海角大神

High school junior Antonia Ayres-Brown wrote on this week about her challenge to McDonald鈥檚 to end its unofficial practice of asking children whether they want a boy or girl toy with their meal.

As Antonia points out, 鈥淭he problem with Happy Meal toys may seem trivial to some, but consider this: McDonald鈥檚 is estimated to sell Happy Meals each year. When it poses this question鈥斺�橠o you want a boy鈥檚 toy or a girl鈥檚 toy?鈥� McDonald鈥檚 pressures innumerable children to conform to gender stereotypes.鈥�

Beyond fast food, retailers continue to pressure millions of kids into conforming to gender stereotypes through their toy choices, and there is mounting consumer dissatisfaction spurring groups to stand up against the gender barriers of toys.

To some it may sound like shopping sacrilege, but the campaign to in the UK and several campaigns in the 鈥� all founded by concerned parents 鈥� want to eliminate the color-coded shopping aisles in favor of toy gender anarchy.聽

Let Toys Be Toys is a UK-based group launched in 2012 "asking retailers to stop limiting children's imaginations and interests by promoting some toys as only suitable for girls, and others only for boys," according to its .

While a number of major UK and Ireland toy retailers have capitulated to the demands that they 鈥渕arket toys in an inclusive way鈥� the organization鈥檚 website states, 鈥淲e鈥檙e pleased that so many retailers have made changes, or committed to do so, but there鈥檚 still lots to do.鈥�

Here in America, similar parent organizations have been less successful in convincing toy sellers to integrate the colors of toy aisles and take down the 鈥渂oys鈥� and 鈥済irls鈥� signage over items.

Let Toys Be Toys is a campaign created by moms and dads that grew out of a thread on parenting website , 鈥渨hich brought together parents frustrated by the increase in gender-based marketing and promotion to children,鈥� according to the Mumsnet website.

According to Let Toys Be Toys Spokesperson Megan Perryman. there's no direct US equivalent to this organization, however in America the , , , and all aim to empower little girls and their toy buying choices.

The first thing I noticed about the America list of organizations is they are all gender-biased and feminine-focused.

Where are the groups started by parents of boys who want the bullying to stop over the toys they like that are 鈥減ink aisle鈥� products, such as My Little Pony or books about the lives of girls?

My sons all read the 鈥淛unie B. Jones鈥� book series because聽 they like her feisty nature and they also love 鈥淎melia Bedelia" books for the humor. Those reading choices were the cause of teasing by other kids and even some adults who thought the choices were too 鈥済irly.鈥�

It seems that here in America, even as we try and erase gender barriers, we can sometimes start to generate new ones.

My 10-year-old son, Quin, who likes My Little Pony toys and has been bullied for his pink aisle purchases in the past, alerted me to a story this morning that highlights the pink makeover of science toys.

The story Quin showed me this morning was written by Sai Pathmanathan, a science education consultant in the United Kingdom who contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Ms. Pathmanathan catalogues the "science toy" makeover trend that has colored STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) toys for girls (such as Nerf Rebelle, LEGO Friends, Roominate, and GoldieBlox), referring to them as 鈥減inkified/girlified鈥� toys.

I want more girls to love STEM toys, but for me making the toys pink is just another 鈥渟eparate but equal鈥� situation that, as Quin pointed out, we would not accept in other social scenarios. While I like that Goldiblox may be helping more girls get into science and math, deep down I still resent the fact that they are 鈥渇or girls鈥� in girly themes and colors.

Quin often asks me, 鈥淲hy do people make me feel bad if I like a color or pattern that鈥檚 got pink, purple, or something with a rainbow on it?鈥�

Girls who like 鈥渂oy colors鈥� or toys are not considered feminine, while boys who like a pony with a rainbow tail are being 鈥済irly.鈥�

I wonder if toy sellers and marketing teams consider that color/gender stereotypes may be contributing to bullying issues for their consumers.

Of the pink aisle in stores, Quin says, 鈥淚t makes you feel like you鈥檙e not allowed there and if you like something from that aisle that鈥檚 pink and you鈥檙e a boy you鈥檙e doing something bad. Girls probably feel the same about going into the blue or car aisle too.鈥�

鈥淚 think having pink and blue [shopping aisles] is just as wrong as having black and white sections for race,鈥� Quin said heatedly after seeing the story.

That was a big catharsis from a kid over the prevailing color of a toy shopping aisle.

Then again, boys like Quin and bullied Brony (boy who likes My little Pony) Grayson Bruce have had their fill of retailers making their lives miserable under the auspices of making shopping choices easier for those seeking stereotypical toys for girls and boys.

While ending bullying is not the goal of Let Toys Be Toys, I believe it will be a bonus effect if a similar movement gains traction in the US.

Eight months ago, A Mighty Girl posted a petition asking Toys R Us stores to stop gender-biasing aisles.

The campaign called on American stores to follow the example of its European counterparts, 鈥淣ow is the time for Toys "R" Us in the USA to join its counterparts in the UK and Sweden and end the rampant gender stereotyping in its marketing of toys to children,鈥� reads the petition.

In an email on the subject of the petition Kathleen Waugh,vice president, Corporate Communications Toys鈥淩鈥漊s, Inc. writes, 鈥淭here are no gender-specific toy sections in our US stores.聽 Toys are merchandised by product category, so customers can easily see the breadth of assortment.聽 All learning toys, for example, (from a variety of manufacturers) are merchandised together.聽 The same is true for all categories, including sports toys, pre-school toys, construction sets (ie: LEGO and MegaBrands), bikes, dolls, arts and crafts, action figures, musical instruments, and more. With regards to advertising, Toys鈥淩鈥漊s regularly features girls and boys playing with all different types of toys.鈥�

However, the Toys鈥淩鈥漊s is immediately broken down into 鈥淭oys for Girls鈥� and 鈥淭oys for boys鈥� options for shoppers to choose between.

Ms. Perryman of Let Toys Be Toys says the Toys鈥淩鈥漊s website in the UK is also segregated like tis American counterpart. 鈥淲e met them last year and they agreed to some changes but it's slow-going,鈥� referring to a to stop gender-specific labeling.

鈥淭he reason for this is that in online shopping, 鈥済irls toys鈥� and 鈥渂oys toys鈥� continue to be among the top Internet search terms used by parents, grandparents, and gift givers when looking for toys,鈥� writes Ms. Waugh, addressing the website鈥檚 separate-but-equal division. 鈥淲e understand that children have many diverse interests, and continually strive to portray that in our aisles and in our marketing materials.鈥�

The Let Toys be Toys site includes a section titled 鈥淭ips for Complaining,鈥� which I highly recommend to parents here in America who want to effect change in their local stores and toy companies in general.

According to the tip page, Let Toys Be Toys writes, 鈥淓xpect to receive a 鈥榝obbing off鈥� response.聽 Chances are they鈥檒l send you a polite reply along the lines of 鈥榃e value all customer feedback and will bear your comments in mind,鈥欌�� The site tells parents. 鈥淒on鈥檛 accept it! Write back to demand specifics and make sure they know they鈥檙e not getting any custom from you until they change their policy.鈥�

In social campaigns as in parenting it鈥檚 all about being consistent and persistent.

Also, I think this is about getting parents and kids like Quin and Grayson Bruce to start taking back the power by doing 鈥楳ommy/Daddy and Me鈥� tandem letters to retailers and toy companies.

I don鈥檛 care what color or alleged gender-style toy a child owns, as long as they also own the feeling of empowerment to choose without fear of shunning or bullying from other consumers.