http://www.elc.co.uk/children%27s-dressing-up-outfits/5540,default,sc.html
I quote:
Dressing up encourages your child to express themselves in a fun and educational way, serving to increase their long-term confidence. For the little princess in the family we have great feminine outfits like Butterfly Fairy, Sleeping Beauty, Ballerina and Nurse’s uniform. Why not add a medical case for that extra touch of authenticity.
The boys are catered for too, with great Doctor, Policeman & Fireman uniforms, not to mention fantastic Pirate and Knight costumes. All these can be combined with a range of accessories so your child will really look the part.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. So I settled for emailing ELC to say I won't be shopping there till they've worked out what the problem is, and started using inclusive language and pictures.
Their reply:
Dear Ms XXX,
It's not our intention to promote stereotyping or sexism, especially to young, possibly impressionable children so I can only apologise that you feel this had been the case.
Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Kind Regards
YYY
Early Learning Centre
Customer Services
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I'm horrified. The insulting reply seems like a pat on the head don't-worry-your-little-head-about-it. How appalling. I won't be shopping there in future either.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Right. They apologise for how you feel and your inconvenience.
ReplyDeleteNot for being idiots, nor being wrong.
Classic...
I'm getting flashes of God's final message to creation!
ReplyDeleteSo, a girl can be a fantasy creature or fill a support role. It's hardly aspirational, is it?
ReplyDelete"You can't be a scientist, dear, but you can wash out the test tubes for the boys."
My comment to the ELC - "I've seen on the Internet a complaint to you, and inadequate reply from you, regarding the sexism and stereotyping at http://www.elc.co.uk/children's-dressing-up-outfits/5540,default,sc.html . I can understand the cases of the policeman and the fireman and the nurse - I find your stereotyping insulting and crude, but at least based in reality. However, assigning the doctor costume to the boys is insulting, crude, and based in the distant past. It's a fact that a majority of students commencing medical degrees are women. For the ELC to suggest to children at an impressionable age that men should be doctors and women should be nurses suggests a remarkable unawareness of the progress of sexual equality over the last 30 years. I suggest you find someone to write your copy who doesn't think it's still 1970."
ReplyDeleteIt should have read :-
ReplyDelete"It's not our intention to promote stereotyping or sexism, especially to young, possibly impressionable children so I can only apologise ... and tell you it won't happen again. All the uniforms will be sold without specifying whether it should be for a boy or a girl. There are of course female doctors, police and firecrew just as there are male ballerinas and nurses".
I already no longer shop in the Green Shop of Doom, but was always annoyed by their "we don't stereotype - look we do blue buggies and sweeping sets" because it's obvious they *do* - or they wouldn't need to do ones that aren't pink pink pink for the boys!
ReplyDeleteWell, you know, male ballet dancers rather than male ballerinas, but other than that...
ReplyDeleteThat was a *pats you on the head* reply. They've basically said 'sorry you didn't like it you stupid over sensitive feminist, but we're going to absolutely shit all about it'.
ReplyDeleteI'm really shocked, especially at the dismissive reply suggesting that the sexism is in your head.
ReplyDeleteI'm tweeting this around to encourage more people to object.
Has anyone actually checked their website? I did. Went to the dressing up section and the "doctor" is assigned to the "both genders" tab, not just boys. As were "fire fighter", "police", "pirate captain", "racing driver", "cowboy" and "astronaut". Also various animals, but those count for less.
ReplyDeleteI will admit though that the nurse (and fairy/lucy locket costumes) is just down as a girl's dressing up costume and things like spiderman and superman are just for the boys.
Maybe they've changed it based on your complaint, I can't say I looked at the ELC website prior to this, but at least there are now many costumes in the "both" section.
Louise, when I look at girl, there are 15 costumes - 1 nurse, 1 pink vet, and 13 princess/fairy outfits. That's two minutes ago. If doctor and racing driver are suitable for both genders (as I think they are) then those costumes should come up for girls, boys, and both!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree, the site design is a bit rubbish - which is why I think it's maybe a quick jobby in response to the original complaint. More so given that the little blurb at the beginning of the costume section hasn't changed from the original yet, but the categories have.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't make sense that "girl", "boy" and "both" are 3 separate entities, there should be overlap. I should imagine it's easier to go "quick! let us move these things into a new "both" category!" than "let us re-code so there's overlap!"
There's been no change from yesterday, though. Doctor is in "both" if you look, but it's a boy's outfit in the blurb. It's just so annoying!
ReplyDeleteThis does sound like it needs a second complaint being just as patronizing explaining the concepts of feminism and the need gender balance in advertising regardless of the outfits sold
ReplyDeleteIt's really shocking in 2010 but I think it's symptomatic of the bad effects of the recession. For example, in IT, my own industry women are down to 16% as against 30% in India. In my office we represent 7% of the IT community and the knock on effect is we're beginning to become "unusual" again and getting patronised. Well, if women could do IT there would be more women, innit. That kind of comment.
ReplyDeleteStill, there's always Computer Engineer Barbie:
http://www.chipchick.com/2010/02/computer-engineer-barbie.html
Still wearing vile pink but can obviously use a laptop.
It's depressing on two levels.
ReplyDeleteFirst that a 'reputable' firm is so blinkered both in their product promotion, and in the follow-up 'pat on the head' communication.
And second, that they aren't helping parents and children to make their own dressing-up and imaginative role play materials.
It's a pre-prepared cynical world we live in. But we don't have to include ourselves. Go to second hand shops, jumble sales, your own cupboards of pre-loved bits and bobs. Make your own stuff, stop buying the over-priced tat raking in the profits for the Disneys and ELCs.
I got a much better response, which even said they had changed it, but it is still identical. I've just sent them another letter asking if they are now pacifying customers with lies in addition to peddling gender stereotypes from another era. They could have told me they were going to change it, but the letter clearly said it had been changed. Argh!
ReplyDeleteAren't you all being a little over-sensitive. What about parents who don't mind 'stereotyping'. If I wanted a particular costume for either my son or daughter I'd get whichever one they wanted regardless. It IS, after all MY responsibility how their attitudes form as they are growing up
ReplyDelete