Swedish toy catalog - Boy with a doll, Girl with a gun

How do you differentiate between "natural" and "forced" changes? Historical examples of both might help.

 

Actually, boys do like to play with dolls: they are called "action figures". They don't have the same motivation as girls, though; the girls are indulging latent maternal instincts and are copying the behavior of their mothers while the boys are indulging latent male aggressive tendencies and are copying the behavior of male action heroes. As for guns, they particularily appeal to men (aggression plus substitute penis proxies) but they also can convey a sense of power and entitlement and security that can easily appeal to a fair number of women.

As history shows, humanity is very plastic in what rules it accepts for each society. Having said that, there are also a few core human instincts and values which tend to influence the development of those societies and some of those instincts and values are related to gender and gender behavior (in aggregate).

 

Evidence? My kids do not show the behaviour you assert. I see no reason to believe that my son identified with me and my daughters with my wife at the time they started playing with dolls. Neither was there any show of latent maternal/paternal instincts being activitated to copy. We each had our way of doing things and the kids would imitate us only not on a same sex differential. My son is now 8 and he still plays with dolls, both Barby and action man, in a wide variety of fantasy stories involving lots of other objects, toys and otherwise. I would say my eldest daughter is most boyish and yet she has never had much interest in guns unlike my youngest daughter and son. I'm sure my son has been influenced by having two older sisters but there's no evidence I can see of any latent maternal/paternal instincts.

 

I seriously doubt this. All animals have intrinsicley male / female tendencies. Otherwise, that species would not survive. A male would fair much better against a physical threat than a female on average. Which is why males are generally physically stronger. Females tend to have nurturing qualities to handle children while them men are out doing the dangerous task of hunting for food. There are all imbedded in us from early human survival.

 

Why did Barbie have boobs, yet Action Man had no penis, of any kind, at all.

Is that not like...weird?

 

I shouldn't need to, but here you go.

 

My action man had a thing for my sisters cindy but that did not have a happy ending. Apparently something to do with action mans eagle eyes. Perhaps Barbies boobs distracted him. Cant remember who got the horse in the divorce settlement.

 

Take a look at animals and you will see the picture you are painting is quite absurd. Physical threats are met by a wide range of strategies of which being physically strong is only one. If your notion was correct then our species would simply be the biggest strongest animal on the planet. As it is the animal with that status did not develope that attribute primarily in response to physical threats at all but a feeding strategy and the female is both larger and stronger than the male. This is an example where "nurturing qualities" actually result in the opposite of your assertion, in larger females due to the fact that they provide parental care for a substantial amount of time while the offspring matures not to mention gestation requiring the resources their larger size grants. One could just as easilly argue that men engaging in dangerous pack hunting of larger animals should develope smaller size to increase maneuverability and agility. Take the spotted hyena for example where the female is larger and stronger than the male, how do you explain this with your "intrinsically male/female tendencies"?

From early human survival according to your notion we should have lost out to our cousins the physically bigger and stonger neandertals.

 

Why shouldn't you have to?

From your quote:

We do not yet know exactly why males of different primate species prefer wheeled toys and other vehicles, or why females of different primate species prefer plush toys and other dolls (except for their vague resemblance to babies, for which females are evolutionarily designed to care). However, it is becoming less and less likely that “gender socialization” is the reason why boys and girls prefer different toys, and more and more likely that there are some genetic, hormonal, and other biological reasons for the observed sex differences in toy preference.

An assertion based on the evidence of these studies that it is becoming less and less likely that “gender socialization” is the reason why boys and girls prefer different toys does not equate to your assertion that boys and girls typically prefer gender specific toys, regardless of whether or not their preference is culturally conditioned. I do however accept that there is some evidence here in these studies still it is mainstrean sociology that preference is first and foremost culturally conditioned.

 

He has no penis.

No wonder.

 

Perhaps Cindy found out about Action Mans lustful thoughts for Barbie and did a John Bobbit on him

 

It just seems weirder to me for him NOT to have a penis, while Cindy has boobs.

 

It's just getting away from culturally enforced gender roles, something we don't even need if boys and girls tend towards different things anyway.

It's a matter of preference for the child - not every kid is alike any more than every adult. The evil libruls you're worried about simply want girls and boys to be free to express themselves rather than being steered into those specific gender roles. It won't turn a straight kid gay, so settle down.

 

Not true one bit. There are many out there that are FORCING children to be genderless and to ignore their ingrained sense of self.

 

Well since Barbie does not have a vagina, it makes total sense. Barbie looks normal in a dress without anything more detailed information being required.

 

Which has zilch to do with the Swedish toy catalogue or with people who simply see our forced gender roles for what they are. If they have an agenda, it is simply to counter an older agenda that's been at work for a very long time.

 

I don't get why any American conservative would complain about this image. She's a young, blond Sarah Palin.

 

for a very long time... HAHAHAHAHAHA... wait... wait... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH


You mean, since the first human walked the earth??

 

Well, sort of more normal looking than Action Man though, she also has breasts.

Maybe they wanted to save money on the extra plastic..

 

So the Swedes are saying they can tell early if a boy if gay or if a girl is dyke.

 

Or, just maybe........

 

Or, just maybe........