Pink Stinks?

[bunnyboy]

That's up to the parents, tho. Yes, it would be nice if toy companies could mix it up a little, but boycotting a company is silly. The parents should be encouraging their kids to mix their toys up, rather than expecting all the companies to suddenly change their minds when the vast majority of people are buying their toys regardless.

but...but.. but... then they'd actually have to BE parents. *snarkysmirk*

[DesignFox]

I agree the onus is on the parents to you know, RAISE their children.

However, if you don't like something a company is doing, you don't buy their product. I can't fault the parents for voting with their wallets and getting toys elsewhere. A company is going to make what sells, so, (in theory) if no one is buying it, the company will be forced to change something.

[bunnyboy]

Eh besides, we all know it's not boys playing with barbies and liking pastels that make them gay/tg... it's playing with He-man, and G.I. Joe, and Neons that do that. *rolls eyes*

Truthfully unless the company is saying, no you can't play with that, you're a boy, I really think it's on the parents to know what their kid likes... hell I woulda loved to have had a barbie WITH the Malibu Dream Car... but alas I discovered the joys of model paint too late to make it a nice gun-metal gray and not be teased about being a boy... yes I played with barbies and my stuffed animals and liked writing and crafts... hmmm maybe I'm not such a good example for how normal a kid can turn out since I'm looking at finding a shrink to help with these nagging feelings that I shoulda been born with two melons and a fig instead of a meat and two veg.

[jackfaire]

Hey He-Man didn't make me bi.

It was Man at Arms get it right

[Cat]

My mom tried to get me to fit the traditional "girl-role." Failed miserably I ripped the heads off my Barbies, played with Transformer, He-Man, WWF action figures. (even then, my feline-bias showed itself, I loved Ravage, Battle Cat, and Panthor)

Every now and then I try to do the girly thing, but I usually end up throwing on the boots and hittin a trail

So yes, never pressure your kids to do be what YOU want them to me....children are not dolls to dress up and play make-believe with

[fireheart17]

I was half and half oddly enough.

My sister and I played with trucks in the sandpit, played Barbies and played with dolls, but we also didn't mind a bit of rough and tumble in the schoolyard.

When we both got a bit older, we sort of worked out that I was very reluctant to wear a dress, and would wear pants wherever possible. Nowdays, I'll wear dresses, but only either during the summer or for formal events.

[KabeRinnaul]

Buy your kids a mix and let them play with whatever they want. Though I've always felt like overall kids would wind up following the standard gender roles on their own (though that's possibly mostly just due to playing with what the other boys and girls do and learning from them).

[Anthony K. S.]

I find myself reminded of a segment I once saw on a TV newsmagazine, about the high fat and cholesterol content of the foods routinely served in diners and restaurant chains.

The journalist interviewed doctors and health/fitness experts who had conducted studies of those foods, and why they were so unhealthy.

That segment also included interviews with representatives of the companies that ran those restaurants. They acknowledged that the food they offered was unhealthy, but explained that they sold it because it was what the public wanted.

It was noted that one company used to offer a "Veggie Burger" on their menu, which completely bombed - They sold less than one per day, nationally. In general, these companies did not offer healthier fare - not because they didn't want to, but because their customers didn't want to eat it.


So, here's my point . . . The merchandise that businesses offer, and the way that they market it, are ultimately determined by the public.

Companies do market research, find out what customers respond well to, and design their marketing around that.

They would be fools to do otherwise.

If a company is marketing certain types of toys to girls and other types of toys to boys, it's because that's what parents generally look to buy for their children.

So if you're upset about children getting pigeon-holed in certain gender roles based on the toys they're given . . . You should realize that the root cause of it lies in patterns of parenting, not in patterns of commercial advertising.

This boycott is just yet another example of people looking for an easy "scapegoat" to blame for a complex issue.

The folks running this "Pink Stinks" campaign don't want to address the real issues of how parents, in general, choose to raise their children. Instead, they're taking an easy way out of placing the blame on a convenient scapegoat - the toy stores.


It's all because of the toy companies. It's all their fault for marketing the toys this way.

Nonsense.


People don't eat unhealthy food in restaurants because the restaurants offer it.

The restaurants offer it because people eat it.

Likewise, parents don't buy dolls and kitchen toys for their daughters and trucks and soccer balls for their sons because that's how toy companies market them.

Toy companies market them that way because that's what parents buy. Not the other way around.


In my opinion, this whole boycott campaign is nothing more than misplaced blame and, at best, a simplistic solution for a complex problem.

[Cat]

But then people would have to take responsibility Heaven forbid!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Here's the weird thing with my girl: She did it to herself.

I went out of my way to kind of rebel against the whole "pink is for girls" bs.

Her room, while feminine, is yellow-walled with white, sky blue, red, and sage green accent colors and a farm theme. Straw hats, sunflowers, red ginham ribbon and eyelet lace, etc. She has apple trees (ones I made) and butterflies and birds and racoons decorating her room.

She has trucks and dolls and a sandbox and a kitchen and rockets.

Guess what color is her most favorite color?

And guess what she loves the most? Princesses.

I can't even get this kid to wear pants. Skirts and dresses all the way. Even to make mud pies in. You should have heard to protests when I tried to buy her a pair of sneakers. It did not fly. She dismissed them as "boy shoes."

She even says things like 'trucks are boy toys, dolls are girl toys." I did not teach her this.

I am totally scratching my head over this.

[DesignFox]

<snip>

Likewise, parents don't buy dolls and kitchen toys for their daughters and trucks and soccer balls for their sons because that's how toy companies market them.

Toy companies market them that way because that's what parents buy. Not the other way around.


In my opinion, this whole boycott campaign is nothing more than misplaced blame and, at best, a simplistic solution for a complex problem.

Hence the boycott. If the parents tell the store, "We are not going to buy these toys." And they actually get enough people to NOT buy the toys, maybe the store will offer a better variety of toys.

RK has given a good example of how she tries to raise her daughter in a neutral way. Somewhere her daughter still has her own ideas of what's girly and what isn't...and she wants to be the stereotypical girl. (and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. She was given a choice, this is what she's choosing.)

If the store in question offers nothing gender neutral, I could see parents wanting to avoid that store. If you don't like what they've got, you vote with your wallet and shop elsewhere. For once, I think people are doing something constructive to solve what they perceive as a problem. It's not necessarily a blame game.

It's a double whammy. Yes, there will always be people who try and slot their kids in whatever role they think the kid should take. Typically, parents want their little girls to be little girls and their boys to be boys. Up to a point, the kid has no say in the matter. Once the kids are old enough to start having an opinion, marketing and peer pressure are going to have an impact on them. No matter what the parent does.

I tended to spend more time around boys. I *hated* most girly pink frilly things. There was probably a toy or two I would have liked...if it wasn't pink.

As an adult, it took me 6 months to find an acceptable pair of sneakers. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I want PINK stitching in my fucking SHOES. I voted with my wallet. I refused to buy anything until I found a company offering what I wanted. Obviously, most women disagree with me, since a lot of shoes were white or were some other color with PINK. They wouldn't have it on the shelves unless that's what people were buying (or settling for).

[Lace Neil Singer]

Try buying Converse or Vans. That's exactly what I did, partly for the reason you stated but also cuz most women's trainers only seem to go up to size six. -.-

[DesignFox]

Try buying Converse or Vans. That's exactly what I did, partly for the reason you stated but also cuz most women's trainers only seem to go up to size six. -.-

I like Faded Glory flats. In all black. Finally found some. I think they are popular and tend to sell out a lot...at least in the smaller sizes. The other half of my problem was that the few things available NOT in ugly colors were all about 2-4 sizes too big for me. I'm a US ladies size 6, men's 5-5 1/2. (Yes, I've often resorted to buying men's shoes- this time around that didn't work out, I could only find sizes 7-12)

My other problem? I didn't want to spend $70 on shoes. Super picky. My patience paid off, though!

Hey, if you need a larger shoe, and I need a smaller shoe...we should just trade. XD

[McDreidel09]

RK, does your daughter watch movies and tv? Go to school or daycare? Hang out with other girls?

That also has an impact on how children behave.

My mother wanted me to be a girly girl. My dad wanted me to be a tom boy. I went through different phases. For a while, I was a girly girl. For a while, I was a tomboy. Now, I mainly wear jeans, a shirt, and a hoodie or sweater. I dress up for when I have to give a speech or special occasions.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Oh, yeah. She does. There are a few exceptions, but she gravitates towards other girls, particularly very feminine ones.

I should clarify that I am in no way opposed to this. I totally respect and encourage whoever she is. I let her pick out her own stuff, for the most part. I also try to model neutral behavior for her...she has seen me tinker under the hood of my van, repair drywall, and catch toads and bugs in my hands. (I don't let her get away with that whole "Oh, that is what BOYS do" crapola. But the dresses and dolls? No argument from me.

She also has seen me swordfight, and one of my friends who is a woman who fights schlager, rapier, and is an archer, is one of her favorites. We loved the new Barbie Three Musketeer movie. That movie is great...the girls save the day. I got her some foam swords from my fencing supplier after that.