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Quote from: partypony566 on August 15, 2012, 06:34:02 PMOk: mlp is predominantly pink. So is Barbie. However it sounds like there's a problem with the 'pink 'Just to clarify: you want everything to be gender neutral in the toy stores....so does that include 'pretty pink princess sparklepants Barbie' or pinkie pie .....do the actual toys need to change, or you just want a neutral section to be able to buy your pink toys from?Good luck with telling Hasbro and Mattel to make their colours neutral. Why is it such a problem to take into account other peoples' feelings on this? It's just great if some people like pink and fit in with gender stereotypes but you know a lot of people don't. "PINK AISLE" = "GIRL AISLE" and "BLUE AISLE" = "BOY AISLE." What Harrod's is doing is putting toys together by TYPE not by stupid colours. And MLP are most certainly in the blindingly pink aisle at my TRU, right along with Littlest Pet Shop, fakies and other random stuff. It's not just the colour PINK. If it was the colour GREEN it would be the same thing. Society has built up gender like it essential, BUT IT ISN'T... People need to stop being shoved into boxes and dumb categories. I'd rather not be assaulted by the ridiculous, stupid and damaging gender binary/stereotypes everywhere I go, and starting with kids' toys is a great idea. Because kids put pressure on each other from Day 1. You become a "freak" if you think 1) there is nothing essential about the colour [WHICHEVER in this case pink] and feminity; 2) you don't fit in to the stupid societal construct of what femininity even "is"/is "supposed" to mean; 2) even organising toys boy "GIRLS" and "BOYS" suggests that BOYS like those toys and GIRLS like the other ones. These put people into categories!And why do people think that these stupid, dumb, random sets of rules are not only essential, but unchangeable? Like some sort of dumb societal jungle; you need to just 'deal with it'? 'Put your big girl panties on and go into the blue aisle if you feel like it'? Why should I even have to do that? What if I want it to be EQUAL instead of people making assumptions about others because of what sex they were assigned at birth? And why is everybody so defensive saying how BAD that is? You're sidelining a lot of people who don't fit in with that system and feel it discriminates against them and feel that it offends them. Why is it always just 'OH GROW UP AND DEAL WITH IT.' Why? Why don't we change these stupid rules so EVERYONE can feel safe and comfortable in who they are?In conclusion, Harrod's is doing a great thing and I support this message.
Ok: mlp is predominantly pink. So is Barbie. However it sounds like there's a problem with the 'pink 'Just to clarify: you want everything to be gender neutral in the toy stores....so does that include 'pretty pink princess sparklepants Barbie' or pinkie pie .....do the actual toys need to change, or you just want a neutral section to be able to buy your pink toys from?Good luck with telling Hasbro and Mattel to make their colours neutral.
I am a girl. I like pink, sparkles, ponies, stuffed animals, dolls, and flowers. I wish people would stop trying to insist that it's wrong for girls like me to like girly things.
In the US, I have come across a few stores that specifically label the aisles as Boys and Girls in the toy department. Just because it is a non-issue for some people doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. I think it's great that many people felt and still feel comfortable no matter which section they're shopping in. I don't have a problem with it anymore, myself. However, for every person who is okay with it, there's a person or two who isn't. And that's not okay. The point isn't that we need to make it harder to find things or go on some social crusade. The point is that it's ridiculous that some kids should feel wrong becuase of what toy aisle they're looking in. Again, not every kid feels this way, but even from looking as this thread, people have expressed that they did feel awkward, even as children. I think that's proof that this does effect kids. Whether it's stores or the parents or society in general, kids are picking up on the gender divide whether you think so or not. A boy in my preschool class was often picked on because he played with Barbies. So even if this toy store idea doesn't solve the problem, maybe it'll be a step in the right direction. And where's the harm in that?
Why is it such a problem to take into account other peoples' feelings on this?
Quote from: TraderTif on August 13, 2012, 10:33:50 PMDidn't Toys-R-Us try this a few years back? (I know I read something about it in one of the toy industry magazines.......) I thought it ultimately hurt their sales, because consumers were more confused about where to locate items and they would give up and shop elsewhere?Yes they did and it went so so, the Inmaganirum. It is still around, for the most part stores are arranged by age, then gender, when you get to the older toys it is just by type.
Didn't Toys-R-Us try this a few years back? (I know I read something about it in one of the toy industry magazines.......) I thought it ultimately hurt their sales, because consumers were more confused about where to locate items and they would give up and shop elsewhere?
Quote from: ZennaBug on August 14, 2012, 11:11:52 PMI am a girl. I like pink, sparkles, ponies, stuffed animals, dolls, and flowers. I wish people would stop trying to insist that it's wrong for girls like me to like girly things. The problem is not you being a girl and liking these things. No one says that's wrong. The problem is that they're labeled as "girly" to begin with. Because, they're not. They're just things (what's girly about a stuffed animal or a pony, seriously...?). These annoying gender specialized labels really have to go. They don't help and only make people....narrow minded, as I see daily in the toy stores: "Nono, this is for girls. You can't buy that".
The world wouldn't exist if we didn't have "men" and "women".
We are all individuals and can be who and what we wish.
When I sit with a client and ask who their target market is the worst response they can ever give is "everyone" - there is no such market as "everyone". Whether it be a cake or a car or a toy things have better impact and sell better when they have a large but specific market - whether that market be a subtle targeted one or as blatant as men or women.
For me, a brand like MLP - which I apologise if it offends anyone - is about as girly girl a brand as you can get [outside Barbie ] - and is fundamentally a "feminine toy" aimed at the market of little girls. Yes I know there are plenty of guys who like it and that's not only cool but [in many ways] awesome . But if I collected Transformers I would be fully accepting of the fact I collected a "boys toy".
I think we are reading too much into it being girls and boys - its divided that way for easy marketing.
I am not saying any of what I am typing is "right" in the grander scheme of the world or that people need to accept it or like it.