That 7 year olds have those views about gender roles. Already?

If you are interested in this topic I would highly recommend the book "beyond pink and blue parenting". It's revelatory.

I thought it was excellent and compulsory viewing for parents to be honest.

I also like make-up (rarely leave the house without it), have long blonde hair and look feminine. I too grew up in the 1980 & 90s playing with both lego and Barbies. I then went on the get a PhD in chemistry and enter the very male-dominated science and tech industry, where I have had to battle my way through sex-based prejudice almost daily ever since and continue to do so.

It is these seemingly harmless, small things like kid's t-shirt slogans, toy colours and roles in story books that form the basis of prejudice that both sexes are subject to and - that are virtually subconscious and immovable by the time we reach adulthood.

As Rita already said, toys are much more gender-stereotyped these days. I saw a programme on French TV discussing the reasons behind this - marketing and profit of course. The 'girls' versions of the same toys (why do we even need a girls version anyway??) were always slightly more expensive and coloured pink/purple/glittery. Just like the razors and deodorant for adults.

As for 'brainwashing a whole generation of children', nothing could be further from the truth. This programme shone a light on the societal brainwashing that is currently the norm. Perhaps if people bothered to watch the whole thing, they might have seen this.

We all know women who are doctors, architects, scientists, computer programmers. That doesn't mean ALL young girls and women are getting the message that they can do these things. It doesn't mean the women we know who have succeeded in these roles had an easy time getting there, that they didn't have to work harder than men to get where they are and that they are being paid the same as men in comparable roles.

Gender inequality exists and the messages young children receive from the world around them influences how they see themselves in the world. Children will of course also be receiving messages from significant adults in their lives too: their parents, teachers, etc. If young girls receive more empowering messages from these adults then there's more of a chance they'll see themselves doing jobs that society as a whole don't see as 'women's work'. If their parents and teachers reinforce gender stereotypes then they are less likely to feel they can achieve.

As for lego. Some girls play with lego, sure. And as a PP said more so before all this pink and blue crap became so prevalent. Why do lego make pink lego now? Aimed at girls? Is it because non pink lego is for boys? It's certainly how it's marketed in stores.

It's really important that we make sure our sons, as well as our daughters, are receiving the message that they can ALL do anything.

I think it's very interesting viewing. My DSD is the same age as those in the show. She only likes what she calls "boy" things; she has a Star Wars room, plays with Pokémon cards, has a Nerf gun collection (not the shit pink ones) watches Power Rangers etc. She plays football in school buy says the boys make fun of her. If someone buys her a dress she refuses to wear it and says pink things are for girls. It's nice that she doesn't feel the need to like stereotypically "girl" things but it does upset me that she feels the need to label things at all. She calls herself a tomboy. I wish she could just happily like what she does without being aware of everything behind it.

I have children of 30ish and one of 10.

My 30ish children had toys that were yellow, red, green, brown etc. When I went to buy toys for the youngest, all those same toys now come in blue or in pink. Look at the Little Tykes Coupe. Always been red. Now there's a pink one. Why?

Our local toy shop has the Lego in one huge aisle. Starts with the really intricate sets for teens and goes down to Duplo. In the next aisle, which is where all the dolls and pink shit is, is a separate display of Lego Friends. In pink boxes.

Those 7 yos sat there and said girls couldn't be astronauts. WTF? (Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Eileen Collins) Boys couldn't be nurses, or dancers (Rudolph Nureyev, Wayne Sleep, Lionel Blair). Where are they getting these ideas? My 30 yo grew up with the idea she could be whatever she wanted, yet her sister is getting the "you're only a girl" message loud and clear. Where has it come from? What has changed?