Do toys have a gender?

[kayte]

I went to a popular consignment sale today. All the toys are categorized into Infant, Boy and Girl. I went looking for a few things for my daughter --and found them all on the boys tables. Duplos, wooden blocks, a wooden train set, a marble run, and Mr. Potato Head were all in the 'Boys' section... I just thought it as odd. And when I was checking out the lady even made a comment to my daughter something to the effect of 'looks like your brother is getting some new toys'....

I wouldn't consider anything I bought to be 'boyish' except for maybe the train set... I guess if it's not pink or a doll it isn't a girl toy? Thoughts?

[hillview]

No they don't. When places do that it really bugs me.
/hillary

[laurenj]

Wow...without knowing what "girls" toys were (but assuming they included dolls and toy kitchen-type things), I find it sad that anything that involves building and creativity was considered a "boy" toy. Glad to hear that you're buying those toys for your dd, because I definitely don't think toys have a gender!

[mom2binsd]

Our consignment sale started to do it...mainly just to have basic categories....it was just to separate out the typical boy (GI JOE/Superhero stuff from Dolls etc)...I thought it was a bit weird but the dept. stores tend to separate by gender too...but my DS loves to play with his sisters dolls more than she does!

[kijip]

No they don't. It's a huge pet peeve of mine. My son can play with whatever the heck he wants (provided it is not dangerous).

[kristenk]

My immediate thought when I read your post title was yes, of course b/c all of DD's stuffed animals are evidently female.:ROTFLMAO:

Having "boys" and "girls" toys drives me batty. I understand that it makes sense for stores to group like toys together, but it goes too far. The Playmobil toys at both Target and Walmart are in the "boys section" of toys, which means that the Playmobil toys typically carried have pirate and other "boy" themes. They don't carry any "girl" or gender neutral Playmobil toys - evidently b/c they wouldn't fit with the other toys in the boys section.

I haven't been down the special toy aisle in Target (the one where Alex toys, Automoblox, etc. are carried) lately, but it's so nice that it's just a mix of all different types of toys and the cars are close to the dollhouse people, etc. As I said, I haven't been down the aisle lately, but I really hope it hasn't changed.

[nov04]

Eek. Guess I'm raising boys then!!!!! All of them are within their favourites.

Why can't they just categorize actions like building, dress up, collectibles, etc etc? That would peeve me too!

[buddyleebaby]

Only if you're speaking Spanish. ;)

[JTsMom]

That is beyond ridiculous! How on earth is a building block a boy toy?!?!?! Even if you stick with more.... old-fashioned beliefs about boy and girl toys, a building block?!? Come on! Way to keep girls out of engineering!

Here we have strollers, kitchen stuff, shopping carts, trains, blocks, books, vaccums, art stuff, stuffed animals, beads, sewing/lacing stuff, cars, trucks etc. Oh, and both high heels and work boots are favorite dress up items. I refuse to limit play based on gender, and when I see it done in stores, it makes my blood boil. :32:

[carolinamama]

I get annoyed at this. DS likes all types of toys and he had no idea about gender stereotypes. It bothered me that when I was trying to find an affordable play kitchen for ds, so many were pink/pastel. Same with play vacuums. Can't imagine his play because of this. He loves to pretend he's the mommy sometimes too and we certainly don't stop him. It's not hurting anything.

[MamaKath]

My immediate thought when I read your post title was yes, of course b/c all of DD's stuffed animals are evidently female.:ROTFLMAO:

This was what I thought too. All of ds's toys are female. He insists his Beta is also, though that we do argue!

The separation of the selection is dumb though! I also can't stand when the stuff he likes only comes in female forms (like many dolls or sometimes stuffed animals) or only a single color choice or pastels.

[mommy111]

I went to a popular consignment sale today. All the toys are categorized into Infant, Boy and Girl. I went looking for a few things for my daughter --and found them all on the boys tables. Duplos, wooden blocks, a wooden train set, a marble run, and Mr. Potato Head were all in the 'Boys' section... I just thought it as odd. And when I was checking out the lady even made a comment to my daughter something to the effect of 'looks like your brother is getting some new toys'....

I wouldn't consider anything I bought to be 'boyish' except for maybe the train set... I guess if it's not pink or a doll it isn't a girl toy? Thoughts?
Absolutely toys have gender! Dolls and playdoh and play-kitchens are girl toys except you can sometimes find a chef costume at Target that is really a 'boy' Chef.....OK, who am I kidding :) It drives me batty when stores do that! The toy that kept us sane during winter was a train table at Barnes and Noble that we'd drive my DD to play with whenever we got cabin fever at home. She loves those trains!

[ellies mom]

Like a few PPs, my first thought was "of course". My oldest names just about everything including the baby's chew toys.

But yeah, that would drive me nuts too. In my world, they would be separated by things like "building toys", "pretend play", etc, not "boy", "girl".

When we go to McDonalds, it drives me nuts when they call them "boy" toy vs "girl" toy. Why can't they call them "truck" toy vs. "doll" toy? I tend to mutter to myself as I walk away from the counter and then go off on mini feminist rant when I get back to the table about how passive the girl toys always are and how assigning gender to toys also assigns value and so on. I do the same in the toy aisles.

[wellyes]

Last year, before I had DD, I went into a Toys-R-Us for the first time in YEARS to get a gift for a toddler birthday party. I was amazed (unhappily so) that the entire store was separated into two halves: a blue "action figures and science stuff" half and a pink "dolls and play kitchens" half. What year is it? How unenlightened can you get??

Meanwhile I was that parent who was determined to not dress my daughter in pink all the time, because it's dumb. Except that, even for a 6 months old, pink is most of what you can buy already! Especially if you're cheap like me and shop entirely at the used clothing store.

The color doesn't bother me as much as the toy thing ('girls are into sexy-looking dolls, baby-looking dolls and homemaker supplies') but it's still annoying.

[MamaKath]

Last year, before I had DD, I went into a Toys-R-Us for the first time in YEARS to get a gift for a toddler birthday party. I was amazed (unhappily so) that the entire store was separated into two halves: a blue "action figures and science stuff" half and a pink "dolls and play kitchens" half. What year is it? How unenlightened can you get??

I noticed that last year too!!! Even the classic Fisher Price Toys like the doctor kit and the windup clock were in pink. :32: It was so neat to see the classics yet so depressing to see the color choice!

[MelissaTC]

I wish some toys were made gender neutral. DS loves loves loves Littlest Pet Shop. He loves the little animals and their cute accessories. Most of the colors and schemes do not bother him but every once in a while he will want something but then declare that he can't have it because it is too girly. Do they not think that little boys would want to play with little animals??? They are animals, for pete's sake! They come in both genders!!

[Mamma2004]

No they don't. It's a huge pet peeve of mine. My son can play with whatever the heck he wants (provided it is not dangerous).

Ditto!

DS is four and although some of his daily play includes trains, outdoor sports of all kinds, blocks, etc....he has always thoroughly enjoyed his kitchen, lacing train, BABY, etc.

I feel he is all the more prepared for *real life* because of the many roles he takes on in his pretend play. It seems ridiculous that in 2008 children are still discouraged from exploring all sorts of play.

Blocks? Really?! Hmph.

[kransden]

According to my dd toys have a gender. ;)