Girls and boys toys.

[BergholtStuttleyJohnson]

I was in the ELC recently with my young dc's. Dh had gone to put something in the car and I was letting them browse while we waited for him. The eldest is only three so they don't yet care about gender. I was just walking around with them chatting about the toys paying no attention to the layout of the shop or colours. When Dh returned we were looking at a toy kitchen. DH was , I asked what the problem was (thinking he was going to complain his sob was looking at a kitchen) he said "Have you not noticed? Look around the shop. It's split into girls and boys and all the girls toys are about servitude"
I looked around and was correct, a load of pink irons, kitchens, hoovers, dolls etc and in the boys bit was racing cars, diggers, dinosaurs, lots of construction toys. Basically girls equals servant and boys equal strong and powerful.
Up until this point DH had always said there was no need for feminism but he was genuinely shocked and now agrees that something needs to be done about it.
What are your thoughts? I find it shocking that in 2013 toys are still encouraging this idea of housework and childcare as "women's work".

I'm incredibly sad that ELC of all shops has gone this way. They used to do an enormous range of role play toys in plain wood or primary colours. It was one shop that was never gender specific.

If they could return to the way they were in the '80's, I would probably not shop anywhere else.

I agree. It is such a shame. I am noticing it all over the place. Similar with clothes, boys tshirts are full of action, vehicles etc, girls ones have words like 'pretty' and 'cute'

Usually there is a pink version and a multicoloured (green/red/blue) version of the role play toys in ELC. I always go for the non-pink.

The outdoor toys seemed to be non gender specific and the happyland things aren't but ut was all the role play stuff, just a corner of the shop that was all pink. I don't see why they have to pinkify it at all. My boys like playing with dolls just as much as cars. They also love cooking and my three year loves styling my hair. I fear that as they get older they won't want to do "girls" things anymore because of the messages they're getting.

Yes - check out the Let Toys be Toys campaign. They've got a template for a letter too. I've used it a few times to write to different companies. We should all be challenging this madness!

Thanks I'll have a look at the let toys be toys campaign! sounds good! I'm only 25 and I'm sure things weren't so gender specific when I was young. it's more than just gender specific though it's the messages given as a previous poster said, the "pretty", "cute" and even "sexy" for girls and "messy", "monster", "cheeky" for boys along with the action things. Dh also noted that all the fire engine, police, superhero stuff was in the boys bit.