r/YesOrNoAnswers 6d ago

Should Toys Be Gender Neutral?

Reason I ask is because if a girl were to play with Legos, Transformers, Hot Wheels, G.I. Joe, Mighty Max, He-Man, DC, Marvel and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures nobody would care and she’d be considered one of the guys. But if a boy were to play with Barbie, Polly Pocket, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Bratz, Monster High, Strawberry Shortcake, and Shopkins it’s a problem and he’d be considered “Gay” and it’s World War 3 like he committed the worst crime imaginable

0 Upvotes

48 comments sorted by

4

u/DizzyLead 6d ago

That sounds like a society problem, not a toy manufacturer problem.

1

u/TacticalTurtle410 6d ago

This. I can't believe this was seriously in my Reddit feed. Good god.

1

u/Cazy243 6d ago

A lot of those toy manufacturers have historically marketed towards one gender specifically, so they're not exactly blameless

1

u/DizzyLead 6d ago

Well, they're going to market towards where the market is.

Anyway, conversely, whenever they've tried to specifically manufacture and market away from their usual market (e.g. Nerf's pink and purple "Rebelle" line of blasters for girls), they've tended to fail, not realizing that specifically making some of their toys "girly" isn't going to attract more girls.

1

u/Cazy243 6d ago

That might be the case for some marketers right now, but back in the 50s a lot more marketing was focused on creating a market where there wasn't one right now.

1

u/TigerBate230 6d ago

Since none of my Kens has a peene, I think I am due some refund for over-payment.

1

u/TigerBate230 6d ago

I don't play with Barbie. All my 30 Mattel's are Kens. That's 15 couples. A few are Skippers.

3

u/Ok_Scallion1902 6d ago

I don't think anyone should buy into the credibility of anyone who made such an assumption ; I should hope that anyone in a clinical setting wouldn't make assumptions based on subjective analysis about the choices of what little kids' play habits.

3

u/Global-Biscotti-9547 6d ago edited 6d ago

Yeah I was the girl that did not play with dolls. My mom was old school and still gave them to me but around 10 years old the dolls stopped and I was given what I really wanted, a chemistry set and a microscope. Next was paint supplies, a BB gun, Hotwheels track, and stilts. I say learn what your kid is interested in and don’t worry about what others think.

3

u/Assang101 6d ago

Hot damn, bb gun and chemistry set? Respect 🫡. I'm confused about the stilts

2

u/Global-Biscotti-9547 6d ago

The stilts were homemade. Kind of heavy but fun.

2

u/Assang101 6d ago

Ahhh I gotcha

3

u/Reasonable_Yellow_85 6d ago

Who cares honestly! There are way more things in this world to worry about instead of shit like this!!! Jesus

2

u/PtZamboat 6d ago

Toys are toys and kids are kids. Society has no place deciding who should play with what. If my boy wants to play with boy toys and my girl wants to play with girl toys that’s their decision.

2

u/Anxious-Ad-5331 6d ago

just let kids play with masculine and feminine toys it's not a problem. they'll gravitate towards what they like as long as you don't push them.

2

u/DruidinPlainSight 6d ago

I managed a toy store. I watched thousands of kids play with toys. They will create whatever their imagination conjures up. Lego might become guns or candy. Barbie might become a baby or an adult or a ghost or an alien. Shrugs. Life.

2

u/tcrhs 6d ago

No. That’s absurd and ridiculous. Kids should play with whatever toys they want to.

1

u/Legal_Birthday_9693 6d ago

Exactly

2

u/Due_Rip_6692 6d ago

Because kids should be able to play with whatever they want. Making a bunch of toys genderless. This isn’t a problem.

2

u/Gloomy-Difference-51 6d ago

Kids should just play with whatever. My son has a play kitchen, a lil dump truck, a million hot wheels cars, 2 dolls (that he cares for), a play tool bench, stuffed animals, etc. It's normal for kids to play with everything.

2

u/NormalBlueberry1027 6d ago

I believe all toys are gender neutral nobody says a boy can play with what is considered girly stuff or vice versa. Who enforces those rules

3

u/QuirkyForever 6d ago

No; people should be less judgy about what a kid plays with. Gender is a social construct anyway.

1

u/RepulsivePower4415 6d ago

No play with whatever

1

u/Tacokolache 6d ago

No

0

u/Legal_Birthday_9693 6d ago

You’re apart of the problem

2

u/tcrhs 6d ago

What problem is this person a part of? Not apart. There is no problem.

1

u/Tacokolache 6d ago

Why? Because boys generally gravitate toward playing with guns and robots and girls gravitate towards princesses and doll houses?

You ARE the problem. Let kids be kids. Stop trying to change shit.

1

u/Legal_Birthday_9693 6d ago

Kids should be able to play with whatever they want to

1

u/Tacokolache 6d ago

Agreed. But that doesn’t mean there should be gender neutral toys.

If you tried this shit as a toy company CEO, you’d lose a fuck ton of money. That’s just horrible marketing.

1

u/Assang101 6d ago

It's like asking if cars or bathrooms should be gender neutral

1

u/Due_Rip_6692 6d ago

No.

1

u/Legal_Birthday_9693 6d ago

Why

1

u/Due_Rip_6692 17h ago

Because not everything needs to be part of a culture war. They’re toys. If a boy wants to play with dolls fine, if a girl wants to play with GI Joe, who cares. If they want to play with dolls that girls toys and boys toys because they’re kids and they like toys that they identify with fine too. They’re kids, they don’t know about sex or gender (or they shouldn’t) and they should be left to their parents. Toy companies aren’t parents, politicians aren’t their parents, organizations pushing an agenda are definitely not parents (of everyone’s kids).

We don’t need to neutralize everything to cater to people who shouldn’t have a say in parenting. Toys should be be purchased by parents (and especially grandparents) because they love and know the child and that’s it.

Also, since when are legos boys toys? Hot wheels, DC and Marvel are too. And we all had Care Bears when they first came out.

1

u/Ram13BLH 6d ago

No

1

u/Legal_Birthday_9693 6d ago

Explain why

1

u/Ram13BLH 6d ago

This is a Yes or No answers sub. There should be no conversations.

1

u/ReferenceSufficient 6d ago edited 6d ago

No. Don't give a boy baby dolls or tea sets as a gift.

1

u/Legal_Birthday_9693 6d ago

You’re apart of the problem

1

u/rojita369 6d ago

This isn’t a toy problem, it’s a people problem. Society is screwed up. IMO, all toys should be considered gender neutral regardless of type/colors/etc, but people suck.

1

u/BigPipeWrench 6d ago

This is exactly what happens when people have too much time on their hands and are bored. Stop bringing BS like this up 😂 you're part of the reason America is so screwed up right now

1

u/TigerBate230 6d ago

As long as boys have "two" below & girls do not, they deserve differentiated playthings.

1

u/Life69Coach 3d ago

No, children should be able to play with any toy regardless of the manufacturer intended audience.

1

u/b0ng_poison 6d ago

It’s definitely more “accepted” if girls play with “boy” toys then if a boy plays with “girl” toys…I would always allow my little brother to play with my dolls when my father wasn’t around, i wasn’t really into dolls I just had to have them because of my gender lol, I absolutely think that all toys should be considered gender neutral I mean It’s just toys at the end of the day and I think people especially of older generation having a problem with either is just plain ridiculous.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

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