I agree entirely that a big part of the issue lies with the manufacturers and the marketers for perpetuating the idea that you have to have a 'boys' and 'girls' version of everything (and there's some blame to be apportioned to the consumers for buying into it too). I do think that the issue of what's made in the first place, how it's packaged and how it's advertised on TV really needs to be addressed.
But as you say, HNC, their motive for doing it is clear. They want to sell twice as much to families (and extended families) with children of both genders.
It would be very worthwhile to take on the whole issue of gendered / pinkified toys, but I don't know how effective we'd be, at least in the short term, in making a noticeable dent in how things are done overall.
Whereas the rationale for concentrating on the toy aisle thing (actual aisles in physical shops and virtual aisles in the case of search tools on retail websites) in the short term, is that it's something that could potentially be changed pretty quickly.
I don't really see where there's a huge incentive for retailers to keep things the way they are, as there is in the case of manufacturers. They will still stock kitchens and spaceships, and both versions of Lego, and boys and girls will still enter the store wanting what they want, based largely (and unfortunately) on the messaging they've received from advertisers.
The only difference is that the pink legos and the multicoloured ones will be side by side on the 'construction' shelf, rather than aisles apart. Surely this could potentially have a positive impact on sales rather than a negative one? A girl who wasn't interested Lego when it was offered to her in five shades of pink, won't feel like she can't pick up the multicoloured box which is sitting right next to it. A boy who wants every possible kind of Lego might see the pink ones as an option to expand his range, when he would never have considered going into the girls' aisle to find them.
A girl who wants to play with dolls is not going to skip the "dolls" aisle because it no longer says "Girls" - but her brother might venture there if the "Girls" sign disappears. And the little girl might find herself browsing train sets if there's no "Boys" sign over that aisle to put her off having a look.
Surely all of this could be good for the retailer?
Given that the retailers are (perhaps) the most likely to make a change, can make a change as easily as re-stocking shelves and hanging a few new signs, and are the actual point at which children and parents finalise their decisions about which toys they want, I would argue that it makes sense to concentrate our efforts on them, at least to begin with.
I'm not at all trying to stifle discussion on manufacturing / marketing, and I will still be very much on board if the consensus is that we should try to target all aspects of gender-based sales of toys, in the way that PinkStinks does. But my own view is that we should bite off one chunk at a time, starting with the retailers. Open to feedback on that, though :)