France, Netherlands Call for ALL Children's Toys to be Made 'Gender-Neutral'
Governments pressure toy manufacturers to phase out 'gender-stereotyped' toys
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Governments in France and the Netherlands are calling for all children's toys to be made "gender-neutral."
Top officials in the Dutch and French governments are putting pressure on toy manufacturers to stop making gender-specific products.
Toys that target either boys or girls are considered "harmful" because they reinforce "stereotypes" about male and female genders, according to the countries' officials.
Dutch Education Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven of the Netherlands' leftist D66 party is turning the screws on toy manufacturers to phase out so-called "gender-stereotyped" toys.
Engelshoven previously made a similar plea during a TED talk last year.
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In France, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the Secretary for Economic Affairs, has signed an agreement with major toy manufacturers, distributors, and stores to fight "gender stereotypes," SCEPTR reports.
“We want to work on the development of new toys, but also on the way it is represented in advertisements and the way it is sold,” Pannier-Runacher said in a statement.
For Pannier-Runacher, "gender-stereotyped" toys are responsible for the lack of female scientists.
After introducing the "Charter for a mixed representation of toys," the entire sector of French toy manufacturers, distributors and stores will legally required to work to "improve" the "gender-neutrality" of the toys they sell.
Beginning next year, French toy stores will phase out individual boy and girl classifications for toys.
Advertising agencies will also no longer be allowed note the recommended gender in brochures, and employees working in toy stores will no longer be allowed to ask the customers if the product is for a boy or a girl.
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As Neon Nettle reported earlier this week, toymaker Mattel has launched a new range of "gender fluid" Barbie dolls, that are designed to be "more inclusive" and protect children from being "dictated by gender norms."
Mattel says their new "Creatable World" range Barbie "doll kits" are entirely "free of labels."
The toy giant says they are simply responding to what modern children are asking for, saying: "Kids don't want their toys dictated by gender norms."
Mattel says it consulted pediatricians on how they should look before making the dolls to appear physically gender-neutral without clothing and hair.
The child can then choose which gender to apply, if any, to help encourage gender fluidity and promote transgenderism.
