{"id":7800,"date":"2014-12-24T19:45:20","date_gmt":"2014-12-25T01:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/?p=7800"},"modified":"2014-12-24T19:45:20","modified_gmt":"2014-12-25T01:45:20","slug":"breaking-down-the-pink-aisleblue-aisle-barrier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/2014\/12\/24\/breaking-down-the-pink-aisleblue-aisle-barrier\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Down the Pink Aisle\/Blue Aisle Barrier"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>* This post originally ran in the <a href=\"http:\/\/msmagazine.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/23\/breaking-down-the-pink-aisleblue-aisle-barrier\/\">Ms. Magazine blog<\/a>. \u00a0And I can&#8217;t help but post a link to father-of-two-girls President Barack Obama who made news recently for\u00a0sorting toys outside of the expected gender box \u2014 literally!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Obama Tackles Toy-Gender Stereotypes | NowThis\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_fjlXo5nT-o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re still thinking about last-minute shopping, it\u2019s not too late to stop and consider the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.playunlimited.org.au\/2014\/12\/06\/support-no-gender-december\/\">No Gender December<\/a>\u00a0campaign from\u00a0Australian organization\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.playunlimited.org.au\/about-the-campaign\/our-aim\/\">Play Unlimited.<\/a>\u00a0While their tagline, \u201cStereotypes Have No Place Under My Christmas Tree,\u201d presumes everyone is celebrating Christmas,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.change.org\/p\/australian-toy-retailers-stop-selling-gender-stereotypes-to-our-children\/u\/8775371\">their message is one that\u2019s gone global<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nogenderdecember.com\/\">a quick look at their pledge page reveals<\/a>, with more signatures still pouring in.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s heartening to see wider messaging about the limitations of gender stereotyping in children\u2019s toys, as\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/jennifershewmaker.com\/2014\/12\/16\/im-dreaming-of-a-non-pink-and-blue-christmas-2\/\">a flurry of recent articles<\/a>\u00a0reveals. More heartening would be harder evidence\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/roomfordebate\/2014\/12\/22\/why-should-toys-come-in-pink-and-blue\/toy-makers-are-listening-to-consumers-about-gender-options\">that toy companies are listening<\/a>\u00a0and are open to broader understandings of marketing to kids, not driven by a bifurcated blue-or-pink bottom dollar.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2012\/08\/27\/living\/harrods-gender-neutral-toys\/\">Some stores, notably Harrod\u2019s in London<\/a>\u00a0have stopped divvying up their aisles, and there is reason to hope\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thelocal.se\/20141113\/sweden-mulls-sexist-game-labels\">that other retailers will follow<\/a>.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.elizabethvsweet.com\/\">Sociologist Elizabeth Sweet\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0<em>Atlantic\u00a0<\/em>article,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/business\/archive\/2014\/12\/toys-are-more-divided-by-gender-now-than-they-were-50-years-ago\/383556\/?single_page=true\">\u201cToys Are More Divided by Gender Now Than They Were 50 Years Ago,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0does a great job of revealing the history of marketing by toy companies and how entrenched gender stereotypes have become. Her comment about the subversive repackaging of toys geared to girls which \u201cemphasizes freedom and choice,\u201d is a great one. She comments, \u201cThe reformulated story does not fundamentally challenge gender stereotypes; it merely repackages them to make them more palatable in a \u2018post-feminist\u2019 era. Girls can be anything\u2014as long as it\u2019s passive and beauty-focused.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This juncture is one that has been a sticking point for many who deeply desire change in toys marketed to girls but are left stymied by how to do it.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/3281\/goldie-blox-pink-aisle-debate\/\">Some of the brouhaha around GoldieBlox\u2019s campaign<\/a>\u00a0turned on the point that serving up \u201csparkle science-type\u201d projects to girls\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/princessfreezone.com\/pfz-blog\/2013\/11\/26\/guest-blog-is-separate-really-equal-when-it-comes-to-gender.html\">in a gateway-like attempt to lure them past masculine associations<\/a>\u00a0with STEM fields does nothing but backfire,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/2013\/11\/27\/off-the-shelf-goldieblox-builds-on-weak-foundation\/\">nevermind is ultimately undermining.<\/a>\u00a0This seems to be the pivot point for those who support diversifying the colors, (and stereotypes that accompany them), in the toy aisles, with supporters of change often facing different directions in terms of approach, even as they stand on common ground.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/files\/2014\/12\/1965429_239503782899476_200267433_o-1024x680.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7801 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/files\/2014\/12\/1965429_239503782899476_200267433_o-1024x680-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"1965429_239503782899476_200267433_o-1024x680\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/files\/2014\/12\/1965429_239503782899476_200267433_o-1024x680-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/files\/2014\/12\/1965429_239503782899476_200267433_o-1024x680.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>More recently, a new set of princesses came onto the scene who are also stealthily undermining stereotypes.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/guardianprincesses.com\/who-we-are\/news\/\">The Guardian Princesses<\/a>, who made a splash with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2013\/12\/15\/251157298\/once-upon-a-time-the-princess-saved-the-environment\">their debut last year,<\/a>\u00a0are back with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/store.guardianprincesses.com\/category-s\/1817.htm\">newly released titles<\/a>\u00a0just this past week. The series is the brainchild of UC Riverside Professor of Media and Cultural Studies\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/guardianprincesses.com\/staff\/setsu-shigematsu\/\">Setsu Shigematsu,<\/a>\u00a0who found herself at a loss when her daughter began to succumb to the ever-present influence of princess culture and denying access to it only seemed to make things worse. Not unlike\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/peggyorenstein.com\/blog.html\">Peggy Orenstein<\/a>, author of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/peggyorenstein.com\/books\/cinderella.html\"><i>Cinderella Ate My Daughter<\/i>,<\/a>\u00a0and her suggestion to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/peggyorenstein.com\/resources.html\">\u201cFight Fun with Fun\u201d<\/a>\u00a0through alternatives to princess culture, Shigematsu wrote a different princess story and, after reading it to her daughter\u2019s friends, a new legacy was born.<\/p>\n<p>The Guardian Princesses are presented in a range of body styles and are of diverse ethnicities and there\u2019s no fighting the long dresses, necklaces and flowing hair that\u2019s considered part of the princess look.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/mic.com\/articles\/105524\/these-badas-feminist-princesses-will-change-the-way-girls-see-the-world\">The approach of the Guardian Princess Alliance<\/a>\u00a0is firmly in the \u201cease in and then make a change\u201d camp, something they are likely to be critiqued for by those who see capitulation in any form as not radical enough and even pandering. But,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=71cGgjs_Aqo\">as their peppy video (below) reveals<\/a>, despite their poufy dresses, the princesses are unhindered in their mobility and the rhetoric used about their mission is hardly passive.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=71cGgjs_Aqo<\/p>\n<p>The newest series released features Princess Ten Ten, who is the most gender-fluid in appearance of the lot (or \u201cgender independent\u201d as they term it) and who is bullied and faces rejection within her family.\u00a0 In a wise move, all of the\u00a0<em>Guardian Princess<\/em>\u00a0books are compliant with Common Core standards, meaning they can be adopted for classroom use, and there is a distinctive environmental focus to their stories. One\u00a0risk with this new series might be making the stories too didactic or pitting the princesses against the evils of corporate greed every time, but, overall, the shift in what these princesses do and what is valued is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/feministing.com\/2014\/12\/01\/intersectional-princesses-for-the-little-feminists-in-your-life\/\">an exhilarating breath of fresh air<\/a>. How well they sell, and how long the Guardian Princess Alliance can keep up with demand and generate new work, are perhaps the issues at hand. The desire\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/princessfreezone.com\/super-tool-lula-book\/\">by visionary small business owners<\/a>to put what are still alternative toys, books and gender messaging out to the public seems an uphill battle, one mitigated by energy, perseverance and available funds when up against so many cultural barriers, which is all the more reason to celebrate those that do.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s hoping that\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/stream.aljazeera.com\/story\/201412102201-0024421\">the messages espoused by the No Gender December campaign<\/a>\u00a0extend beyond the shopping frenzy and, optimistically, become part of retailers, parents, teachers and even kids&#8217; expectations of toys in the new year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>* This post originally ran in the Ms. Magazine blog. \u00a0And I can&#8217;t help but post a link to father-of-two-girls President Barack Obama who made news recently for\u00a0sorting toys outside of the expected gender box \u2014 literally! If you\u2019re still thinking about last-minute shopping, it\u2019s not too late to stop and consider the\u00a0No Gender December\u00a0campaign [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1912,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21109,1],"tags":[21395,31091,3472,305],"class_list":["post-7800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-off-the-shelf","category-uncategorized","tag-girls","tag-no-gender-december","tag-shopping","tag-toys"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7800"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7811,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7800\/revisions\/7811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/girlwpen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}