twenties and I honestly can't remember toys being so gendered in those days. I am almost certain that the main toy shops didn't have sections for boys or girls, but grouped things by genre. Also, toys tended to be in bright colours, rather than pink, so that you could easily swap them between girls and boys. When I was little, I remember having miniature versions of a cooker and a washing machine, but they were made out of white painted metal so they looked like mini real appliances. Mind you, I also had a sheriffs hat, knights outfit as well as fairy wings! I wanted to be some kind of hero, waving my plastic sword. I agree entirely that a big part of the issue lies with the manufacturers and the marketers for perpetuating the idea that you have to have a 'boys' and 'girls' version of everything (and there's some blame to be apportioned to the consumers for buying into it too). I do think that the issue of what's made in the first place, how it's packaged and how it's advertised on TV really needs to be addressed. But as you say, HNC , their motive for doing it is clear. They want to sell twice as much to families (and extended families) with children of both genders. It would be very worthwhile to take on the whole issue of gendered / pinkified toys, but I don't know how effective we'd be, at least in the short term,