Should 'sexist' pink toys be banned?

Updated

Pink for a girl, blue for a boy... that has long been the rule when it comes to new baby gift shopping. But according to a pressure group and their aptly named 'Pinkstinks' campaign, all the pink toys we keep buying our little girls is causing them all kinds of problems.


Top toy searches:

  1. Computer games for kids

  2. Hamleys

  3. Action Man car

  4. Children's soft toys

  5. Toys R Us online

  6. Toddler's toys

  7. Educational toys

  8. Disney dolls

  9. My Little Pony playset

  10. Colouring in book

So far, the group has almost 3,000 supporters on its Facebook page and claims the "media's obsession with stick-thin models, footballers' wives, and overtly-sexualised pop stars is denying girls their right to aspire to and learn from real role models".

Currently founders Emma and Abi Moore use an image of Katie Price, dressed all in pink with an equally pink-clad pony, as an example of the dangers of a princess' favourite colour. And now the campaign has been backed by Labour minister Bridget Prentice. But what is the problem with fairy wings and princess costumes, you might ask? Well, Mrs Moore would answer: "Pink, passive pretty is for girls. As a result, beauty is valued over brains."

The Early Learning Centre is singled out as one of the worst offenders of "pinkification" and has been flagged up as "limiting" the choices for girls' toys.

Bridget Prentice, the justice minister, told The Telegraph: "It's about not funnelling girls into pretty, pretty jobs, but giving them aspirations and challenging them to fulfil their potential." Which seems like an odd statement coming from a woman who has risen to become justice minister. Are we to assume that Ms Prentice was kept well away from any fairyland fantasies as a child?

Perhaps Mrs Moore is right. Are we limiting the aspirations of young girls by giving them pink, or is this just another case of the politically correct gone mad?

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