on toys

[kattahj]

In the discussion of imaginary friends, I happened to say in comments that while I loved Playmobil toys, they had some conservative gender roles. Going over to The Playmobil website, however, I found that it wasn't that bad - not considering toys in general. Sure, the hunters and race car drivers are mostly male, and the shoppers and nannies are

Comments

[lilacsigil]

Lego is really weird these days - so much of it is pre-made, with blocks that only work to make one thing. The thing I loved most about my Lego was that they could be anything - space ships, or houses, or castles. My favourite thing to make was a moonbase, because my brother had a grey board with a crater on the corner. I find it really disturbing the way a lot of kids' toys have removed the creative component in favour of following a procedure, even an exciting procedure with blinky lights.

[kattahj]

I find it really disturbing the way a lot of kids' toys have removed the creative component in favour of following a procedure, even an exciting procedure with blinky lights.

Yeah. Even perler beads come with pre-shaped patterns. It's so weird.

[wee_warrior]

No more generic building blocks that can be anything your heart desires, and figures that turn from male to female depending on what wig they were wearing. Oh no. Now we're talking product-placed play sets with pre-determined scenes and figures.It has become much more about selling a product than selling toys. I suspect the gender aspect falls into that - people want to buy toys for boys or girls, and if they are separated it a very stereotypical fashion, it's easier to chose. Not to mention easier to advertise

[kattahj]

The biggest toy store in my home town has separate aisles for boy stuff and girl stuff, and sometimes it's very hard to determine what falls into which aisle. A medical kit turned out to be a girl toy, for some reason, while fluffy animals are located next to scary animals at the boys section. *shakes head* When I buy stuff for my nephews, I try to stay away from the extremes and stick to the more-or-less neutral stuff.

It used to be that boys got to do real things (carpentry, for instance), while girls got to do pretend things (pretend ovens, pretend irons), but I'm not sure that holds anymore. I think for the most part, it can be just as restrictive or worse being a boy.

I heard an anecdote from a shoe store saying that little boys often want pretty ballerina shoes, but that the clerk in question had only seen one parent actually agreeing to that.

[wesleysgirl]

Re: Lego, there's definitely a severe shortage of little female people -- the boy had an advent calendar made by Lego in 2007 and there were about 6 little people, ALL of which were male. But even though most of the Lego comes in "kits" designed to make a certain car or building or whatever, and we put them together following the directions when we first get them, we don't have any trouble at all pulling them apart and then using the loose Lego to make whatever we like. Sure, there are a few blocks that are weird here and there and not particularly suited to re-use, but most of them are fine.

[kattahj]

But even though most of the Lego comes in "kits" designed to make a certain car or building or whatever, and we put them together following the directions when we first get them, we don't have any trouble at all pulling them apart and then using the loose Lego to make whatever we like.

That's good, at least. I wonder over the years how many great games have been played by kids using their toys the "wrong" way. :-)

[kattahj]

I've heard that said a lot, and it's actually not true - not with the kids at my job, at least. Those boys are socialized to be pretty macho, but even so they'll happily read books about girls as long as it's not "girly books". That is to say, they'll read Pippi Longstocking or Matilda or Tony Ross's Princess books, but they
won't read books that have "girly" colours or are about girls doing
"girly" things.

I've found that a lot of children's books these days have both a male and a female protagonist, maybe as some sort of compromise.

[artaxastra]

We have mostly Fisher-Price for the VSP, and they're pretty good. There are some sets that have more appeal for boys, like the race cars, and some that are more girly, like the dollhouse, but even our very pink dollhouse has male figures. Dad is often seen wearing an apron and a pirate bandana!

There are also a lot of toys that are gender neutral by virtue of having no humans. The dinosaurs are I suppose meant for boys, but since the dinosaurs have no obvious gender it doesn't matter.

The favorite toy right now is the Pirate Ship, which Santa brought the VSP at Christmas. I think it's "supposed" to be for boys, but in the catalog it's being played with by a boy and a girl.

[kattahj]

My nephews have Fisher Price toys, and I'm absolutely charmed by them. And I think it's lovely that the company avoids gender stereotyping in its marketing "models". Maybe it's because the toys are for such small children, but whatever the reason, I fully approve.