I think it can, if there is no other choice. I think the answer is for stores to offer a broad range of toys, to include role-play, educational, construction, arts and craft, outdoor. There are many good gender neutral toys out there, but I do think to also have a small amount of very girl- orientated toys and very boy- orientated toys is absolutely fine. I think the days, thankfully, are gone, of a massive aisle of pink opposite a massive aisle of blue.
I think there is still consumer demand for these products. I say this as someone who has run their own retail toy shops and have had three children (two girls and a boy). I think the important thing is for those in the toy trade to be responsible by ensuring there is a wide choice of appropriate products on offer. I don’t believe it to be true that hair and make-up toys promote low self-confidence and body dysmorphia. I think we do live in a world too vain and too obsessed with image and superficial beauty, however I don’t
believe we can blame the toy trade entirely for this. This is sadly part of a much bigger picture.
Children have and always will enjoy role-play and imitating their parents in particular. The problems are more likely to be caused by the attitude and behaviour of some of these parents that are being imitated, rather than by the children playing with their toys of choice.”
Sue Barratt, Country Manager, Meccano Toys (UK)
“I think this issue is less about conforming to
gender stereotypes and more about offering children and parents a wide choice of colours. Some children like pink, so by offering a pink version we make the product more appealing to them. Ultimately, everyone is welcome to their own opinion and it’s no great
surprise that there is a bit of a backlash against what has been termed the ‘pinkification’ of childhood. However, I’m sure the sales figures of pink products are more a reflection of consumer demand, rather than a passion and determination to turn girls into princesses. There is some evidence that suggests women may be biologically programmed to prefer the colour pink – or, at least, redder shades of blue – more than men. Our products and packaging come in a wide spectrum of colours to appeal to all – blue, yellow, red, orange, green, silver... and yes, pink.”
Rob Trup, Marketing Manager, Fiesta Crafts
“Ignorantly thinking that ‘Pinkstinks’ was only about
challenging the colour pink in products aimed at girls got me all-a-
eyeballs-rolling. The fact that pink sells for girls is far more about consumer decisions than anything that our industry could ‘dictate’. But the campaign goes much deeper than colours. I agree with their objectives that girls shouldn’t be stereotyped and limited by ‘traditional’ roles. Sure, boys can play with kitchens and girls with cars. However can, as they might suggest, boys and girls equally play with fairies? I don’t think so. Anyone who has watched boys and girls at play will know that they play differently from a very early age and like different things. Parents also recognise this and the purchase decision is based on so much more than the advertising and media. To remove gender cues, they would need to re-boot society as a whole. And if a girl doesn’t reach her potential when an adult, surely issues far more important than toys will have a decisive role in this. I think there are creditable aims to their campaign, but I wonder if they have got the strategy wrong.”
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