Anthony Patterson is Professor of Marketing at the University of Liverpool’s Management School
“The fact that boys and girls toys are in separate aisles is not entirely the fault of retailers.
“The simple fact is that categorisation by gender occurs when the toys are first designed by manufacturers, especially in respect of their colour. To this end, boy’s toys are for the most part cast in shades of red blue, black or green whereas girls toy’s tend be ubiquitously pink or purple.
“This, of course, leads to the creation of unhealthy gender stereotypes.
“Boys, manufacturers believe, seek power, action and excitement, and above all, to be winners. Of course, there can only be a few winners. Boys who don’t win must adopt another identity – that of the slacker who does not care. This, of course, has disastrous implications for their performance in school and general attitude to life.
“Girls, on the other hand, are presumed to be seeking glamour; hence they are sold Barbie, Angel’s and Disney characters like Cinderella, and Tinkerbell. All of whom seem to be overly concerned with their appearance, and whose identities seem to be inextricably entangled with that of a man, a prince, a hero – someone, at least, with whom they will fall head over heels in love with.
“Of course, in reality there are few “happily ever afters”, and the sad fact is that some girls end up throwing away promising careers in science or business in pursuit of a stereotyped identity that has been drummed into them from an early age, via the toys they play with and the media they watch.
“It doesn’t have to be like this.”