John Lewis can do better

[PumpkinSpicy]

So following up on the appeal for lurkers to get involved, here I am, finally posting on this section.

Been lurking for years but never felt I had anything to add.

This made me angry and John Lewis's reply made me even angrier ; I quote:

"Hi thanks for getting in touch. We offer a broad range of toys that are suitable for all children so that our customers can pick what toys they believe their children will enjoy most. ^Kareem

Vtech have done this girl=pink/boy =blue packaging and products for years. Yet their products still sell in the bucket loads. While I agree it is a bit daft (and surely more expensive having to produce two versions of everything) it obviously doesn't stop people from buying them and hasn't stopped a department store from stocking them. As somewhere like John Lewis tends to only have tiny toy departments (compared to actual toy shops) the company buyers are only going to stock best selling toys. Complain to Vtech if you are that annoyed not John Lewis but as Vtech have been selling these products for years and years it obviously doesn't make it an issue for all. Because if it did the products wouldn't sell.

Having done it for years makes it worse, not more acceptable. Also, it's depressing that so many parents and carers don't object to the damaging effect of this unnecessary gendering.

Tweet vtech?

I think I must live in a alternative universe to everyone else because whether a toy is in pink packaging or blue packaging is something I don't think my daughter has ever noticed or cared about or thought that 'this toy isn't for her'. She is currently technology obsessed, loves Manga, Pokemon and Nintendo games and Five Nights at Freddy's (all 'boyish') but also has a massive devotion to her baby dolls and wants another one for Christmas. She doesn't really stop to look at the colour of the box. She is interested in whats in the box.

Was in the kids clothes section at John Lewis recently. They've stopped categorising their clothes as 'for girls' or 'for boys' which sounds really progressive doesn't it.

So there was a a big space full of un-gender-labelled clothes. On one side were pink and purple clothes, frilly clothes, skirts and dresses and embroidered trousers. On the other side were grey, brown, navy and pond green clothes with dinosaurs, spiders and vehicles on.

If you had taken all those clothes and mixed them up, I could have returned them all to the correct side of the room with, I think, literally perfect accuracy.