When you have a strong interest in and concern of constructed gender roles a lot of articles find you. One of the purposes of my starting this blog was a space to post the articles I thought had merit on the topic. Articles that would illustrate the construction of gender roles and the harm it’s causing. Today I came across a 2014 article that could have easily been written yesterday. The article, Toys are more divided by gender now than they were 50 years ago, references several studies and historical adversments of toys. Here’s part of the introduction:
“When it comes to buying gifts for children, everything is color-coded: Rigid boundaries segregate brawny blue action figures from pretty pink princesses, and most assume that this is how it’s always been. But in fact, the princess role that’s ubiquitous in girls’ toys today was exceedingly rare prior to the 1990s—and the marketing of toys is more gendered now than even 50 years ago, when gender discrimination and sexism were the norm.”
The other day I was shopping for favors for my son’s 3rd birthday party – Mickey Mouse themed. I came across these:
The product details:
“With this Mickey Mouse Chalkboard Sign Set, your little boy can jot down notes and reminders or just doodle! The mini chalkboard is made of wood and is decorated with prints of Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. The attached twine loop lets him hang it on the wall or door. Take notes using the included chalk and wipe the slate clean with the red Mickey-shaped foam eraser. Usable space measures 4 3/4in x 4 3/4in.”
WHY?
Why does EVERYTHING have to be assigned boy or girl? What if a girl likes Mickey or a boy likes Minnie? Can they both love both characters? Are chalk boards just for boys? I know, some people say it’s just the word they chose to use, it’s not a big deal. But, when it’s EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT, activity, article of clothing, etc, when EVERYTHING is gendered the message it sends is clear: some things are assigned to boys and some things are assigned to girls and any mixing, especially for our little boys, is not ok.
And that is not ok.
whatsaboymom 