Never mind pinks and blues, it’s for parents to nurture an open mind

Before Baby A was even born, I made a big show of insisting that there would be no Hello Kitty paraphernalia in my daughter’s life.

No Barbie hairpins either, I announced; no stuffed animals taking over my house, no future play kitchens in a pink playroom. No pink.

I didn’t mind being “girlie” with my girl – the first thing my child wore was a pink, flowery headband. And I bought her first birthday tutu before I was even sure she was a girl – but I envisioned a more “chic” and less stereotypical kind of “girlie”.

Lately, Mr T and I have been desperate to get Baby A interested in bikes, cars, buses and lorries. Mr T daydreams of the first Lego set he gets to build with her.

And yet, despite our best efforts, the colour pink has taken over 40 per cent of her room and 60 per cent of her wardrobe, we have enough stuffed animals to stuff a king-size mattress and our 14-month-old daughter’s most prized possession is her wooden tea set, complete with teabags, teapot and stirring spoons. Well, actually, it’s a toss up between that and the tiny, doll stroller with the bald baby and pretend milk bottle. Our kid is a walking, breathing, giggling stereotype.

So imagine me, fist-pumping the air, as I watched the two-minute GoldieBlox creative commercial that’s been viewed more than eight million times on YouTube.

Set to a parody of the 1987 Beastie Boys song Girls (the ad has since been pulled after complaints by the Beastie Boys), the ad by GoldieBlox, a company created by the Stanford engineer Debbie Sterling, promotes a new line of construction and engineering toys for girls. The toys are meant to break gender stereotypes and leverage girls’ advanced verbal abilities to help develop self-confidence in their spatial sense. After making a note of the toys so I can buy every last one when Baby A is old enough to play with them, I posted on Facebook, addressed to Mr T of course, that the ad’s message is the reason I’m on the hunt for the perfect train set for Baby A. But a few other mothers have brought up some great points.

From a good friend in Toronto, who has a boy and girl: “It’s great marketing to sell a toy that will fix gender inequality but, really, it’s up to us as parents to talk to our daughters (and sons) about stereotypes and guide them so they become well-rounded human beings.”

A friend in New York, a mother of two baby girls, agrees that it’s a marketing gimmick. “The best toys for kids of either gender are open-ended and promote independent play. Our kids are who they are. Our job is to limit the brainwashing and expose them to a variety of activities so that they can find their passion.”

And a mother in Newfoundland, raising her three boys and a girl: “It angers me to no end the prejudice that exists in something as simple as toys designed to inspire, educate and delight our children.”

Sterling’s idea to create GoldieBlox is commendable and she’s addressing a need in the market. But ultimately, it is up to parents to introduce our children to what’s out there and let them decide who they want to be.

That doesn’t mean I’m not still looking for the perfect train set.

Hala Khalaf is a freelance writer in Abu Dhabi

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