Stop gendered toys!

Children should be free to decide which toys interest them without being informed by gender-driven marketing that something is ‘for them’ or ‘not for them’. Gendered marketing limits our children’s right to determine their own idea of fun. Children shouldn’t learn that certain toys are off limits for them just because of their gender. Participating in a wide range of play will benefit them later in life in terms of gaining experience, honing different skills as they develop and learn about the world. All children should be encouraged to learn without the limitations based on their gender, free from stereotypes aimed at discouraging equal access to all toys for everyone.

The truth is that the world has moved on and these gender stereotypes are tired and out of date. Children aren’t born with expectations about their future careers or beliefs about what their work is worth. But the stereotypes we see in toy marketing or general environment connect with the inequalities we see in adult life. Themes of glamour and beauty in toys and play directed at even the youngest girls tip over into a worrying emphasis on outward appearance. Stereotyped attitudes about boys are equally harmful. The constant assumption reinforced in toy advertising and packaging that boys are inevitably rough, dirty, rowdy, interested only in action and violence tells calmer, more sensitive or more creative boys that they are getting this whole ‘boy’ thing a bit wrong, and feeds low expectations of boys that undermine their performance at school.

It seems that every few years there’s a news story about parents refusing to reveal the sex of their newborn child as a way of keeping him or her safe from the oppression of stereotypical gender roles. Using gender-neutral toys, clothes, and activities as a way of forcing children to be gender-neutral people is not the answer. A good approach, then, is to include rather than exclude – instead of banning overly gendered things, expose children of both sexes to a diversity of clothes, toys, and activities, like dolls and trucks, superhero costumes and princess dresses, dance class and soccer.

— The reader is an Indian business development manager based in Ajman