| Since the conception of children's toys | | | | expected to wear suits and go off to |
| the existence of gender roles has been | | | | work each day to bring home the bacon |
| prominent. Boys should get trucks and | | | | for the family. As times have changed |
| cars and girls should get dolls and | | | | these are no longer the "norms" of |
| tea-sets, however, one is forced to look | | | | society however, we still push on to our |
| at this belief with a little more | | | | children the repercussions of not |
| criticism in the more modern times of | | | | sticking to those norms. Are we really |
| today. What is the major issue with a | | | | afraid of our children becoming less |
| boy who likes to play with dolls or the | | | | than the gender roles we were expected |
| girl who likes to play with cars? | | | | to be? |
| Perhaps not so much for the girl who | | | | The unfortunate aspect of the fact that |
| plays with cars but for the boy who | | | | we push such expectations on our |
| likes to play with dolls he is | | | | children is that we are not allowing |
| pigeonholed as being a homosexual | | | | them the freedom to be who they want to |
| child...but who makes these rules? Who | | | | and perhaps were destined be. We are |
| decides that boys should not be allowed | | | | pushing on to them the expectation that |
| to play with dolls? The truth of the | | | | they should at least be A and not B |
| matter is that we, as a society do. | | | | which in essence shapes them to pursue |
| There are no repercussions that come | | | | certain paths in life instead of |
| with a boy who plays with dolls, other | | | | allowing them the tabula rasa that all |
| than the social isolation that is forced | | | | children really should be permitted. It |
| upon him by society. A boy that plays | | | | is not the fault of the toys nor the |
| with dolls and a girl that plays with | | | | children; however, it is the fault of |
| cars and trucks are nothing more than | | | | society as a whole for shaping us to be |
| children exploring toys; they are not | | | | such a judgmental race when faced with |
| yet old enough to understand the | | | | people and ideas that do not fit the |
| cubbyholes and labels we like to force | | | | "norm" of hundreds of years ago. |
| on to each other as a society. For some | | | | So how do we rid ourselves of this self |
| unexplained reason it is believed that | | | | imposed cubby-holing that is stunting |
| the mere action of playing with a set of | | | | the emotional growth and general |
| toys one will become more or less | | | | accepting nature of our world's future |
| masculine or feminine when this is | | | | generation? Give your son a Barbie or |
| simply untrue. | | | | two and let your daughter play with a |
| There was a time in our history as a | | | | monster truck or wrestling figure once |
| race that being increasingly masculine | | | | in a while, it's not going to kill them |
| or feminine was the norm, little girls | | | | and nor is it going to make them |
| were expected to wear only frilly | | | | something less than what they already |
| dresses and stay at home in the kitchen | | | | are: innocent children with a brand new |
| (a la "barefoot and pregnant" | | | | slate ready for writing. |
| stereotype), and little boys were | | | | |