DON'T READ THIS POST!

[Katherine Brengle]

(Trying out the "Steal This Book" strategy...)

I brought my daughter to Toys R' Us today to get a new carseat. After picking one out, I followed her through the store while she ran around looking at things.

She wandered into the "girl" section (which is on the way to the "boy" section coming from the baby section) and I got a chance to scan the items on the shelves.

Here is a quick break-down of the "toys" being marketed to our daughters:

• Barbie dolls
  
• Assorted "baby" dolls, including one called "Little Mommy" complete with toy versions of real baby care supplies (such as bottles and whatnot)
  
• Dress-up clothes, including cutesy little "princess" costumes, high heels, and play make-up
  
• Kitchen play-sets with stoves and fake miniature food, shopping carts, etc.
  
• And my favorite--a bonafide Mr. Clean mop "play" set--it came with a fake bottle of Mr. Clean, a mop, a sponge, and other cleaning gear
  

The "boy" toys, on the other hand, included:

• Home Depot play tool kits
  
• Assorted trucks, cars, and motorcycles
  
• Toy guns and swords
  
• Action figures
  
• Sports equiptment
  

I was really disgusted. I'm not raising a "little mommy" and if I had a son, I would not be raising a "mini Mr. fix-it" or a "little soldier."

It pissed me off that there is no such thing as a "little daddy" toy-set, but beyond that, the blatant indoctrination of our children is more than a little unsettling.

And we wonder why problems like rape and spousal abuse are so prevalent in our culture--we are teaching our daughters to serve men and our sons that violence is acceptable and that "domestic" work is not to be valued.

Needless to say, I bought the carseat and some sidewalk chalk and left.

[Katherine Brengle]

1. don't read this reply...

it's just a pathetic self-kick...

[Random_Australian]

2. It a very fair point, I'll kick for you.... n/t

[rockymountaindem]

3. Your ignorance is staggering

If not for this conditioning, where would we get soldiers to kill our enemies? Where would we get the women to take care of them when they are sick and wounded? Who would cook the soldiers' food when they have gotten too old to fight?

And most importantly, how would we impress upon little girls how important it is for them to grow up and make lots of new soldiers for future battles?



I've been working on my Mussolini impression :sarcasm: :P

How does it come off?

[Maddy McCall]

4. "The Story of Baby X" (from 1987 issue of Ms. Magazine)

The Story of Baby X*
Once upon a time a baby named X was born. This baby was named X so that nobody could tell whether it was a boy or a girl. Its parents could tell, of course, but they couldn’t tell anybody else. They couldn’t even tell Baby X at first.

You see, it was all part of a very important, secret scientific Xperiment, known officially as Project Baby X. Scientists worked out the details of the Xperiment and wrote the Official Instructions Manual for Baby X’s parents. The Joneses really wanted to raise an X more than any other kind of baby. Mr and Mrs Jones had to promise that they would take equal turns in caring for X.

The day the Joneses brought their baby home lots o friends and relatives came over to see it, but none of them know about the Xperiment. When the Joneses smiled and said, ‘It’s an X’ nobody knew what to say. They couldn’t say ‘Look at her cute dimples’ and they couldn’t say ‘Look how strong his muscles are’. In fact they thought the Joneses were playing some kind of joke on them.

But of course, the Joneses were not joking. ‘It’s an X’ was absolutely all they would say, and that made their friends and relatives very angry. The relatives all felt embarrassed at having an ‘X’ in the family. ‘People will think there’s something wrong with it’ some of them whispered. ‘There is something wrong with it’ others whispered back. ‘Nonsense’, the Joneses told them cheerfully. Baby X’s answer was a long satisfied burp!

Mrs and Mr Jones had to be Xtra careful about how they played with little X. They knew that if they kept bouncing it in the air and saying how strong and active it was they’d be treating it more like a boy than an X. But if all they did was cuddle and kiss it and tell it how sweet it was, they’d be treating it more like a girl. The Official Instruction Manual prescribed ‘plenty of bouncing and plenty of cuddling, both’. X ought to be strong and sweet and active.

Meanwhile, the Joneses were worrying about other problems. Toys, for instance. And clothes. Everything in shops was piled up in sections marked ‘Boys’ or ‘Girls’. There were ‘Boys’ pyjamas’ and ‘Girls’ underwear’ and ‘Boys’ fire engines’ and ‘Girls’ kitchen sets’. Mr and Mrs Jones consulted the Official Instructions Manual. ‘Buy plenty of everything’ it said. So they bought plenty of sturdy blue pyjamas from the shelves marked: Boys and cheerful flowered underwear from the shelves marked : Girls and they bought all kinds of toys. A boy doll that wet itself and cried ‘papa’ and a girl doll that talked in three languages and said ‘I am the president of General Motors’. They also bought a story book about a brave princess who rescued a handsome prince from his ivory tower and another one about a sister and a brother who grew up to be a famous footballer and a famous ballet dancer, and you had to guess which was which.

More at :

http://www.womankind.org.uk/ass-gender-difference.html

[northofdenali]

9. Understood, Maddy -

It was the same when my daughter was small. She's now 26 and NOT stereotypical, thank karma. This reminds me of a story (no link, too many years ago) about a group of feminists who bought up a bunch of talking Barbies and talking GI Joe's. Yep, they swapped the talk-boxes and put the dolls back on the store shelves. Can you just hear Barbie "OK, men, we have to take this next ridge! Locked and loaded!!" :rofl:

Caused a lot of rucus and letters to the editor. I thought it was hysterical.

[XemaSab]

10. GI Joe:

"Math is hard."

[northofdenali]

12. Hee hee hee.............

Joe: Would you like to go to the mall?

[XemaSab]

5. I have no great input on this for you

Other than to say that it's bullshit. Not your post, but the EXTREME gender stereotyping of many toys.

When I was a kid I had friends who were boys and friends who were girls, and we all played the same sorts of games. Mostly we played Indian, with some hide and go seek, handball, action figures, legos, mud factory (my mom's favorite!), building forts, space trips, throwing moldy oranges onto the neighbor's roof, and all that good stuff.

I didn't play with dolls and I didn't play with guns, and I didn't hang out with kids who did.

[LeftyMom]

6. You left out the most important detail

What seat did you get?

[laheina]

7. I'm so with you on this.

What I tried to do with my son was to emphasize gender neutral playthings like art supplies and thinking toys. He reads a lot, kicks my tushie at board games, and loves to tinker with electronic gadgets. When he was little, I bought him a little-tykes shopping cart that he used to push his elmo around in. (Really it was his stroller, but shhh.) He would pile his beenies and other stuff in the cart so that it was easily portable. He's since graduated to his animal friends, all of which he is responsible for.

He is a brilliant, empathetic little boy, and I like to think that it is because I tried to be more creative with him than trucks, guns, tools, and GI Joe. I'm probably just lucky, however.

I have always said that if I had a girl, she would probably be a girly-girl and hate me, because I don't like the idea of Barbie (and heaven forbid she should want a Bratz doll :scared:.) I also don't see how cleaning is a recreational activity, don't wear make-up, and don't shop for much beyond books. I was a tomboy, though, so maybe excessive "girliness" won't be in her genetic make-up. :shrug:

[XemaSab]

8. You never know

My aunt was the first female phone company lineman in her county. She goes up in the cherry-picker and splices the wires. She's a total tomboy, doesn't own a dress, taught me to fish...

Her daughter is a Tammy-Faye makeup-wearing cheerleader type.

:scared:

[laheina]

14. Well, I was a cheerleader.

That was my one attempt at conformity. I cannot call it a success.

That's prolly a good thing. :D

[NMMNG]

11. What did you expect?

Women's only purpose in life is to give birth, raise children and tend to the home (not to mention be subject to her husband). It's the man's job to fix things, earn a living and protect his frail woman and family.


Don't you read your Bible? :sarcasm:

[obxhead]

13. how true....

I was raised to help fix the family car and how to help bake the cookies.

T'R'U points out exactly how much nothing has really changed. At least from a corporate standpoint, which is the same as the governments after all, isn't it.