Gendered toys prove we're a long way from equal play

Many stores are divided into two clearly separate sections: one for girls and one for boys. The distinguishing factor is often color (pink vs. blue), but some stores also clearly mark the aisles as containing toys, clothes or bedding for girls and for boys. After some customers complained, one big-box chain plans to make a big change.

After Twitter campaigns against "Girls' Building Sets" and petitions against gender-specific toy aisles, US retail giant Target has announced that it will "move away from gender-based signs." and that changes will be implemented in the coming months: "In the Toys aisles, we’ll also remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves."

Target will definitely not remove Barbie from its shelves, even though she epitomizes girls-only marketing. Launched in 1959, the doll comes in pink or purple packaging, and many have criticized it for propagating unrealistic body images among little girls. But, career-wise at least, Barbie has set a positive example: She's been an astronaut, a surgeon and a special education teacher.

Despite several toys based on male characters from the Avengers films, there is hardly any Black Widow merchandise. Some speculate that developers snubbed Scarlett Johansson's character because girls don't care for superheroes and boys don't want to play with female action figures. Among those who have complained is Mark Ruffalo, who plays the well-represented Hulk.

Outside the United States, retailers caught on to the gender-neutral marketing trend a while ago. In 2013, Toys R Us shops in the United Kingdom announced that they would stop gender-based marketing. And, in Sweden, the chain's 2012 Christmas catalog refrained from stereotyping and instead used neutral pictures like this one.

Of course, unnecessary gender marketing for kids can still be found in 2015 - and not just in the toy aisle. This year Haribo released a "Pink Edition" of its Phantasia mix. Instead of dinosaurs and cars, the candies are shaped like high-heeled shoes, nail polish bottles and hair brushes and come in shades of red, pink and purple.

Along with Barbie, "America's Next Top Model" and its international versions is one of the main culprits for pressuring young girls to look slim and pretty. Now, kids can even play this out with Playmobil figurines. The company seems to see this as mostly a girls' toy. Playmobil has yet to release a similar set with male figurines, even though male contestants have competed on "Top Model."

Lego has shown that play sets targeted at girls can look different. The "Research Institute," with three female scientists, was released in 2014, months after 7-year-old Charlotte Benjamin had complained in a letter to Lego that girl figurines just "sit at home, go to the beach and shop." The set was so popular that it quickly sold out. Perhaps other toy makers can take their cues from that.