The boy-girl divide!
I recently stopped by the
small corner shop in my neighbourhood to buy Kinderjoy for my six-year-old boy.
I was mildly surprised when the lady behind the counter asked me if I wanted a
treat for boys or girls. What difference did that make, I wondered. Sensing the
puzzled look on my face, the lady came out to have a look at my child.
"Okay, you have a boy," she muttered to herself and pulled out 'Kinderjoy for boys', predictably in blue colour. I was aghast. Gender discrimination in treats and candies! I simply could not stomach this.
I tried hard not to take this too seriously, but the feminist fire in me wouldn't be easily doused. I was keen to know what made the toy inside so special that only boys would like it. It was a top that spun when one blew over it. Did the makers of Kinderjoy think that girls didn't have the strength to make the top spin? I wondered what the candy-pink 'Kinderjoy for girls' pack contained.
Is there no end to gender-bias? We all do it unwittingly by buying pink for girls and blue for boys. I have two boys, so that means I already have very few options when it comes to clothes. Add to this the colour code I am expected to follow. Forget pink, even shades of red and purple are met with a 'that's for girls' look from my husband. We do not realise, but this bias sort of seeps into our children too. Each time I pick out a pencil box or toy with even a glint of glitter, my older boy screams, "Ewww. That's for girls."
I am told by my six-year-old that pencil pouches are for girls, while boys must have pencil boxes with a magnetic button.
Is it really true that girls go after only Barbie dolls and kitchen utensils? I haven't observed or surveyed, but I am pretty sure girls would love to guide cars with snazzy remote control units. And boys can whip up make-believe cake in their own tiny oven...
It doesn't end there. Right from the toys and clothes and the sports they play (cricket is for boys and girls look good in tennis skirts, right?) to the career choices they make, there is an undrawn line dividing boys and girls.
I once heard a boy tell his grandmother, when she wouldn't agree to what he had said, "Paati (grandmother in Tamil), please go the kitchen and cook." Everyone around laughed hearing this. It sure sounded cute but the boy probably didn't realise he was hurting the old woman. It is little things like this that build up the chauvinistic world we live in.
As parents, shouldn't we be more inclusive and all-embracing? After all, the tiny ones pick up their cues from us.
"Okay, you have a boy," she muttered to herself and pulled out 'Kinderjoy for boys', predictably in blue colour. I was aghast. Gender discrimination in treats and candies! I simply could not stomach this.
I tried hard not to take this too seriously, but the feminist fire in me wouldn't be easily doused. I was keen to know what made the toy inside so special that only boys would like it. It was a top that spun when one blew over it. Did the makers of Kinderjoy think that girls didn't have the strength to make the top spin? I wondered what the candy-pink 'Kinderjoy for girls' pack contained.
Is there no end to gender-bias? We all do it unwittingly by buying pink for girls and blue for boys. I have two boys, so that means I already have very few options when it comes to clothes. Add to this the colour code I am expected to follow. Forget pink, even shades of red and purple are met with a 'that's for girls' look from my husband. We do not realise, but this bias sort of seeps into our children too. Each time I pick out a pencil box or toy with even a glint of glitter, my older boy screams, "Ewww. That's for girls."
I am told by my six-year-old that pencil pouches are for girls, while boys must have pencil boxes with a magnetic button.
Is it really true that girls go after only Barbie dolls and kitchen utensils? I haven't observed or surveyed, but I am pretty sure girls would love to guide cars with snazzy remote control units. And boys can whip up make-believe cake in their own tiny oven...
It doesn't end there. Right from the toys and clothes and the sports they play (cricket is for boys and girls look good in tennis skirts, right?) to the career choices they make, there is an undrawn line dividing boys and girls.
I once heard a boy tell his grandmother, when she wouldn't agree to what he had said, "Paati (grandmother in Tamil), please go the kitchen and cook." Everyone around laughed hearing this. It sure sounded cute but the boy probably didn't realise he was hurting the old woman. It is little things like this that build up the chauvinistic world we live in.
As parents, shouldn't we be more inclusive and all-embracing? After all, the tiny ones pick up their cues from us.
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