Re: Toys and gender: Some other thoughts
Equitymk@aol.com
Fri, 25 Oct 1996 10:41:17 -0400
I thought the response about using pink and lavendar Legos to draw girls to
mechanical activities was interesting. As a state sex equity consultant, I
always steered educators away from "powderpuff mechanics" because of 1)the
law, 2)the stigma in the name, 3)the denial that the reason for having girls
separated from boys is because of the boys' behavior, not the girls'. Or at
least the failure of the teacher to be equitable. I wonder, now, if my
efforts were so focused on the longterm that in the interim girls fell
through the cracks. Philosophically, I'm still opposed to removing girls
from math, science, or whatever classes in order to make us feel better about
what we're not doing as parents and educators. However, should we be using
stereotypes to counteract stereotypes? This week's Newsweek has an article
on computer software for girls--all packaged in pink, some focusing on body
image. In any case, all using stereoytpes to draw girls to computers.
Again, the topic arises of manufacturers seeing a market and going for it.
Keep pushing out the boundaries of my thinking...
Melissa Keyes
Madison, WI