Debenhams drops 'sexist' toy labels...

py2006 wrote: »

This political correct/feminist nonsense drives me up the wall. These suppliers are not saying you are a boy you must buy this and you are a girl you must buy this.

Of course it isn't. It's telling parents "this is what you should probably buy your child". Though even with the labelling of toys gone, it will make no difference. The big issue at hand here isn't about what the labels say, it's about the cultural attitude, the way people bring up kids with what a boy or girl should be doing.

I often see parents saying to their kids they shouldn't be playing with *toy not suited to their gender*. It's also common to see children using this information as insults towards other children. Could there be a connection here I wonder?

This is one of many factors in why I'd rather not have children. The culture is fucked, frankly. Not just in this. In so many little ways.

Research has gone into this. Generally speaking girls like certain toys and boys like certain toys. Hence the use of certain colouring, fonts, wording etc to appeal to those.

Why might that be? I'm sure if you were to do the research say 200 years ago, the research would show very different things. Might it be about the attitudes of the time, how the children are brought up? Or do you think the boys like blue, girls like pink is innate?

This nonsense of trying to get rid of genders is ridiculous. And lets not kid ourselves, the complainers probably don't give a rats ass about boys wanting to play with prams, its about the whole area of girls toys and how that is sexist blah blah blah.

There are a lot of people who go by the feminist label who, if we were to talk would have no time for each other whatsoever. Your assumption here, though, as a blanket statement is wrong. Simple as that. To confirm, talk to more people. It helps.

What is next? No Fathers or Mothers day? No male and female toilets and changing rooms? No condoms targeted at men? Men allowed to have the time of the month too because selling maxi-pads to women is sexist? FFS

See kids, don't do drugs.

Well, the only point worth addressing here is the toilets/changing rooms. Why would changing that be bad? If you had one big place for toilets, you could fit more stalls, same with changing rooms. Privacy can be assured as everyone would have room with privacy to change. Were you picturing some free for all where everyone walked around naked?

We will all be wearing grey clothes with the same hairstyles and we will remove the male genitalia because women don't have them or we will have to give them one.

More FUD, wonderful.

We are both human but we have our differences and that is what makes us appealing and interesting to each other!!!!! :mad::o:p

I can't imagine you are interesting to many.

SpaceTime wrote: »

I wouldn't be in favour of just trying to force gender neutrality but it can be a little worrying when you hear something like a parent complaining (as I did on the radio in the UK) about her little girl wanting to play with a toy train and a lego set and that that might somehow turn her into a lesbian. I nearly crashed the car!

What follows the but there is an example of not being in to gender forcing. That parent has a clear vision of how genders should be, as I'm sure most people here are, and are going to be sure that will be part of their parenting strategy, as is their right. It gets to the negative side when the parenting style becomes the norm the child has, and is a runt to anyone who isn't acting within the norm.

This is the rabid "social justice" movement making a lot of noise on the internet and managing to scare companies into complying with their demands.

By trying to force everyone into an extreme "genderless" society, they're every bit as bad as those who try to push traditional gender roles, IMO. Spend any amount of time on Reddit and you'll encounter tons of them.

I agree with you op, but it's definitely not something worth getting worked up over

py2006 wrote: »

But isn't that what these campaigners want, a genderless society?

or at least that might be the direction things will head in if we pander to people who think they are being offended by a sign that says 'for girls'

I guess from your perspective that is what it is. Try to picture something for a second. Imagine there was no stigma for children in terms of what they played with, so children just played with whatever toys they wanted to play with and wouldn't get bullied.

Would that be the end of genders to you? What exactly are you picturing when you see a genderless society? Before you say everyone wearing the same thing, no, that wouldn't happen. People have way too much variety in tastes for humanity to become a monolith in terms of dress.

Just try to present some vision you have in what would happen.

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

It's not hurting anyone at all - I just don't like seeing political correctness score victories.

Don't think political correctness, think equality. People being treated with respect and fairness. I think people should be treated right and with respect.

MagicMarker wrote: »

I'm all for removing silly labels that set boundaries for what is deemed acceptable "boys" toys and "girl" toys. Why is there a distinction needed?

It seems to some people here, such a future would be a dystopic world where everyone was the exact same. Because obviously currently all men are the same and all women are the same, so if we tried to break what is the norm for them, then all men and women would become one thing, everybody clones of one another.