In an interesting article that ran on BBC news recently, some rather observant people noted the potential impacts of sexist marketing of toys to children:
I have long been disgusted by the sexist marketing trends used in children's toys, but I never really thought about the longer-term ramifications of doing so beyond the offensive reinforcement of sexist gender stereotypes. I think that at least some companies try to break the molds - we have scientist Barbies after all - but segregating toys by sex still sends a strong message.
What do you guys think about this article? What do you think about how our culture markets toys to children? Do you think your own childhood experiences confirm some of the concerns raised by the article?
'Dreams'
Society should therefore aim not to make boys who want to play with a pushchair and girls keen to kick a football feel guilty or ashamed, she argued.
"A boy who has never had a sewing kit might never discover his talent for design and a girl who has never had a Meccano set may never discover she has real potential as an engineer.
"Clearly not every girl that plays with Lego is going to be an architect... but why should we limit girls' aspirations at so early an age by making it so rigidly defined?"
Toy shops gave off clear signals, the consumer affairs minister said: "The shelf may say 'girls' or 'boys' on it, or otherwise girls' and boys' toys may be colour-coded or displayed in separate aisles.
"What message does that send out? What are we telling our children? We are telling them that girls and boys are different, that they like different things and that they have different interests and skills.
"We are telling them that their gender defines their roles in society and their dreams about the future."
I have long been disgusted by the sexist marketing trends used in children's toys, but I never really thought about the longer-term ramifications of doing so beyond the offensive reinforcement of sexist gender stereotypes. I think that at least some companies try to break the molds - we have scientist Barbies after all - but segregating toys by sex still sends a strong message.
What do you guys think about this article? What do you think about how our culture markets toys to children? Do you think your own childhood experiences confirm some of the concerns raised by the article?