A feminist's scary adventures in toy land
Jun. 10th, 2010 02:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavendersparkleLast weekend I ended up mooching about in an Early Learning Centre. A friend was having her hair done and I decided to pootle about the shopping centre rather than sit and watch. I headed for the ELC for a number of reasons. One is that I am a creepy crazy broody lady. I more respectable reason was that several blogs I read, which combine my love of babies and grumbling about the patriarchy, had talked about how children's toys are becoming increasingly gendered and girl's toys are becoming increasingly sexualised and promoting the idea that women's primary roles in life are to shop and be pretty.
Surely not the ELC, I thought. I remembered it from my own childhood. A haven of sensible educational toys, usually with a big wooden train set in the middle you could play with whilst in the shop. I remember the adverts they used to run featuring a Barbie and an action man trying to break into the shop because they weren't the sort of things ELC would stock. I walked through the door into a world of pink and blue. Again and again I saw the same toy in two versions: one pink (and possibly green) and one blue (and possibly red). Separate pink and blue vacuums. Separate pink and blue toy cash registers. Separate pink and blue paddling pools. No other colour options; just pink or blue. The boxes helpfully tell us who the toys are meant for. The blue toys have pictures of boys playing with them on their boxes and the pink toys have pictures of girls on the box playing with them. I spotted one girl on the box of a boy toy, but no boys on the boxes for pink toys because you wouldn't want them to catch teh GAYZ! The item which really took the biscuit: gendered stacking cups. Heaven forfend that a six month old might because confused about their gender identity by stacking and blue cup (if a girl) or even worse and pink one (if a boy). Stacking cups! For fuck's sake!
I wonder about whether it's a cunning way to get parents to buy even more stuff. With three older brothers, I played with a lot of Lego* and star wars toys as a child. I had some 'girl's' toys: some dolls, some My Little Ponies**, a dolls house. However I also had a lot of hand-me-downs. Maybe ELCs cunning plan is to get parents to buy completely new versions of everything if their second child appears to be a different sex to their first.
Anyway, here are four toys I would like to get if (G@d willing) we have children, regardless of their gender assignment at birth:
Non-gendered stacking cups
Sophie the Giraffe. Sophie's made of natural rubber and painted with non-toxic paint. She's designed to be grabbed and chewed by babies and squeeks.
Uncle Goose Aleph-bet blocks. I'd like to be an anti-consumerist parent but I think my weakness will be Jewish/Hebrew toys. I guess I can justify them as I'd be growing up outside of a large Jewish community. Uncle Goose make blocks in lots of different alphabets, as well as ones with presidents and insects on. They're made in the US from farmed wood and child-friendly non-toxic inks.
Kathe Kruse Ikibar Dragon. He's made of 100% organic cotton and is machine washable. He also rattles. I like the idea of a cuddly dragon because I'd like a Puff the Kosher Dragon themed nursery, with a big mural of Puff's bar mitzvah in the middle, filled with mythical animals wearing kippot and tallits (yes, I am trying too hard at this Jewish thing).
*And not the special girls' Lego.
**However, my My Little Ponies were roughly pony shaped unlike the deformed anorexic horse whore shaped ones they sell today.
Surely not the ELC, I thought. I remembered it from my own childhood. A haven of sensible educational toys, usually with a big wooden train set in the middle you could play with whilst in the shop. I remember the adverts they used to run featuring a Barbie and an action man trying to break into the shop because they weren't the sort of things ELC would stock. I walked through the door into a world of pink and blue. Again and again I saw the same toy in two versions: one pink (and possibly green) and one blue (and possibly red). Separate pink and blue vacuums. Separate pink and blue toy cash registers. Separate pink and blue paddling pools. No other colour options; just pink or blue. The boxes helpfully tell us who the toys are meant for. The blue toys have pictures of boys playing with them on their boxes and the pink toys have pictures of girls on the box playing with them. I spotted one girl on the box of a boy toy, but no boys on the boxes for pink toys because you wouldn't want them to catch teh GAYZ! The item which really took the biscuit: gendered stacking cups. Heaven forfend that a six month old might because confused about their gender identity by stacking and blue cup (if a girl) or even worse and pink one (if a boy). Stacking cups! For fuck's sake!
I wonder about whether it's a cunning way to get parents to buy even more stuff. With three older brothers, I played with a lot of Lego* and star wars toys as a child. I had some 'girl's' toys: some dolls, some My Little Ponies**, a dolls house. However I also had a lot of hand-me-downs. Maybe ELCs cunning plan is to get parents to buy completely new versions of everything if their second child appears to be a different sex to their first.
Anyway, here are four toys I would like to get if (G@d willing) we have children, regardless of their gender assignment at birth:
Non-gendered stacking cups
Sophie the Giraffe. Sophie's made of natural rubber and painted with non-toxic paint. She's designed to be grabbed and chewed by babies and squeeks.
Uncle Goose Aleph-bet blocks. I'd like to be an anti-consumerist parent but I think my weakness will be Jewish/Hebrew toys. I guess I can justify them as I'd be growing up outside of a large Jewish community. Uncle Goose make blocks in lots of different alphabets, as well as ones with presidents and insects on. They're made in the US from farmed wood and child-friendly non-toxic inks.
Kathe Kruse Ikibar Dragon. He's made of 100% organic cotton and is machine washable. He also rattles. I like the idea of a cuddly dragon because I'd like a Puff the Kosher Dragon themed nursery, with a big mural of Puff's bar mitzvah in the middle, filled with mythical animals wearing kippot and tallits (yes, I am trying too hard at this Jewish thing).
*And not the special girls' Lego.
**However, my My Little Ponies were roughly pony shaped unlike the deformed anorexic horse whore shaped ones they sell today.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-10 06:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-13 06:37 am (UTC)I'm also annoyed by the ELC. I, too, remember them having cool train sets and wooden building blocks.