I've put some thoughts down in writing, just to get the ball rolling re: what aspects of the issue we want to focus on, and how we want to organise our points. These are just rough ideas, some of which might find their way into an eventual letter template (if anyone wants to help draft one?!), and some of which might not.
Principles:
? It is not the place of retailers to determine which toys are appropriate
for which children, outside of safety warnings related to age. It is the parents? role to decide which toys are appropriate for their children, and we are asking as parents that retailers respect that.
? It is lazy and unnecessary to categorise toys in this way. They can be
grouped by age or by interest, e.g. ?fashion?, ?role play,? ?construction,?
?vehicles? etc.
? The idea that boys and men are drivers, explorers, builders and
adventurers, and that girls and women should be concerned mainly with
domesticity and beauty / image, is as outdated as it is offensive. By reinforcing these archaic ideas retailers are alienating a large and growing proportion of the consumer public.
? We recognise that toy manufacturers, marketers, and consumers share
responsibility for the increasing polarization of what is considered to be
?for boys? and ?for girls,? and for the disturbing trend toward image-
obsessed and age-inappropriate toys for girls in particular.
However, retailers reinforce and perpetuate these damaging messages by overtly designating ?Girls? and ?Boys? aisles / sections. Because brick-and-
mortar shops and online stores are the actual point of contact between
the young consumer and the products on sale, we believe that the retailer
has a particular responsibility to avoid sending the message that certain
items are only appropriate for one group of children or the other.
Why it is damaging to children for retailers to group toys by gender:
? It strongly discourages children from pursuing interests outside of the narrow (particularly narrow in the case of girls) range of options in the section
designated by their gender. Some children may feel comfortable choosing
toys from the ?other? aisle or website list, but many more are likely to conform with the expectation being reinforced by the adult establishment. Why should a child have to find the courage to subvert adult expectation before she can choose a rocketship from the toy shelf?
? It sends a message to the girl who likes Thomas and Friends that she is
not a ?proper? girl, and to the boy who wants Sylvanian Families that he is
not a ?proper? boy, because they like toys that the shop tells them are
for the other gender. Why would you want the children of your
customers to be made to feel that there is something wrong or lacking
about them, because they want to buy a product that you?re trying to sell?
? It perpetuates the mindset that girls and women are the lesser, inferior
?other? due to the fact that the ?standard? version of a toy (original Duplo or Lego, multi-coloured V-Tech type toys, building blocks [others??]) inevitably ends up in the Boys section, while a pink or purple ?other? version goes into the Girls section.
? The practice of categorizing toys by gender is detrimental to both
boys and girls (why should boys be discouraged from nurturing role play,
with dolls and prams?). However, the messages sent about which themes
each gender should be interested in are particularly offensive to, and
limiting for, girls.
The toys in the Girls sections tend to fall into one of the
following categories:
- The pink, ?other? versions of standard toys, as mentioned above,
- Toys that encourage a focus on domestic roles like childcare and cleaning (which are fine for role playing fun, but damaging when accompanied by the clear message that these activities are only for girls, and are among the few things that girls are / should be interested in),
- Toys that encourage concern, from a very early age, about beauty, fashion, image, and even ?sexiness.?
In the Boys? section, meanwhile, are toys that encourage play involving space travel, construction, planes, trains and automobiles, adventure, science projects,
and role play as ?heroes? (superheroes, firefighters, police officers). Nothing in the Boys section indicates that little boys should spend any time thinking about whether they?re attractive or worthy of the attention of the other sex.
That's all I can come up with at the moment! But I will come back tomorrow and will be interested to see what thoughts others might add. I think the main trick will be making all the points that need making, while composing a clear and pointed letter, rather than an interminable internet rant!