Sure, for example, change Mr. Potato Head to Anthropomorphic Tuber.
Doesn't that sound like a toy that any kid would want to play with?
I know I'd like it.

thought smurfs took care of this issue already

Girls and boys shouldn't be forced by parents to pick various toys. People should be taught to accept others as they are if they are different.

Beyond that, who the fark cares? You won't fix gender issues by by pretending you can make the two identical.

What the hell is my wife going to do with a Fleshlight?

/dnrtfa

Well, there was a video of a little girl on CNN a couple days ago who was po'd that the girls toys were all decked out in pink, and there were no super heros in sight for them. I think she was 3, said she likes super heroes as much as she likes princesses and knew boys who liked princesses as well as super heroes. Felt that the toy companies were being unfair. CNN interviewed her and she was just cute as a button, with her today rabbit, lamenting the unfair marketing practices of toy companies. My words, not hers.

World of Toys. Is that kind of like a World without Shrimp?

JackalRabbit: thought smurfs took care of this issue already

Nah, they just showed that Smurfette was an incestious whore.

Gender free toys sound boring, I think Lego has something with the pretty colored sets. And just because a Toy is marketed to one, it shouldn't really matter if a child of the other gender wants one or plays with it.

Dolls of all genders should have a 'vette with laser cannons under the hood.

Big Jim got way more Barbie 'tang than Ken ever did.

Here we go again. The last time they tried genderless toys, their little experiment was a complete failure.

DeadMouseTails: Well, there was a video of a little girl on CNN a couple days ago who was po'd that the girls toys were all decked out in pink, and there were no super heros in sight for them

Her parents put her up to it.

Both genders should have fully automatic real weapons available to them

So long as female Lego's wasn't 20.percent less.

Umm...yeah. Why the hell not? fark the stereotypes of blue and pink and assigned gender roles. Let kids choose what THEY want, not what we want them to like based on gender. Hell, you can still market the toys without the gender, TRUST ME (and don't worry, if they toys are worth a damn they won't be "boring" because there's not a gender-color assigned to it)!

The toys aren't necessarily "gender-neutral" - the store stopped grouping toys by gender. As the article says, "Hamleys is on to something."

It's a reasonable idea. The kids are then "free" to choose toys that appeal to them directly, instead of unconsciously conforming to someone else's idea of valid play. Doesn't stop anyone from producing toys that appeal to boys, girls, or, apparently, those folks who may be undecided.

No, subby. How would children be gender-creative or gender queer if they could only play with gender-free toys?

cman: mafiageek1980: Umm...yeah. Why the hell not? fark the stereotypes of blue and pink and assigned gender roles. Let kids choose what THEY want, not what we want them to like based on gender. Hell, you can still market the toys without the gender, TRUST ME (and don't worry, if they toys are worth a damn they won't be "boring" because there's not a gender-color assigned to it)!

Get ready for a life time of bitterness and expensive psychologists bills.

Prove it, pal! Happiness and bad-ass toys doesn't require a gender assignment!

/Garbage Pail kids RULED back in the day, damnit, and you didn't have a "gender" assigned to that, LOL!

No.

Boys and girls are different.

Get over it.

no

cman: mafiageek1980: cman: mafiageek1980: Umm...yeah. Why the hell not? fark the stereotypes of blue and pink and assigned gender roles. Let kids choose what THEY want, not what we want them to like based on gender. Hell, you can still market the toys without the gender, TRUST ME (and don't worry, if they toys are worth a damn they won't be "boring" because there's not a gender-color assigned to it)!

Get ready for a life time of bitterness and expensive psychologists bills.

Prove it, pal! Happiness and bad-ass toys doesn't require a gender assignment!

/Garbage Pail kids RULED back in the day, damnit, and you didn't have a "gender" assigned to that, LOL!

No, but it doesnt make up for all the times they are gonna get their ass handed to them by pricks who pick on those who are different.

Is your name Asswipe Johnson by any chance?

I guess I really don't understand this. If you're raising your kids with a "gender neutral" view of the world, why would it matter what color aisle the toy was in or whether a boy/girl was on the box? The kid won't care.

Honestly, when your child starts school, all you work is pretty much going to be wasted anyway. Peer pressure is a powerful thing.

No!

Toys should NOT be gender free! The whole "PC" movement needs to die and go away.! Our parents survived without all this gay "don;t hurt their feelings" bullshiat, and we can too

Notabunny: No.

Boys and girls are different.

Get over it.

Then taking away the "boys" and "girls" labels from toys won't change the toys that kids of each gender "naturally" choose, will it? So why the outrage?

cman: mafiageek1980: cman: mafiageek1980: Umm...yeah. Why the hell not? fark the stereotypes of blue and pink and assigned gender roles. Let kids choose what THEY want, not what we want them to like based on gender. Hell, you can still market the toys without the gender, TRUST ME (and don't worry, if they toys are worth a damn they won't be "boring" because there's not a gender-color assigned to it)!

Get ready for a life time of bitterness and expensive psychologists bills.

Prove it, pal! Happiness and bad-ass toys doesn't require a gender assignment!

/Garbage Pail kids RULED back in the day, damnit, and you didn't have a "gender" assigned to that, LOL!

No, but it doesnt make up for all the times they are gonna get their ass handed to them by pricks who pick on those who are different.

and who says ALL them are gonna get picked on? I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but this stupid gender-assignment shiat has been going on TOO long and needs to stop. If the person does get picked on, they can either A). Realize that the stupid prick picking on them isn't worth their time and let an adult know the fark is harrassing them B). If that doesn't work, "fight fire with fire", verbal-style C). Both D). Watch an old episode of "In living color", particularly the episodes featuring "The dirty Dozens", for old-school ammo. E). ALL the above!

Atomic Spunk: What the hell is my wife going to do with a Fleshlight?

/dnrtfa

Use it on you and get about a minutes exercise.

/ you know I'm just kidding.
// at least I hope I am...

When Barbie first came out she was much more realistic looking. Her change, over the course of many years, was the result of what the kids (in this case mainly girls) wanted out of their doll. The doll they wanted to play with was this disproportionate human with boobs that could poke your eyes out. There was an interesting special on it several years ago on TV.

While there are those who like to play with both boy and girl toys, the fact is that many boys and girls *do* tend to prefer the gender stereotypical toys. That's kinda how the toys became stereotyped in the first place.

Kids should be allowed to choose what toys they want to play with. They should be allowed to have a diverse set of friends.

But wanting to play with the "stereotype" toys or "the guys" or "the girls" shouldn't be frowned upon either. Otherwise, you're not really letting the kid choose, are you?

/non of this applies if the choices said kiddo makes are unsafe or the friends they choose are bad influences. That's where good parenting comes in.

AKTurkey: Women should play with women's toys. Men should help them play with their toys. Sometimes two women should play with the same toy. In this case, men should be allowed to watch and perhaps join in the playing. Men should refrain from playing with women's toys by themselves. A gerbil is not a toy.

Your thoughts were spot-on until you sliiped a Gere

Supersith: No!

Toys should NOT be gender free! The whole "PC" movement needs to die and go away.! Our parents survived without all this gay "don;t hurt their feelings" bullshiat, and we can too

Notabunny: No.

Boys and girls are different.

Get over it.

Well, dinosaur toys are known for their big scary teeth, which are generally considered masculine. So ol' Tyrannosaurus rex would have to lose his choppers if it wanted to be gender-neutral.

Besides, we already have female Transformers (Arcee, Blackarachnia, Thunderblast, Airachnid), does the masculinity of transforming robots cancel the inherent femininity of the characters?

cman: mafiageek1980: cman: mafiageek1980: cman: mafiageek1980: Umm...yeah. Why the hell not? fark the stereotypes of blue and pink and assigned gender roles. Let kids choose what THEY want, not what we want them to like based on gender. Hell, you can still market the toys without the gender, TRUST ME (and don't worry, if they toys are worth a damn they won't be "boring" because there's not a gender-color assigned to it)!

Get ready for a life time of bitterness and expensive psychologists bills.

Prove it, pal! Happiness and bad-ass toys doesn't require a gender assignment!

/Garbage Pail kids RULED back in the day, damnit, and you didn't have a "gender" assigned to that, LOL!

No, but it doesnt make up for all the times they are gonna get their ass handed to them by pricks who pick on those who are different.

and who says ALL them are gonna get picked on? I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but this stupid gender-assignment shiat has been going on TOO long and needs to stop. If the person does get picked on, they can either A). Realize that the stupid prick picking on them isn't worth their time and let an adult know the fark is harrassing them B). If that doesn't work, "fight fire with fire", verbal-style C). Both D). Watch an old episode of "In living color", particularly the episodes featuring "The dirty Dozens", for old-school ammo. E). ALL the above!

Wont matter. You cannot stop bullies. You cant. Thats like trying to stop rapists from raping. Tigers dont change their stripes no matter how much they want to. You cannot modify human behavior of those who are not as "enlightened" as you are.

Then, your child will eventually blame you for failing to teach them social norms.

ROTFLMAO...You are funny, you know that!

cman: mafiageek1980: cman: mafiageek1980: cman: mafiageek1980: Umm...yeah. Why the hell not? fark the stereotypes of blue and pink and assigned gender roles. Let kids choose what THEY want, not what we want them to like based on gender. Hell, you can still market the toys without the gender, TRUST ME (and don't worry, if they toys are worth a damn they won't be "boring" because there's not a gender-color assigned to it)!

Get ready for a life time of bitterness and expensive psychologists bills.

Prove it, pal! Happiness and bad-ass toys doesn't require a gender assignment!

/Garbage Pail kids RULED back in the day, damnit, and you didn't have a "gender" assigned to that, LOL!

No, but it doesnt make up for all the times they are gonna get their ass handed to them by pricks who pick on those who are different.

and who says ALL them are gonna get picked on? I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but this stupid gender-assignment shiat has been going on TOO long and needs to stop. If the person does get picked on, they can either A). Realize that the stupid prick picking on them isn't worth their time and let an adult know the fark is harrassing them B). If that doesn't work, "fight fire with fire", verbal-style C). Both D). Watch an old episode of "In living color", particularly the episodes featuring "The dirty Dozens", for old-school ammo. E). ALL the above!

Wont matter. You cannot stop bullies. You cant. Thats like trying to stop rapists from raping. Tigers dont change their stripes no matter how much they want to. You cannot modify human behavior of those who are not as "enlightened" as you are.

Then, your child will eventually blame you for failing to teach them social norms.

You should teach your kids *of* social norms. But if those social norms aren't cool, you should teach your kid how to work around it and the kind of opposition they can expect.

Then they can decide what they want to do. Some days they'll say "Fark it." and just go with the crowd, and some days they'll say "Fark you" and do what they think is right regardless of social norms.

Alien Robot: Her parents put her up to it.

Never talked to many girls have you?

/yes I know, rhetorical question

jst3p: So long as female Lego's wasn't 20.percent less.

well, they require 20% less assembly

HaywoodJablonski: cman: mafiageek1980: cman: mafiageek1980: Umm...yeah. Why the hell not? fark the stereotypes of blue and pink and assigned gender roles. Let kids choose what THEY want, not what we want them to like based on gender. Hell, you can still market the toys without the gender, TRUST ME (and don't worry, if they toys are worth a damn they won't be "boring" because there's not a gender-color assigned to it)!

Get ready for a life time of bitterness and expensive psychologists bills.

Prove it, pal! Happiness and bad-ass toys doesn't require a gender assignment!

/Garbage Pail kids RULED back in the day, damnit, and you didn't have a "gender" assigned to that, LOL!

No, but it doesnt make up for all the times they are gonna get their ass handed to them by pricks who pick on those who are different.

Is your name Asswipe Johnson by any chance?

Is his Father's name Cave Johnson?

cuzsis: cman: mafiageek1980: cman: mafiageek1980: cman: mafiageek1980: Umm...yeah. Why the hell not? fark the stereotypes of blue and pink and assigned gender roles. Let kids choose what THEY want, not what we want them to like based on gender. Hell, you can still market the toys without the gender, TRUST ME (and don't worry, if they toys are worth a damn they won't be "boring" because there's not a gender-color assigned to it)!

Get ready for a life time of bitterness and expensive psychologists bills.

Prove it, pal! Happiness and bad-ass toys doesn't require a gender assignment!

/Garbage Pail kids RULED back in the day, damnit, and you didn't have a "gender" assigned to that, LOL!

No, but it doesnt make up for all the times they are gonna get their ass handed to them by pricks who pick on those who are different.

and who says ALL them are gonna get picked on? I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but this stupid gender-assignment shiat has been going on TOO long and needs to stop. If the person does get picked on, they can either A). Realize that the stupid prick picking on them isn't worth their time and let an adult know the fark is harrassing them B). If that doesn't work, "fight fire with fire", verbal-style C). Both D). Watch an old episode of "In living color", particularly the episodes featuring "The dirty Dozens", for old-school ammo. E). ALL the above!

Wont matter. You cannot stop bullies. You cant. Thats like trying to stop rapists from raping. Tigers dont change their stripes no matter how much they want to. You cannot modify human behavior of those who are not as "enlightened" as you are.

Then, your child will eventually blame you for failing to teach them social norms.

You should teach your kids *of* social norms. But if those social norms aren't cool, you should teach your kid how to work around it and the kind of opposition they can expect.

Then they can decide what they want to do. Some days they'll say "Fark it." and just go with the crowd, and ...

Total WIN! EDUCATE kids outside the school! It's not that hard!

mafiageek1980: Umm...yeah. Why the hell not? fark the stereotypes of blue and pink and assigned gender roles. Let kids choose what THEY want, not what we want them to like based on gender. Hell, you can still market the toys without the gender, TRUST ME (and don't worry, if they toys are worth a damn they won't be "boring" because there's not a gender-color assigned to it)!

Successful troll is uber successful. You shouldn't have responded though, it knocks you down a few points when you get caught up in arguing in your own troll I give...oh wait, you were being serious....bahahahahah. Oh you precious snowflake parents, you never stop amazing me

AKTurkey: penguin31: Supersith: No!

Toys should NOT be gender free! The whole "PC" movement needs to die and go away.! Our parents survived without all this gay "don;t hurt their feelings" bullshiat, and we can too

Notabunny: No.

Boys and girls are different.

Get over it.

[static.tumblr.com image 640x360]

Case in point: Bronies

My family was actually pretty poor growing up so I was left to play with hand me down toys. Problem was the hand me down toys came from my older sister. I had absolutely no interest in dolls or most of her stuff, so the only things I would touch were the legos and the my little ponies. At the time (I was between 4-7), I thought horses were somewhat masculine - you could make them gallup, dive off cliffs, etc. Later, of course, I found out my little ponies were farking care bears with larger vaginas. That was not a great day in elementary school.

It's fine to let kids play with whatever they want, but there should at least be a warning sticker put on the toys: this toy is generally played with by girls. It would save a lot of confusion and humiliation later.

The great thing about "social norms" is that they are social behavior...you have little or no control over how the rest of the world is going view or treat your child. In a perfect world they should be able to play with whatever they want but you need to understand the social consequences that will affect your child later. Even if you have prepared your kid to go against the grain...kids are mean and ruthless little creatures, they will go for blood.

bad link

As a young boy my favorite toys were a tuning fork, pretend bank safes, a rock collection, a remote control hovercraft, an audio tape recorder, a PowerBook 160 (and Carmen San Diego), a glittery baton (you don't want to know what I did with it), a clown I could punch that would pop back up, a long body pillow, a rocking horse, Brio, legos, QuizMaster, Simon, Care Bears, Popples, My Buddy, and My Little Ponies, whose hair I would braid.

Oh, there was also my sister's Polly Pocket I coveted because it had some light-up feature.

Don't pigeonhole me.