Boys Toys... and the girls who love them.

[Rouge]

Nah. I don't use the term "Tom boy" and I don't assign toys or activities as being the sole domain of a particular gender. It reinforces stereotypes and is used to control.

I can still remember the uproar when my mum bought one of my brothers a Baby Alive when he was a toddler in the late 70s.

I think kids (and adults) should be able to enjoy a wide range of toys and activities without being labelled as unusual and as someone who has gone outside their expected gender role.

This exactly. I was going to say the same but N2L you said it more eloquently than i could have. And same goes for DS. He's even been known to paint his nails from time to time I think when we are still using terms like tomboy there is still gender equality issues because the opposite for a boy who plays with "girls toys" is seen as a derogatory.

[Traveller]

I like the flow chart for deciding if it's a boys toy or a girls toy:

Do you use your genitals to operate it?
Yes > it's not for chidren
No > Boys and girls can play with it

As for traditional gender limited toys, we mainly have toys marketed to boys but my daughter also has dolls and all the kids share them. My daughter tends towards the bikes and the dolls, and my sons tend towards the dress ups and action toys.

[Netix]

Traveller, I like that flowchart too. Very funny. Lol

As for me, I love my cars, and got shown today how much my kids do too.... Had a visit from "The Flying Doctor" today, and Mack didn't bat an eyelid when it got a bit noisy, lol. Might be going short course racing tomorrow, which will probably make me really want to get my little Esky built up for the track, and I still have my first car, which is also waiting for me to give it a birthday.