Toy soldiers and trucks are for boys while blonde-haired dolls are for girls. In a toy store, the girls’ section is typically painted in pink while blue points you to the boys’ aisle.
To a large extent, boys and girls do get drawn to specific types of toys and play, but design, marketing and parental guidance also contribute to gender stereotyping. Admittedly, there are parents who aren’t bothered by the question of gender-related play among their children. Yet, there are those who are highly concerned about the gender divide that it may reinforce.
A case in point is Lego Friends, a girl-oriented range recently introduced by the global brand of toy building bricks, which sparked a debate among Americans uncomfortable with gender-specific games.
For the new line, the company hitherto known for its gender-neutral kits has added a feminine touch to it by having slightly curvier figures in place of the usual blocky ones, and featuring “girlish” sets like a beauty shop, cafe and fashion design studio, and a palette that mostly consists of pinks, light purples and pastel blues. To be fair, though, there are also a less stereotypical veterinary clinic and an inventor’s workshop.
One US-based expert reckoned that such gender-specific toys perpetuate the thinking that there are different things for girls and for boys. There were also worries that girls’ creativity, imagination and intellect could be hampered by what they were told to build.
Last year, a video on YouTube showed four-year-old Riley Maida of New York in a toy store railing at why only girls are supposed to like princesses and boys, superheroes. “Why do all the girls have to buy princesses? Some girls like superheroes, some girls like princesses. Some boys like superheroes, and some boys like princesses. So why do all the girls have to buy pink stuff and all the boys have to buy different coloured stuff?” the American lass rants in the clip.
The video, captured by her father, went viral and has so far garnered some four million hits, even landing spunky Riley on ABC’s World News With Diane Sawyer last December.
Closer to home, are Malaysian parents riled by the issue of gender-oriented play? Or are they indifferent? Star2 speaks to some of them to get an idea.
Games children play
Alexis Mark does not consciously segregate play between her three children – two boys and a girl. She is more keen to ensure that they get a lot of physical activity outdoors. Hence Ledron Lee, eight, Levant, six, and Lerissa, four, spend a lot of time riding their bicycles and playing wave boards, Beyblades (high-performance tops) as well as badminton and football.
The kids tend to like the same games. At home, they play with their train sets, cars, board games or masak-masak (play-cooking) together.
“My boys love to play masak-masak. Ledron started with it even before Lerissa was born. I’m pretty okay with it ... after all, most of the famous chefs in the world are male,” Mark, who lives with her family in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, quips.
“However, the boys don’t play with dolls, probably because I have mentioned that boys don’t play with dolls, and they have said things like Barbie dolls are girls’ stuff. But I asked Ledron recently what he felt about boys playing with dolls, and he replied that it’s okay,” adds the 34-year-old homemaker.
Joyce Shoba Abishegam, a teacher, says her eight-year-old son Raphael Rohan Abishegam loves playing with his trucks, lorries and building blocks while her daughter Reanne Reisha, six, is into soft toys and dolls. At times, Reisha will also play with her brother’s toys but not the other way round.
“Rohan has never shown any inclination towards his sister’s toys but my daughter is a little more adventurous. I encourage her to explore and play. I would not mind if my son plays with ‘girls’ toys’ as playing is part of growing up and learning,” says the Klang Valley-based mother-of-two, 40.
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