It’s not news. But until a few days before Christmas, I’d never noticed how intensely genderized the toy section is at most major retail outlets. My nieces and nephews are between 2 and 5 years old. Until now, I bought them primarily soft things they could slobber on and not stab their eyes out with. This year, I was stoked to buy actual toys.The “girl” sections (marked “toys for girls”) include shopping carts, miniature kitchen sets, pissing baby dolls, etc. The boys get tools, transformers, dinosaur excavation kits and the like.Side note: In the early ’90s, artists who called themselves the Barbie Liberation Organization switched the voice boxes of Teen Talk Barbie and Talking Duke G.I. Joe before returning the dolls to the stores. A modded Barbie would bark “Vengeance is mine!” and G.I. Joe squealed “Let’s go shopping!” I have years of toy buying ahead of me. Anyone out there have advice on how to avoid enforcing screwy gender codes via toys?
Stacy’s First Gender Enforcer
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