Pink question

Shenshen

'Tis the season .... the season where people like me, more or less grown up these days but without offspring of my own, have to venture forth into various toy shops to find gifts for the little ones our friends and family have produced.

And while I usually find that highly annoying in itself, this year the pinkness in the girls' sections really, really got on my nerves. Maybe it was my innner feminist, or maybe it was my inner grinch, but I just hated this gender-separation. And when I walked into the boys' section, was I greeted with blue in all its blueness? No. Colours in abundance for the little lads,

So now I'm wondering. What is the pink doing?
Is it, as some schools of thought would have it, limiting girls? Is it reducing their choices to anything to do with beauty, dresses, dolls and unicorns? I somehow doubt that.
Yes, most girls love pink. But does that mean they'd reject a toy for being of a different colour? Not likely.
Most girls would have no problem going into the boys' sections and finding something there that they like.

What the pink is really doing, in my opinion, is making sure the boys stay away from toys that society decided are "girls only". The colour is a boy-repelent.
It's not there to make sure girls stick to their gender roles, it's there to make sure the boys don't stray.
And that's annoying me even more.
We've spent decades trying to achieve gender equality, but we're forgetting about equality for boys. Girls are encouraged to take part in activities which previously would have been a boy's domain, but the boys are still stuck in the same old roles.

It's a disgrace, and it needs to stop.
Any suggestions on how we can get boys to step into the forbidden worlds of the pink toys?

RobYourBuilder

Any suggestions on how we can get boys to step into the forbidden worlds of the pink toys?

Ask the fashion industry. They had no problem getting a large splice of the 18-30 year old male population of Ireland to embrace the colour pink.

caustic 1

If that's the only problem the world faces I think it will be fine, but while on the subject why o why should it be other colours just because you think pink is wrong. Is it really that damaging, is it really? I don't think so.

iDave

Maybe boys just DONT want to play with fecking dolls regardless of their colour

Shenshen

caustic 1 wrote: »

If that's the only problem the world faces I think it will be fine, but while on the subject why o why should it be other colours just because you think pink is wrong. Is it really that damaging, is it really? I don't think so.

Huh?

What's wrong with pink? I've no problem with pink. I'm wondering how to get boys to embrace it as well, so they won't have to be limited to the "boys" toys.

kneemos

Just marketing,like everything else in our world.

Banjo String

Pink, it's not even a question.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfbBqBOSXlU

caustic 1

Would you stop your son from buying a pink item in a shop, I don't think most would. It has nothing to do with feminism.
As far as I can see there are a lot of "boys toys" tractors etc are now in pink also, I think made to be more acceptable for girls but t hat would be a choice per family if say a boy in the house wanted a pink tractor instead of blue.

AnimalChin

I think things like playing football etc appeal to everyone. It's one of those universal things. A boy wanting a play kitchen is totally different.

Boys and girls like different things in general. Accept it. If a few go against 'the norm'. Fine, but until they grow up a bit and gain a sense of their own identity, leave them be and accept them for who they are at this point in time.

One eyed Jack

Shenshen wrote: »

It's a disgrace, and it needs to stop.
Any suggestions on how we can get boys to step into the forbidden worlds of the pink toys?

Don't force it upon them, would be my suggestion. I cannot abide by people that try to force social change and use their children to do so. If a child doesn't want a toy because it's pink, there's no need to make an issue of it. If a child likes a toy because it's pink, then that's fine too. It seems to be the adults have a problem with it.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

It's a relatively new concept - well when you're my age it's new.

Ladies' Home Journal article in June 1918 said, "The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl."

SEPT 23 1989

boys will play with dolls

pulling the heads off them,feeding them to the dog and burying them in flower beds

Custardpi

AnimalChin wrote: »

I think things like playing football etc appeal to everyone. It's one of those universal things. A boy wanting a play kitchen is totally different.

Why would that particular type of toy be different from a football in that sense? Do you think that being interested in cooking is a "girly" pursuit? Someone should tell Gordon Ramsey.

Genghiz Cohen

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

boys will play with dolls

pulling the heads off them,feeding them to the dog and burying them in flower beds

Or burning it at the stake for being a witch. Did that once.

Slot Machine

iDave wrote: »

Maybe boys just DONT want to play with fecking dolls regardless of their colour

Maybe boys are told "don't play with dolls, you're a boy!" which makes some boys who would otherwise do so, not do it.

kneemos

Wouldn't know what to do with a doll.

iDave

Slot Machine wrote: »

Maybe boys are told "don't play with dolls, you're a boy!" which makes some boys who would otherwise do so, not do it.

Or maybe boys prefer certain things by biology and social pressure/gender roles aren't the all conquering forces they are made out to be. No small boy wants to pretend holding a bottle to a fake baby or wonder what dress looks best on Barbie.

AnimalChin

Custardpi wrote: »

Why would that particular type of toy be different from a football in that sense? Do you think that being interested in cooking is a "girly" pursuit? Someone should tell Gordon Ramsey.

So misguided.

No. It's not a girly pursuit, but at that age (around 4, 5) boys and girls generally only hang out with the same sex (excluding cousins etc) on a daily basis and usually have the same interests - at the start - before they gain a sense of their own identity.

It's highly unlikely a boy will want a play kitchen set - I've personally never known one to want one - they usually go for sports gear, bikes, video games - that kind of thing. Things boys at that ages veer to.

And don't tell me they only veer that way because they're told - that's utter rubbish!

I was never told to like a certain thing. I was a boy who hung around with boys and started to play football because I watched it with my dad on the TV and wanted to emulate the players.

Same when I watched Commando and wanted to pretend I was Arnold Schwarzenegger with a toy gun.

I also saw Tootsie, but dressing up in girls clothes just never appealed to me. Sorry.

Karl Stein

Camouflage ironing boards for the lads and pink assault rifles for the girls.

bodice ripper

everyone has so much invested in gender roles, that it pisses them off when anyone questions it.

the shops have what sells. period. if you want to know why they sell, look at the parents.

Greenmachine

Sick of these discussion. If a boy want a doll let him have it. If a girl want to play with a tractor let her. I am sick of reading "news" stories, with pouting five year old children eloquently protesting, a products marketing. The language spoken by the said children is not in tune in the slightest with how a child talks, but is yet another case of mommy "agenda pushing".
A simple
"They just made a mistake"
"The sign is just a suggestion"
"We better get one, before the other girls realise, it is okay for them to play with it too"

Would suffice.

I know plenty of girls who are perfectly happy to pick and mix gender roles, plenty who love all things girly, those who will scoff at lads tv like "top gear",
those who love sport, and even those who love sports but will laugh at the idea of watching women in sports. I am always a little surprised when, I hear the last one. But you know what, it is good that one can pick and mix what gender roles they choose to engender. If someone else wanted to watch a women F1 driver etc, they can still root for their favourite driver or whatever and make jokes about women drivers.

Custardpi

AnimalChin wrote: »

So misguided.

No. It's not a girly pursuit, but at that age (around 4, 5) boys and girls generally only hang out with the same sex (excluding cousins etc) on a daily basis and usually have the same interests - at the start - before they gain a sense of their own identity.

It's highly unlikely a boy will want a play kitchen set - I've personally never known one to want one - they usually go for sports gear, bikes, video games - that kind of thing. Things boys at that ages veer to.

And don't tell me they only veer that way because they're told - that's utter rubbish!

I was never told to like a certain thing. I was a boy who hung around with boys and started to play football because I watched it with my dad on the TV and wanted to emulate the players.

Same when I watched Commando and wanted to pretend I was Arnold Schwarzenegger with a toy gun.

I also saw Tootsie, but dressing up in girls clothes just never appealed to me. Sorry.

I wouldn't disagree with that too much. I certainly don't believe that "nurture" as opposed to "nature" is the only factor determining childhood behaviour. I'm simply questioning why cooking is placed in the same category as dressing up in girls clothes. Look at advertising for kitchen playsets, pretty much never will you see a boy playing with them, you don't think that has any influence whatsoever? If a boy was interested in cooking, would you view him as effeminate?

Dr Turk Turkelton

Custardpi wrote: »

Why would that particular type of toy be different from a football in that sense? Do you think that being interested in cooking is a "girly" pursuit? Someone should tell Gordon Ramsey.

Did Gordon Ramsey not play football before going into the kitchen?

Slot Machine

iDave wrote: »

Or maybe boys prefer certain things by biology and social pressure/gender roles aren't the all conquering forces they are made out to be. No small boy wants to pretend holding a bottle to a fake baby or wonder what dress looks best on Barbie.

And how do you know that? We live in a society that tells boys not to like those things. Maybe some people don't understand just how impressionable children really are and yes, how powerful social pressure really is.

Tordelback

AnimalChin wrote: »

So misguided.It's not a girly pursuit, but at that age (around 4, 5) boys and girls generally only hang out with the same sex (excluding cousins etc) on a daily basis and usually have the same interests - at the start - before they gain a sense of their own identity.

Eh? Unless they are going to single-sex primary schools (a bizarre practice in this day and age), how is this the case? Both my kids (a boy and a girl) played and palled-about with friends of either sex at that age at school and at home, and still do. One of the most unpleasant things I've seen in recent years is the widespread imposition of single-sex birthday parties from Junior Infants on, largely as a 'fair' way of limiting numbers in giant classes, but very unfortunate in the way it cuts across friendships.

And the gender apartheid of the pink aisle in toyshops is a disgrace, most particularly the segregation of girls' 'Lego Friends' range from the rest of what is presumably by elimination 'boys' Lego'.

newport2

Tordelback wrote: »

And the gender apartheid of the pink aisle in toyshops is a disgrace, most particularly the segregation of girls' 'Lego Friends' range from the rest of what is presumably by elimination 'boys' Lego'.

I guess the more they divide girls and boys toys, the more toys that have to bought. Less sharing and passing down will happen between brothers and sisters, resulting in more sales for the companies imposing the division.

coffee_cake

I had a look at kitchen playsets on google

they seem to have both anyway

https://www.growingtreetoys.com/img/cache/product/020812__.jpg
http://img1.wfrcdn.com/lf/79/hash/1022/7116980/1/LifeStyle%2BDeluxe%2BKitchen%2BPlayset.jpg

here's a young lad doin the washin!
http://www.awestores.com/media/catalog/product/c/o/cook_together_kitchen_playset_kids.jpg


this one is pretty cool
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71ii3eTV65L._SL1381_.jpg

newport2

bluewolf wrote: »

I had a look at kitchen playsets on google

they seem to have both anyway

https://www.growingtreetoys.com/img/cache/product/020812__.jpg
http://img1.wfrcdn.com/lf/79/hash/1022/7116980/1/LifeStyle%2BDeluxe%2BKitchen%2BPlayset.jpg

here's a young lad doin the washin!
http://www.awestores.com/media/catalog/product/c/o/cook_together_kitchen_playset_kids.jpg


this one is pretty cool
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71ii3eTV65L._SL1381_.jpg

My brother wanted a tea-set for xmas many decades ago. Used to bring his teddy's for picnics. He still hasn't lived it down to this day about 40 years later.......

So why not Pinkwolf?

coffee_cake

I'm oldschool

Custardpi

bluewolf wrote: »

I had a look at kitchen playsets on google

they seem to have both anyway

https://www.growingtreetoys.com/img/cache/product/020812__.jpg
http://img1.wfrcdn.com/lf/79/hash/1022/7116980/1/LifeStyle%2BDeluxe%2BKitchen%2BPlayset.jpg

here's a young lad doin the washin!
http://www.awestores.com/media/catalog/product/c/o/cook_together_kitchen_playset_kids.jpg


this one is pretty cool
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71ii3eTV65L._SL1381_.jpg

Had a look at google myself. Seems to be predominately girls in the ads, with the sets often in garish pink colours. Does seem to be getting better though so I guess that's something positive. It certainly used to be almost 100% girls in the ads for this type of toy.

sbsquarepants

Shenshen wrote: »

It's a disgrace, and it needs to stop.
Any suggestions on how we can get boys to step into the forbidden worlds of the pink toys?

It's not a disgrace and it doesn't need to stop at all.

You are confusing equality with homogeneity.
Equal does not have to mean the same. What next - girls can't wear dresses, or boys have to?
When shíts not broke, don't worry about fixing it!