Mister M Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Just been reading a story in the Independent about how a Spanish toy retailer has decided to challenge traditional gender stereotypes in toys for children. It is marketing prams solely for girls, and toolkits for boys, Toy Planet has decided to include pictures of boys pushing prams, and girls playing with mechanical toys. http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/this-spanish-toy-company-is-turning-gender-stereotypes-on-their-head--bJWOIDZygtx Good for Toy Planet! Meanwhile I notice that one of the presenters from Fox News has been having difficulty in understanding the concept http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/fox-news-freaks-out-while-trying-to-understand-gender-neutral-toys--b1f6kubuLVe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margarita Ma Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Great news. The efforts have to continue with role models though. My younger daughter (Now a gas fitter) had a builders set for one of her presents when she was a pre schooler she was always encouraged to do more than the "traditional" girls activities and is also involved with the scouting community. I really feel that fear of making girls un-feminine is what holds back the equal development of girls and fear of making boys effeminate is why boys are channelled into so called male occupations, rather than professions where sensitivity and care are valued. The western world is changing though and change tends to be progressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apelike Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 To quote a lyric from Paul Simon: "Who'll be my role model, now that my role model is gone?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcoblog Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Can't see why because a box of some toy has a picture of a boy on it means it's just for a boy…same with stuff with pictures of girls on. Perhaps it's just meant as a guideline for dunderhead parents who take so little notice of their progeny, that they have no idea what their kids are actually interested in? If it's got a pic of a girl on it, their little Chantelle'll love it! Personally, as a boy, I loved prams when I was little…you could make brill go-carts out of 'em, 'My Little Pony' stuff was great target practice for air rifles, whilst a 'Chad Valley' rolling pin placed in a pair of woolen leggings (suit girl age 5-6) made short work of the school bully. Having said that…my little sis (age 5-6) had to drag what was left of her 'My Little Pony' collection round in a heavily sand-pit damaged Tonka pick-up truck, crying her eyes out 'cos her legs were cold, mainly due to some of the above factors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamston Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I can't see a problem with girls playing with mechanical toys , but I can't see anything positive about encouraging boys to act like fairies . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel22 Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I can't see a problem with girls playing with mechanical toys , but I can't see anything positive about encouraging boys to act like fairies . Why? What's the difference? Why shouldn't a boy be allowed to play with a pram? In what way will it make him 'act like a fairy'? If a boy wants a pram, let him have one! Do you think grown men pushing real babies in prams are also acting like fairies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I can't see a problem with girls playing with mechanical toys , but I can't see anything positive about encouraging boys to act like fairies . Gosh no, that would be dreadful. Funny by the way isn't it, how we have a positive word for boy-ish girls (tom-boys) but not for girl-ish boys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister M Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 I can't see a problem with girls playing with mechanical toys , but I can't see anything positive about encouraging boys to act like fairies . Really? There are lots of men working in what would be classed as traditional female professions (such as those working with children: Primary School Teachers, Paediatricians, Children's Nurses etc). Doesn't make those professions any less worthy, or the people that work in them any less masculine. Your comment says more about your prejudices, than it does about the men working in these professions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamston Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Why? What's the difference? Why shouldn't a boy be allowed to play with a pram? In what way will it make him 'act like a fairy'? If a boy wants a pram, let him have one! Do you think grown men pushing real babies in prams are also acting like fairies?[/QUOTE] You are comparing apples to oranges . I don't have a problem with a grown man pushing a pram containing his own child . However , encouraging a young boy to push a pram and play with dolls makes it less likely he will grown up to push a pram containing his own child . Also Little Johnny less likely to have a positive experience in the school playground when he goes back to school after christmas and tells the other children who all got bikes for christmas that he got a doll's pram from Father Christmas . ---------- Post added 09-11-2015 at 13:05 ---------- Really? There are lots of men working in what would be classed as traditional female professions (such as those working with children: Primary School Teachers, Paediatricians, Children's Nurses etc). Doesn't make those professions any less worthy, or the people that work in them any less masculine. Your comment says more about your prejudices, than it does about the men working in these professions. Boys should be brought up like boys and girls should be brought up like girls . There are unisex toys available , but a doll's pram is not one of them . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berberis Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Just been reading a story in the Independent about how a Spanish toy retailer has decided to challenge traditional gender stereotypes in toys for children. It is marketing prams solely for girls, and toolkits for boys, Toy Planet has decided to include pictures of boys pushing prams, and girls playing with mechanical toys. http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/this-spanish-toy-company-is-turning-gender-stereotypes-on-their-head--bJWOIDZygtx Good for Toy Planet! Meanwhile I notice that one of the presenters from Fox News has been having difficulty in understanding the concept http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/fox-news-freaks-out-while-trying-to-understand-gender-neutral-toys--b1f6kubuLVe Gender stereotypes insinuates they are foisted upon the children by an external force, be it the parents or the wider society. The fact is, if you have ever seen small children play, boys and girls are very different and their tendency towards playing with specific toys is their choice. To ignore this is to push upon the child an external opinion they do not understand or want. This is more about a bunch of liberal hippy types making themselves feel better than anything to do with children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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