Blue is for boys, pink is for girls. Boys play with toy soldiers while girls play with Barbie dolls. Right? Not necessarily.
Blue is for boys, pink is for girls. Boys play with toy soldiers while girls play with Barbie dolls. Right? Not necessarily.
Gendered toys are one of those things in society that many people rarely give a second thought—much less question the need for. It has become second nature for us to see that girls get to play with dolls, while boys get to play with dinosaurs. And the truly damaging reality of this is the shaming and ridicule that come when a young child decides to stray from the gendered path that society has placed them on.
Children should be able to feel free to play with any toys they please as well as participate in any activity they want, regardless of the gendered subtext that is inherent. It is important that children be able to express themselves and pursue their interests without their parents telling them that they aren’t being masculine or feminine enough.
A recent example of this gender exclusion is the fairly recent launch of the Nerf Rebelle series. Nerf is a company that has traditionally advertised to young boys as the target demographic for their foam dart shooting weaponry. But the launch of Nerf Rebelle showed young girls playing with the foam guns as well. The only problem? The guns that were meant to be acceptable for girls were mainly pink colored with glittery accents and had additional charms that one could add to the gun as well.
The issue that arises with this form of internalized societal sexism is that it discourages children from pursuing their genuine interests. While there may be boys who enjoy traditionally masculine things, there are also boys who like things more closely associated with femininity. And the same is true for girls who express interest in traditionally masculine fields.
It is common for people to think that this systematic gender distinction is benign and does not hurt anyone, but this is wrong. Not being allowed to pursue your genuine interests can be devastating to a child’s self esteem and self worth. A child or young adult should never feel like society will be ashamed of them because of their interests. And creating this divide between genders ultimately serves no purpose in the long run.
Children should be encouraged to express themselves in a variety of ways and never be discouraged from something because they are a boy or a girl.
