teach your daughters to iron and air laundry

[louiseRyan2020]

I was shocked in Aldi this weekend to see toys - clearly marketed at girls - that involved an ironing set (complete with toy iron and ironing board) and a 'clothes airer' - clothes horse (complete with laundry basket).
Ironically both toys were labelled with the slogan 'imagination and creativity' and 'curiosity and discovery'.
The mind boggles . I fail to see how teaching little girls how to iron and air clothes will feed their curiosity or imagination. Both toys seem to show a total absence of imagination - unless perhaps 'how to imagine yourself fulfilling a 1950s stereotype of femininity'?
Perhaps the toys are meant to be ironic and this is actually a plan to teach little girls to rebel against such limited gender stereotypes and domestic drudgery. Apart from anything else, what a total waste of money. It would be cheaper to buy a real clothes horse/ airer than this toy one.
does anyone else find the so-called toys highly objectionable in the 21st century?
I recently went to the new exhibition on the women's rights movement 'Unfinished Business' at the British Library. Well absolutely, this is clearly 'unfinished business' when these kinds of toys are still be marketed at girls.

Girls doing female-coded things isn't inherently bad.

This doesn't bother me at all. My kids would be ripping into the packaging when they get a present they really want. I do get that as a wider thing, the pinkification of small world toys is an issue, but that doesn't seem to be the case here - they look nice little toys. It's just a little girl (or a long-haired feminine boy in a floral top...) playing house.

Children like to copy parents and it's not true that everyone is creative.

What we should be asking is not why little girls might be given this, but why little boys might raise a disapproving eyebrow from parents if they wanted it, even if it showed a boy on the front.

@rorosemary

Children won't notice the packaging. They will notice if they see their dad doing his share of the ironng. Just make sure you model fair behaviour.

Unfortunately, children and adults do notice packaging - it's been discussed over the years (I was on the thread which spawned Let Toys be Toys). Children pick up stereotypes even when they seem outmoded - eg the idea of doctors being male even if they've only ever seen a woman GP.

And don't forget it's not just parents - kids are bought presents by grandparents, aunties and uncles (who may not have kids and be looking for clues as to suitability). The most 'female coded' presents given to my DD tended to be from classmates' parents who themselves only had boys - Barbie dolls or pale pink clothes.

Because children like to roleplay
Often the house corner in a playgroup is popular
My ds had a toy hoover that he loved ( would also be a boring toy you would think )
Unfortunately at 17 he no longer loves the hoover

I saw the Argos Book of Dreams Christmas catalogue. I have never seen so many sexist, stupid toys. DH looked at it after I did, and the first thing he said was how dreadful it was. It's in the recycler now!

Only thing I’d used it for was Hama beads.

Snap. (good choice of user name btw)

There's nothing wrong with a woman ironing and hanging up clothes.

No, the problem is when it's seen as women's work. Which it isn't in my house. DS has never seen me iron a single piece of clothing. I'm not sure he even knows that's what an iron is really for.

@RHTawneyonabus

Lidil Otoh have chosen a little boy to advertise their play ironing set while the little girls play with the race car track. I thought it was a nice touch.

Yes , that was in the booklet in the Sunday papers advertising their wooden toys.

There's nothing wrong with a man ironing and hanging up clothes either

And depending on which version of the Aldi ads you see , you will see boys doing ironing and girls playing with trains and boys and girls playing with tea- sets.