I know this is not PC dogma, but kids are naturally drawn to gender-specific toys; and that is regardless of previous exposure to gender-specific toys.

Would they market this way if toys were not selling this way? Which comes first?

Obviously, kids are bombarded with "stereotypical" images, toys, furniture, wallpaper, etc- and whether this specific instance is perpetuating something or just marketing to what kids naturally like is fine to debate and discuss- but an undercurrent of a lot of "gender" activism (as I've seen it) is the notion that there is no such thing as "essentialism"- meaning all differences between males and females are culturally derived. This is false. I just think we ought not make too many assumptions about this sort of thing.

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The D.C. just made it a little too obvious and got called out.

Speaking of D.C. and institutional sexism...
On a sludgier part of the net a big hullabaloo was made about 3 women wearing the same $8,500 (they were specific) dress as The First Lady Laura Bush.
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_340210001.html

Notice the group picture near the bottom. All the men are basically wearing the same outfit, a black and white tux, yet I'm sure none of them felt embarrassed to be wearing the same thing as Bushbaby.

Why didn't he have to go upstairs to change when all the men started showing up wearing the same black and white outfit?

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I'll have to let my wife know that scrap booking isn't progressive enough anymore, and she should get her incredibly well-shaped posterior into some combat fatigues and work on model airplanes with me.

Just in case anyone really takes the war on Barbie-ish things seriously, be forever advised that you have choices with your dollars. Also, be advised that--as a general rule of thumb--when you're convinced that you can spot genderstereotypebigottedprejudice everywhere, you are probably right.

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The toys from the Discovery Channel, granted, first list the asinine crap for girls however the other toys, mentioned specifically for boys, such as the forensics lab, were also in the girls' section as well. They're not excluded, they're just not jreferenced first. They're even on the same page. I could think of much better pieces to fill this space considering what's really on the site.

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I looked at the list myself. Did you notice that the list is for "Best Sellers"? The actual lists contain the same Items. It is the customer that determine the best seller lists, not Discovery channel. All Discovery Channel do was show us the stereotyping that still exists in our society.

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Isn't it possible that a girl might want a 'boy' type toy and feel free to ask for it? Some girls like'cute' and some prefer 'practical'. I don't know if there's a message here but the girls appear to be tuning it out. The formerly all male professions are no longer exclusive. A girl can create a beautiful scrap book while she's in law or medical school. That's how it is. Some of the limitations are gone and the rest will soon follow. It's OK to be smart girls. Thanks, ANNA

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As expected and as usual...a bunch of crap for girls to keep them stupid and in their place. But of course, no one has to take it - buy the 'boy' stuff for your girls. P.S. But don't let them see the 'stupid stuff' in the magazines and ads--they've been brainwashed.

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I just got back from shopping for a gift for my granddaughter. I wanted to buy her something educational from the Discovery Store or send her a gift card for the store. All the scientific things, the things that I found interesting (I'm female), were packaged with pictures of boys on the boxes using them. It was as though there was a blue side of the store and a pink side of the store, with pink confined to crafts.

I left without buying anything. I don't want to give my granddaughter a gift that suggests she is abnormal for enjoying it. I certainly won't encourage her to go to a store that will add to the overwhelming pressure of society for her to conform to pointless gender stereotypes.

I suspect plenty of women, who work in "traditional male" occupations will make the same decision. I hope the marketplace will bring about a change.

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Look at all the hot forensic femmes on TV. Crossing Jordan, Bones, the coroner on Law & Order: SVU. It would be nice to see one that doesn't look like a fashion model now and then, but there's no shortage of women chasing serial killers, at least on TV. The only prominent male forensics character I can think of right now is Dexter, and he's a serial killer himself.

It's all about what they hear at home. Kids don't notice whether it's a boy or a girl on the box. The parents make the difference. I grew up in the early 60s, and it never occurred to me that I couldn't grow up to be Batman instead Bat Girl or Robin. A friend told me when I was six that I couldn't be a pilot because I was a girl and I laughed at him. When I told my dad about it, he told me girls could be anything boys could be, and I didn't give it a second thought. There was never a big deal made about such things, so it wasn't a big deal to me.

You don't have to let the society define your kids for you, and it's easy to steer your kids into gender equality by simply giving them permission to disagree with the way other people do things. Independence is a good thing. Let them know that not everything they're told is true or right, and that sometimes even teachers, TV shows and presidents get it wrong. Websites, in particular, are often wrong.

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