S/O Gender neutral Easy bake oven

The question and subsequent comments got me thinking.....Why is there seemingly more outrage at toys marketed toawrds girls (especially when boys want to play with them too) than there is with toys marketed to boys? I don't seem to recall any instance where a mom was upset with NERF marketing to boys, Legos were always seemingly "universal" until they came out with the "Friends" series for girls, and I don't think I've ever heard of an instance where a parent got upset that superheroes, GI Joe, or the WWF dolls were for "Boys".......yet I know plenty of girls who play with these toys regardless. Why is it more socially acceptable for a girl to play with "boy toys" than it is for boys to play with "girl toys" regadless of COLOR schemes etc. So what if a boy wants to play with a purple easybake oven or a fuschia color "My first sewing machine".

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Asked by KristiS11384 at 10:24 AM on Dec. 12, 2012 in General Parenting

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Answer by FreeForAll at 11:03 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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Because we (adults) have made it that way. It's acceptable, even encouraged, for girls to be "tomboys", but boys doing girly things is discouraged. I think some people are afraid to encourage/allow their boys to do girl things out of the irrational fear that it will turn them gay.

Anyone else see the pink zebra thing floating around fb? Little boy wanted pink zebra girl shoes to wear to preschool (pic included). Came home excited because all the kids loved his shoes, but adults on FB who saw the pic the mom posted on FB displayed outrage and homophobia over it. Kids don't automatically do this stuff - they're taught it by adults/society.

Answer by DusterMommy at 10:32 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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The Lego Friends series is total bullshit.

That's all I have for this post right now.

Answer by FreeForAll at 10:27 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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Also don't forget that things marketed towards girls = becoming a teacher or nurse, or anorexic. Or a prostitute.

Answer by FreeForAll at 10:42 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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What I'm getting at is we're CHOOSING these things, based on how we shop. They aren't randomly deciding "we should make these things pink and these things blue", people are answering marketing surveys by saying they want girly legos and pink easy bake ovens.

Answer by NotPanicking at 10:52 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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Kristi I agree with you totally, please see my last posts in the other thread. It's not fair that boys get teased for playing with girl stuff. I think this also stems from the old fashioned idea that women and "women's work" are less valued. Case in point think about all those "My husband thinks I do nothing all day" posts.

Answer by tessiedawg at 10:44 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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Once upon a time in the 70's, there was a big push to make everything gender neutral. Toy stores quit dividing the aisles by boy and girl and mixed it all together. Everyone hated it - most of all the KIDS (that would be most of us 30 years ago) hated it. While girls will always play with Tonka trucks and boys will always play with kitchen sets, there is still an inherent order in dividing things into categories, and that's the best we have, the most basic.

Answer by NotPanicking at 10:46 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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I think those toys are meant to encourage kids into their "roles"
I think the pink play kitchens are to discourage boys from playing with them and to make them choose the "manly" stuff(war,fighting,violence)

Answer by butterflyblue19 at 10:47 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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she was supprted online by famous chefs who thought it was a nice idea, as well. :)

With the hook being when all those male chefs were kids and playing with their own easy bake ovens...they weren't pink.

Answer by NotPanicking at 10:58 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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and some parents dont want their sons playing with "girly" toys

It's not even about the parents. Yes there are some, but kids aren't stupid. Gender neutralizing everything doesn't work (see the 70's toy stores). The kids pick up on pink=girl and blue=boy long before they get to school. Looking back at cases like Carl Joseph Walker and Jaheem Herrera, both bullied to the point of suicide for clothes and a backpack not "boyish" enough, it's not as simple as who cares what color something is anymore.

Answer by NotPanicking at 11:24 AM on Dec. 12, 2012
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