When Toys Get All Stereotypical on You

The other day I headed off to the craft store to finish off my Christmas gift list. My godson, a four-year-old budding Van Gogh, wanted some new art projects to work on.

When I entered, I was engulfed in a display of make-your-own headbands and jewelry, manicure sets and scrapbooks, vajazzlers and macramé thong kits. But what I didn’t see were kits ideal for those with XY chromosomes.

Sure, there were some awesome gender-neutral Crayola kits as well as a paint-your-own coffee mug, but I thought that was a little insensitive for a preschooler trying to kick his caffeine addiction.

Finally, behind a glitter-bomb-your-own-purse set, I uncovered a lowly wooden car kit – the only blue box in a sea of pink and purple.

I’m not the only one who has difficulty finding a specific gift for a child whose interests don’t fall into a stereotypical gender mold.

This past week, McKenna Pope, an eighth grader from New Jersey started an online petition to urge Hasbro to create an Easy-Bake Oven in a neutral color for her four-year-old brother who loves to bake.

According to an Associated Press article, “She said her little brother would probably be OK playing with a purple-and-pink oven by himself but would be too embarrassed to use it in front of his friends.” By Friday, more than 30,000 had signed the petition and celebrity chef Bobby Flay got behind her cause.

As parents, we try to reduce gender stereotypes in our homes, but marketing and media tend to negate our efforts. My friend, a research scientist, recently directed me to a funny, yet cringe-inducing, BuzzFeed post entitled “16 Ways the Toy Industry Is Stuck in the Stone Age,” which demonstrates how stores across the globe have long marketed sewing machines and unicorns to little girls and science projects and dinosaurs to little boys.

Thankfully, the trend is starting to shift. In a Today show report on Friday, reporter Gabe Gutierrez spotlighted Toys “R” Us’ recent catalogs which show girls shooting Nerf guns and playing with dragons while a little boy rocks a baby doll.

We’ve tried to push my husband’s John Deere tractors and remote-controlled cars on our girls with mixed results, so I try to find a common ground in order to empower them.

Like every little girl, my kids love Barbie, so Santa picks out those who have interests outside being a princess or bride or supermodel. A veterinarian Barbie for instance, although any vet can tell you Barbie’s miniskirt is way too short for someone who has to hold down a Doberman for a tooth extraction and she often skips the office to go to prom with my old Michael Jackson doll. But, really, my intentions are good!

On the flip side, my friend Jody hunted for a male baby doll for her toddler son at local discount stores until finally breaking down and buying boy Bitty Twins from American Girl. “Every toddler loves to play with dolls, whether they’re a boy or a girl,” she said. “But can you think of any doll that’s been marketed to boys since My Buddy?”

There are so many incredible gender-neutral toys out there that build social and development skills for boys and girls alike, but there’s always room for improvement. While it’s up to us to give our little ones the freedom to explore and grow through all types of free play, we can always give marketers a little nudge to have our backs.

So, what toy brands do you think do a great job of appealing to both genders? Any toys your kids love playing with that don’t fit the stereotypical mold?

By Nicole Plegge, Lifestyle Blogger for SmartParenting

Metro East mom Nicole Plegge is the lifestyle and pop culture blogger for SmartParenting. Besides working full time for a local nonprofit and raising two daughters and a husband, Nicole's greatest achievements are finding her misplaced car keys each day and managing to leave the house in a stain-free shirt. Her biggest regret is never being accepted to the Eastland School for Girls.