STEREOTYPING-CLOTHES AND TOYS FOR CHILDREN

Pink is for girls, blue is for boys. If you are a parent, you will be quite familiar with these gender colour conventions.

- Anjali Rao

Every time I need to buy a gift before visiting a newborn baby, I face this dilemma. I feel lost In a baby store with aisles of pink and blue. The pink aisle has pink, purple or pastels - it sparkles with fluffy dresses, dolls and stuffed animals that are meant for girls. The blue aisle has clothes in different shades of blue and toys such as robots, cars and bikes - meant for boys. And it baffles me. The infant or toddler doesn't care about the colour, right?

Princesses and dolls are for girls, superheroes and bikes are for boys, girls ought to wear princess dresses with bows and frills while boys are tough in blue denim - are we trying to condition our children's minds even before they start.

Beyond clothes – the colour divide

Let’s recollect our own childhood for a moment. The television shows that we watched had girl characters dressed in pink costumes, and cartoons for boys featured strong, fearless characters. Fairy tales and bedtime stories depicted princesses as damsels in distress being rescued by a prince or knight in shining armour.

Today, just look at advertising, the catalogues, baby picture books etc.

And you will see the colour scheming in children’s bedrooms, and toys too. Stationery, accessories, tricycles – any product that children use has colour and image stereotyping in it. This points to the great gender divide that is being sold to us.