Greens Senator Larissa Waters has called for parents to boycott children’s toys that reinforce gender stereotypes.
Senator Waters is supporting Play Unlimited’s “No Gender December” campaign, which prompts parents to boycott Christmas presents that represent “old-fashioned stereotypes”.
She said that parents were confronted with separate aisles for boy’s toys and girls’ toys and that children should be able to play with dinosaurs, dolls and trucks if they wanted to.
“Children are being told what they should and shouldn’t like based on their gender,” she said on the Today Show.
“The starkly separate aisles of pink and blue, catalogues categorising toys as for girls or boys, and advertising showing just girls or boys playing with particular toys, can seem harmless,” Senator Waters said in a statement.
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Larissa Waters
“However, setting such strong gender stereotypes at early ages can have long-term impacts, including influencing self-perception and career aspirations.
“Out-dated stereotypes about girls and boys and men and women, perpetuate gender inequality, which feeds into very serious problems such as domestic violence and the gender pay gap.”
Play Unlimited co-founders Thea Hughes and Julie Huberman hope that the campaign will prompt toy companies to become more inclusive in their marketing.
“It’s 2014 – women mow lawns and men push prams but while we’ve moved on, many toy companies haven’t,” Ms Huberman said.
“We’re inviting everyone concerned about overt gendered marketing to sign our No Gender December pledge and we’re pleased to have a number of academic researchers and psychologists supporting our campaign.”
