By Lucy Waterlow for MailOnline. Women today may feel they have come a long way since the inequality of the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies.
But the shelves of many toy shops paint a very different story. Where once toys may have been marketed in neutral colours to target both boys and girls, now they are much more likely to be gender stereotyped - blue for boys and pink for girls.
Definition essay on stereotype
The issue has been highlighted by campaign group Let Toys Be Toys, who recently shared a picture comparing the toys on sale in Argos in the Seventies to today on their Twitter feed. Avalanche of pink: A comparison by campaign group Let Toys Be Toys shows how in the Seventies, left, toys were in a variety of colours while today girls are pushed to embrace one shade. While decades ago toy pushchairs, prams and household equipment like play ovens came in whites, reds and blues - aimed at both genders - today the majority are all pink. And while the items above aimed at girls relate to being domesticated, in contrast boys today are encouraged to play with science sets, cars and action heroes.
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Let Toys Be Toys, set up by a group of British parents last November, are calling for this to change. They are petitioning retailers to stop segregating their products 'for boys' and 'for girls'. One of the campaign's founders, Tricia Lowther, 44, a self-employed copywriter from Durham, who has a five-year-old daughter, told the MailOnline: 'It does bother a lot of parents, we seem to have tapped in to a huge and growing sense of frustration with the way Stereotypes And Stereotypes Of Our Modern Society are promoted according to outdated, illogical and sexist stereotypes.
The Let Toys Be Toys petition, which has already gained 6, signatures, states: 'In it is time to take down the signs, labels and categories that tell parents, grandparents and children that construction sets, adventure games, cars, science toys and superheroes are 'toys for boys', and that baby dolls, play kitchens, make-up sets, fashion, princesses and crafts are 'toys for girls'. Children should feel free to play with the toys that most interest them.
Research by Elizabeth Sweet, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of California, has backed up Tricia's belief that gender stereotyping of toys is getting worse. Writing in the New York Times last year, she said: 'We've made great strides toward gender equity over the past 50 years, but the world of toys looks a lot more like than Boys are encouraged to play with mechanical toys and science kits while for girls it's all about dolls.
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In fact, finding a toy that is not marketed either explicitly or subtly through use of colour, for example by gender has become incredibly difficult. Let Toys Be Toys believe this kind of gender stereotyping from an early age can be damaging for children. Psychologist Steve Biddulph agrees. In his book, Raising Girls, he points to how see more girls are are continually being bombarded with the message that it's their Stereotypes And Stereotypes Of Our Modern Society and Socjety 'hot' that is the most important thing.
While the media is to blame, he also points to the toy industry playing their part. He gives the example of a new range of 'Friends' Lego aimed at girls predominantly pink of course that focuses on being beautiful and marginalises female roles Stereoty;es society. Detrimental: Child psychologists agree the stereotyping of toys is encouraging girls to think it's only their appearance that matters. He said: 'R ecently, the company Lego started producing five curvy plastic 'friends' who bake, home-make, decorate, style hair and shop.
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Plus a plastic female ghetto called Heartlake City, which https://amazonia.fiocruz.br/scdp/blog/gregorys-punctuation-checker-tool/narrative-of-forrest-gump.php manages to thrive without any fire-fighters or policemen. As well as toys aimed at girls being given a pink makeover since the Seventies, many children's favourite characters have also been glamorised - driving home the message that appearance, above all, counts.
Disney faced a backlash from parents and had to back down after they recently tried to make Merida from Brave more sexy by giving her larger eyes, a smaller waist and frizz-free hair. But a look back at other characters - including Rainbow Bright and Strawberry Shortcake - shows how this has been going on for years.
While once these female characters looked wholesome and innocent, now they're slimmer with longer legs and more make-up. Backlash: Disney had link back down after giving Brave character Merida a sexy makeover, right. Even animals don't escape a sexy make-over. The popular My Little Pony - which back in the Eighties did resemble the figure of a horse - has now been given long, slim legs, huge eyes complete with long false eyelashes and a long, wavy mane to rival the Duchess of Cambridge's.]
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