Gender neutral toy catalogue - opinions?

[Vintergatan]

ok, I read the first sentence of that article and already wanted to strangle the writer. I just love it how it's always so much worse if boys are being girly than if girls are being tomboyish :rage:

[Rosse]

I forgot to say; I'm so glad to see all the positive reactions here! A couple of Swedish newspapers posted articles today that made it sound like everyone in every other country thinks this is totally wrong and that the Swedish equality movement has gone way too far etc. Which in turn made our loud conservatives become even louder

So I'm so glad you proved them wrong!

[LuvlyMelody]

Gone way to far?! I say not far enough!!

[Babushka]

Wait . . . so Sweden is showing how children actually play with toys?

I had ponies, dinosaurs, and Hotwheels while the neighbor boy had a couple of barbies. We shared toys quite often. My brother and sister are close in age, and borrowed each others' toys all of the time.

[Katika]

LOL!  My brother and I used to play "American Gladiator" with NERF guns all the time!  A girl with one of those suckers is NORMAL to me! 

[kaoskat]

I dunno. I dunno their laws, maybe some are too far but some probably aren't far enough. I can't really comment about them either way since I have no clue. I just know there are certain groups (not Sweden, or at least not that I know of, not any country, just groups of people in general) that very much seem to want to keep girls from being "girly" and keep boys from being "masculine". I feel that is as much as a problem as making girls be "girly" and boys be "masculine". People should just be allowed to "be". If girls or boys like things that are traditionally suited to their gender, they should be allowed to and likewise if they like things traditionally suited to the opposing gender they should be allowed to. Frankly, I don't like being refered to as a "traitor to my gender" because I like pink, sparkles, and frills and yet alternately getting scolded by a different group for liking snakes, lizards, and bugs, climbing trees. People should just be allowed to like whatever they want. That's why I like the ad. It's not changing the toys or saying kids have to not like the toy "meant for them". It's just saying "kids like toys" and it doesn't matter what traditional gender role they used to be placed in.

My name is Kat and I like "feminine" and "masculine" things and I refuse to change regardless of what anyone thinks.

[ZennaBug]

You know....... Usually these things make me angry because they are insisting they change toys to be gender neutral by taking away my beloved pink or blue or something like that, but this isn't altering toys to be gender neutral, it's showing both genders playing with things as they are. I like that. I'm of the opinion our toys don't need neutering, our attitudes do, and that's what this is. Toys should just be toys. I approve!

I couldn't agree with you more, Kat.  What I like is that they didn't change the TOYS at all, just challenged the perceptions a bit.  I loved pink and sparkles as a kid and I would never want the little girls like me to lost that.  But I also had Hot Wheels, dinosaurs, and supersoakers/nerf guns.  And at my work, the little boys play with dolls and barbies sometimes.  It happens.  I think it's a wonderful ad.

I dunno. I dunno their laws, maybe some are too far but some probably aren't far enough. I can't really comment about them either way since I have no clue. I just know there are certain groups (not Sweden, or at least not that I know of, not any country, just groups of people in general) that very much seem to want to keep girls from being "girly" and keep boys from being "masculine". I feel that is as much as a problem as making girls be "girly" and boys be "masculine". People should just be allowed to "be". If girls or boys like things that are traditionally suited to their gender, they should be allowed to and likewise if they like things traditionally suited to the opposing gender they should be allowed to. Frankly, I don't like being refered to as a "traitor to my gender" because I like pink, sparkles, and frills and yet alternately getting scolded by a different group for liking snakes, lizards, and bugs, climbing trees. People should just be allowed to like whatever they want. That's why I like the ad. It's not changing the toys or saying kids have to not like the toy "meant for them". It's just saying "kids like toys" and it doesn't matter what traditional gender role they used to be placed in.

My name is Kat and I like "feminine" and "masculine" things and I refuse to change regardless of what anyone thinks.

[banditpony]

Gyah, it's complicated to me.

Yes, toys are for boys and girls. But if a girl wants to play with a "girl" toy, thats ok. And if a boy wants to play with a "girl" toy, that's ok... etc.

I am a girl, I wasn't a tomboy, I played cars, little ugly men (forget the name), building toys, ponies, general animal toys... and didn't like the baby dolls or barbies.

D: I mean shoot, I have a 70's muscle car that's older than me and I normally have a G1 pony sitting on the dashboard. I never seem to let advertisement tell me what I should, or should not enjoy. Do I think more young woman should be owning muscle cars? I could care less~! More men love ponies? Also, could care less. We all need to like what we own and do, and not feel guilty about it. (Unless, it's truly, morally wrong).

So yeah, I feel like we should certainly see images of boys playing with baby dolls, and girls with nerf guns.. but I hope it's really a mixed thing, and not forced. And I couldn't make a judgement against or for the advertisement without actually seeing it.

[ashes]

Meh - toys are toys.  However, I really don't seen what is wrong with identifying with a gender.  Why do things have to go so far as being gender neutral?  I'm not a man - I'm a woman, and proud to say so.  And I don't see what is wrong with celebrating the differences in the genders.  It gives us our rich tapestry as a society, and sometimes I think in the effort to be so "PC" nowadays, it takes away some of our individuality to become "the same."

[Rosse]

I agree kaoskat, gender equality shouldn't be about erasing the traditionally feminine and masculine, but rather allowing both boys/men and girls/women to do and like whatever they want. I've always been drawn to things on both sides of the spectra, and never had any negative reactions as far as I remember; but as was mentioned earlier in the thread, I think it's much harder for boys/men who are drawn to the traditionally feminine than the other way around. The feminine is still considered the "weaker" side, so while girls/women can now do traditionally boy/male stuff without much resistance, we are only in the beginning of the fight for equality in "the other direction".

[Kaeldre]

This is BRILLIANT!

I grew up playing with Ninja Turtles, Street Sharks, Nerf toys, and video games as well as Barbie dolls and stuffed animals.  *shrugs* Toys are toys, really.

[bagheera86]

I don't mind it, but, if it all gets mashed together... It's gonna be twice as hard finding the dolls in an unfamiliar store lol!

Post Merge: November 27, 2012, 05:24:53 PM

I personally don't think kids usually see things that are gender specific, like you said I playued with a bunch of boy toys too and what I encountered, is my PARENT saying 'lol that's a BOYS TOY' and that kinda thing. But as a kid I played with both, I noticed other boys actually having barbies and what not, because every gi joe needs a damsel to save, right? haha! Though that's probably sexist nowadays and how dare a woman need saving! LOL.

[StoryDreamer]

I think it's great how they're reflecting reality. I mean, I loved dinosaurs and had them on my wall as a kid, but I also loved Ponies and Barbie. I just wanted to play. There is a mentality with some parents (emphasis on some) where a parent is obsessed with his child being "manly."

A great book about this is William's Doll. It's a charming picture book.

[ZennaBug]

I think gender roles are something grownups create.  A little boy doesn't know what toys he is "supposed" to play with until someone tells him so.  Same for girls.  At work tonight, we put on FiM for the kids.  A little girl groaned that she hated ponies, but then one of our little boys came in and was so excited!  Apparently he had been telling his mom the entire way over that he hoped we would have on ponies again.  Kids like what they like, when left to their own devices.

[Stuntmang]

Meh - toys are toys.  However, I really don't seen what is wrong with identifying with a gender.  Why do things have to go so far as being gender neutral?  I'm not a man - I'm a woman, and proud to say so.  And I don't see what is wrong with celebrating the differences in the genders.  It gives us our rich tapestry as a society, and sometimes I think in the effort to be so "PC" nowadays, it takes away some of our individuality to become "the same."

Because gender neutrality means you don't have your life decided based on a 50/50 shot at birth. If advertisers, adults, and peers are constantly telling girls and boys "NO, PLAY WITH THIS TOY, YOU ARE A GIRL/BOY, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO LIKE THIS TOY BECAUSE OF THAT", can you really call it their choice anymore?