| Should boys play with toy guns and girls play with | | | | mean that as they develop they'll tend to |
| dolls? Or, putting it another way, should boys play | | | | associate those colours and styles as representing |
| with dolls and girls play with toy guns? There is a | | | | their ownership, but if a mixture of toys is |
| great deal of debate on the subject of toys and | | | | available, then they will have no more care of the |
| gender stereotyping, with people very much | | | | colour than if the toy in question is your |
| divided into one camp or another. There is | | | | expensive mobile phone or the toilet brush. |
| certainly no escaping the fact that, no matter | | | | Whatever is to hand becomes a toy in the hands |
| where you look, items associated with boys will | | | | of an infant. |
| generally have images of football, the army or | | | | My little boy has often played tea parties with his |
| superheroes, with copious amounts of blue to | | | | various teddy bears, and the beautifully |
| emphasise the fact that this is all for boys, whilst | | | | multicultural scene of a small boy sharing his tea |
| the girls' sections will be adorned with glamorous | | | | with a bear, a donkey, a sheep a creature from |
| icons, fairies and flowers, with pink daubed | | | | outer space and a giraffe seems perfectly |
| wherever possible. | | | | harmless to me. Later on he'll probably use one of |
| But is this right? Do children tend to become | | | | them to beat up a dog or use to stand on in |
| drawn towards these colours and images because | | | | order to reach something he's not allowed. He's |
| they are told to by society from the day they | | | | not old enough yet to either understand what a |
| are born, or do they have naturally different | | | | gun is, or to have been given one as a toy. But |
| tendencies that are so deep seated and | | | | even now, I feel that slight anxiousness about |
| established that our social and cultural stereotypes | | | | whether I would actually buy him a gun, or let him |
| are in fact nothing more than an outward | | | | feel drawn towards one. |
| reflection of that understanding? | | | | When I was growing up, I had a cowboy's outfit, |
| It is, certainly, very difficult to answer the | | | | several cap guns and a large box of toy soldiers. |
| question with any degree of certainty, and there | | | | My sister had endless numbers of toy dolls which |
| is much debate and much evidence on both sides | | | | did everything from shut their eyes to wet their |
| to suggest that each is valid. Perhaps, however, | | | | nappies, and we each seemed content with our |
| there is a more important point to raise, and that | | | | own toys, and neither of us had very much |
| is this: should boys be allowed to like pink things, | | | | interest in the others'. And yet, I can think of no |
| play with dolls and have tea parties, whilst girls be | | | | good reason why not. The social skills she |
| allowed to wear blue, kick a football around and | | | | practiced are just as relevant to me today, just |
| pretend to shoot their friends in an imaginary | | | | as the desire to survive is relevant to her. |
| battle? | | | | Perhaps the solution is to let the child come to the |
| Anyone who has, or has had children, will be | | | | toys, rather than forcing toys upon the child, but |
| aware that children play with whatever they find | | | | to allow the child free reign to choose those that |
| around them, and at a very early age their | | | | feel right to them. Where this feeling will come |
| curiosity will be open to whatever is available. The | | | | from is another matter, and certainly a diet of |
| fact that they are generally bought blue toys if | | | | television will do little to eradicate any social |
| they are a boy, and pink for a girl, will simply | | | | stereotyping that may exist. |