3 Reasons Why Toys Shouldn’t Be Gendered

Maggie Cole, a 7-year-old British girl, loves superheroes. When she saw a shelf of superhero-related toys in a Tesco supermarket, there was a sign saying " "Fun gifts for boys" (Fun gifts for boys), she felt very angry and said to her mother: "This is wrong! Anyone can like superheroes!" Her mother took a picture of her unhappy face and uploaded it to Twitter, which caused a stir The BBC and other media reported that Tesco finally agreed to take down the slogan.

Maggie Cole, a 7-year-old British girl, loves superheroes. When she saw a shelf of superhero-related toys in a Tesco supermarket, there was a sign saying " "Fun gifts for boys" (Fun gifts for boys), she felt very angry and said to her mother: "This is wrong! Anyone can like superheroes!" Her mother took a picture of her unhappy face and uploaded it to Twitter, which caused a stir The BBC and other media reported that Tesco finally agreed to take down the slogan.

Another 7-year-old American girl, Parker Daines, found an insect book in the library, but the cover said "For boys". She was very unhappy and wrote to the publisher: "Some girls also want to be entomologists." After receiving the letter, the publisher decided to follow suit and remove the "For Boys" label from the book.

Since 2013, the UK has launched the "Let Books Be Books, Let Toys Be Toys" campaign to promote the removal of gender labels on toys and books and call for publishing Social media and toy manufacturers responded.

Parents may ask, is this matter so important? Isn’t it just a toy? Boys and girls like to play differently. The action website explains the reasons why gender labels should be removed from children’s books and toys:

Some people argue that boys and girls play with toys differently, but this does not mean that they need to be Gender labels separate toys. For example, some children may use dinosaur toys to play with, while others may use them to play pretending to be drinking. Giving children a diverse and wide range of choices for toys can expand their imagination. There is really no need to distinguish whether toys are for boys or girls.