Wow. They even put "Boy" and "Girl" on the packaging as if to say, "Yes, we really ARE stereotyping here! It's not just your imagination!"

Is the girl version of a trophy...a cowbell?

ha ha ha no... its a purse, but a cow bell might be more direct.

Hi, I like this site. I'm also trying to relate sociological thinking to the visual.

But I do not really like simplistic explanations, for they could be as much dangerous as common sense.

Is it really so that feminized tasks are undervalued or rather the performers? and what is equality after all?

why are rocket scientists more worthy than cooks? or does it hold that male cooks are the same as female cooks, both performing feminized tasks?

my gay male friends are very excited about the 'girl' cookie tray and very underwhelmed by the 'boy' tray.

either way, it's quite good that a 'boy' cookie tray actually exists, just a couple of decades ago boys working in the kitchen making cookies would have been frowned on in many households. these days more and more men are (now that they found where the kitchen is) are becoming more and more interested in cooking. many of my male friends (gay and straight) are actually becoming quite competitive about their cooking skills. this is no bad thing in my book.

They just had to label them "boy" and "girl" didn't they? Why couldn't they simply have descriptive titles like "Astronaut Cookie Pan" and "Princess Cookie Pan"? I know people would probably still choose the princess one for girls and the astronaut for boys, but the way they are labeled leaves no choice for the individual consumer. Portraying astronauts as something only boys can do is an insult to women like Sally Ride and discourages young women from entering professions that are "for men".

Still, there is a metamessage here that says: yes, boys can and should bake cookies as well. The same boys that go to the moon. It's a pity this message gets snowed under by the clearer message "boys like winning, girls like being beautiful", but it is there.

I'm relatively new to this site, so don't know if it's been discussed before, but what about the global economy aspect: I assume these are made in China or some other distant place, in accordance with what they believe are the appropriately gendered frameworks for a global market. And that belief must come from a crazy mix of their own residual patriarchies as well as imported "western" media and its stereotypes.

Perhaps at that distance, and that scale of economy it makes sense to be simplistic rather than nuanced. Most people in Walmart are not going to be inclined to question the representations--they're really busy with getting on with life.

I don't defend the gender separation at all, and prefer to go against the grain when buying toys for my nieces and nephews. I'm just noticing that lots of these product posts with stark boy/girl themes rarely mention that most of these toys are made abroad. How might that change the equation?

I find this such a fascinating topic. As a kid I played with barbies AND lego. My best friend was a boy, and at school I just didn't understand the girls. I didn't own a pair of high heels until I was 25 (when I decided I wanted to throw off the student look at last and after much thought decided I liked heels and dresses). I told my mum when I was about 11 that when I grew up I was only ever going to wear shorts (like my aunt did). But for as long as I can remember I've wanted to be mum, and even became a teacher as a fall back in case I never had kids, and because I thought it was a good job to do if I needed to work after my kids had grown up! I probably could have just about studied anything I wanted to, but this is what I wanted to do. Be a mum.
Because I'm not a girly-girl I have no intention of bringing up my kids to any gender norm. I don't like pink because, well, I don't like pink. My son will tell you 'mummy loves purple and brown'. And his favourite colour isn't blue because I haven't insisted that it should be. He loves red and green. And he loves cooking. He plays cooking all the time and can pretty much tell you how to cook a chocolate cake. He wanted me to make him an apron recently, and chose the fabric - yellow with pink flowers with smily faces. He's so proud of his apron. He also plays with lego and trains.
I say this not to boast, but just to say that we don't have bring our kids up in any mould. Just go with what they are interested in, but make sure they will still fit into wider society. I'm aiming to raise a man who values all things that are good, and women and their 'traditional roles' are good, and not just a masculine man.
My biggest challenge is that my husband expects me to raise a masculine man, because, well, isn't that what you're supposed to do? He has never really considered any other possibility than he'll have a son who loves football and 'boy' things. (He was less than impressed with the apron.) But, that said, he's mostly okay with what I do because he was one of three boys whose mum forced things like cooking and cleaning and simple clothes repair on the kids and now he regrets not paying attention!

One cookie pan is for girl cavities and the other is for boy cavities. Heh. No one else laughing at that?

Myself, I want a world where NO tasks are seen as masculine or feminine. Where a girl can want to be an astronaut or a boy can want to be a primary school teacher and no one gives a monkey's because it's all part of normal human diversity.

You are limiting people if you teach that, for example, cooking = feminine or science = masculine. I know the call for 'feminine' tasks to be respected is well meant but now we have new pressures for women to 'reclaim femininity'...ie...go back to doing only 'feminine' things because hey, 'femininity' is great. Even if you don't want to. And if you do it must be because you're trying to be a guy...vlech.

Handbag cookies??!! *barf* laaaaaaame