"Do you want the truck or the doll?"

"Do you want the truck or the doll?"

    I have long attempted to punch the holes in stereotypes that aren't ever 100% accurate. I have attempted to show that I am unique, and by my example show that all people are unique. One form of stereotyping I haven't done much busting on is gender stereotyping.
  There has been gender identity typing for many, many years. One of the plainest types of typing happens even before a person is born. It centers on the use of colors for babies. You know this typing, more recognizeable than any method for putting people into gender boxes.
  Pink is the color used commonly for girl babies and blue for boy babies. They future mother is often showered with gifts of a certain color. I don't really like pink, but I know that has nothing to do with my maleness. I just favor cooler color, greens and blues. And, to some degree I think that's true across the board.
  Many boys don't like pink and many girls do. But not all. Not by a long shot. Kids should be allowed and invited to make their own choices about how their bedroom should be decorated, at least to the extent of their favorite colors.
  I don't advocate exclusively gifting the mother of a female baby with pink items at all. Nor do I advocate switching it up and gifting only blue items to the mother of a female baby. Newborns cannot make choices, so I think the coloring of the nursery should vary: blue, yellow, green, red, purple, orange.
  A mix of colors, not a monochromatic décor. When the child is old enough to make choices, there won't be a colored box to break out of. There would be a rainbow to make selections from.
  This post, though, while about gender stereotyping, is not intended to be about colors at all. The topic for coming at gender types is toys. How toys are used to define children. How toys create boxes for children.
  An anecdote from a friend of mine was recently posted online. This anecdote was made both to entertain and make the reader think. I'll change names for legality, but I think you know where I mean:

 

"I am a drive-thru cashier at MacDowel's. The other day I received an order from a customer for an Emo Kids' Meal. Instead of the typical 'Boy or girl toy?' that cashiers use to categorize patrons, I asked 'Do you want the truck or the doll?' This, of course, threw the customer off a little. They came back in a second with: 'I have a girl.' Again, I asked 'Do you want the truck or the doll?' My manager scowled at me for what he considered me badgering the guest, but when answered 'truck' and complimented for not typing his daughter, I was praised."

 
  Although not totally attributed to this particular episode, my friend was christened Employee of the Month at that establishment, I like to believe that his not assigning a toy based on gender was a major reason for the honors, though.
  See, girls can prefer trucks and boys can play with dolls. Society has assigned toys based on gender markers, like the junk in a kid's pants has anything to do with their pretending habits!
  MacDowel's (and every other foodery with meals for children) has placed kids in boxes for far too long. Breaking out of this box is a little thing, really, but in doing so, we are letting our children know that they are free to have their preferences. We, as parents, are open to them making choices in other things.

Note: Although I never really liked the doll toy with my meal, I preferred the typically 'girl' movie figures and stuffed animals to what was given as 'boy toys.'