Boys, Girls, and Toys- Oh My

In any toy store today, the boys’ aisles are often filled with bright, powerful colors such as yellow, reds, and oranges.  The girls’ aisles are usually pink, white, and purple themed.  Whenever I went toy shopping as a kid, I sometimes felt a little intimidated by the boys’ aisles, as if I wasn’t supposed to be shopping in that section.  Even as an adult, I sometimes hear parents say to their daughters, “no, you don’t want that, that’s a boy’s toy,” and vice versa for their sons. And while yes, that toy was marketed towards boys, why can’t a girl buy it?  Some examples of gendered toys are pictured here:

These two photographs show the stark differences between toys marketed towards boys and girls.  The boys’ aisle contains toys that usually involve themes such as building and constructing, while girls’ toys portray ideas like dressing up and appearances.

My first reaction to that video is how correct (and adorable) the little girl is in her statements.  It did not seem as if her parents put her up to it or forced her to say it.  She was speaking her mind in a very determined tone.  At a young age she was able to notice the gender separation between “boys” and “girls” toys, and seems to be frustrated over it.  She says that “some girls like superheroes, some girls like princesses, some boys like superheroes, and some boys like princesses.”  This very simple statement is one that some adults cannot seem to grasp.  Every child is different and is captivated by different interests.  Grouping children together based on gender is essentially limiting their interests and controlling their creativity.  While there may be a majority of girls who want to buy “girl” toys, and boys that buy “boy” toys, there are also children who maybe want to buy more than just what’s marketed towards them based on their gender.  Instead of having separate boys’ and girls’ aisles in stores, why not combine all of the toys together?  It would allow children to broaden their horizons a bit and look at other toys they may like, instead of limiting themselves to what their gender “should” buy.  Today, I believe there are more parents who are growing tired of the limited toy options for their children.  And this video showed that it is not only the parents frustrated over the gender separation anymore, it’s the kids too.