Pink and Blue Views

I haven't been in the market for toys recently, but, it's that time of year, and I found myself in the local Toys R Us. While trolling through the overstuffed aisles, I was presented with a color-coded crossroads...pink or blue?

The store was segmented by varying degrees into pockets of cotton candy pink, electric fuchsia, baby boy blue and bold navy. Each aisle color-coded the merchandise into its strategically-marketed, gender-specific category: boy or girl. These stereotypical hues have been employed since I was a child and for many, many years prior*. We've become accustomed to directing our browsing and shopping habits based on gender, and color serves as the guide.

And while the color itself does not present a hugely controversial issue, its the content paired with the color that I find a bit more insidious, calculated and discouraging

Barbies occupied an entire aisle bound in petal pink boxes. Tea party box sets and fairy princess costumes beckoned with domestic intent and the promise of the day her prince would come. Across the lane, masculinity was abound. Monster trucks exploded from their fearsome, dark packaging and superheroes awaited alien invasion assembled in neatly stacked rows. Army green men, royal blue matchbox cars and bins of balls, bats and helmets fulfilled the boyhood dreams of conquest, adrenaline and glory.

But my moment of zen came in the Lego aisle.

As a girl, I struggled with balancing the fondness of dolls, ponies and dress up with the desire to be one of the boys...throwing the football, catching frogs and climbing trees. Legos were one of my favorite toys. The simple blocks offered limitless creativity and possibility. They were objective and neutral. Fun for everyone. The dismay I felt while walking the Lego aisles came with the complete dissociation of boy versus girl themes. The macho-packaged sets touted superhero thrills, castle adventures and epic worlds at war. Meanwhile, the soft pink boxes showcased girlfriends keeping house, shopping at the mall and frolicking on horseback at the ranch. The received message? Gender roles, expectations and marketing haven't changed much in child's play since 1953.

However innocent and innocuous toys may seem, these themes DO influence the perceptions and identities of future generations. Their world views and social constructs are shaped, in part, by play. Would a boy freely wander the "pink" aisle and choose an item specifically packaged for girls? Would a girl feel empowered to select a blue box and explore the masculine contents within? 

In a future world, I hope so. Or perhaps we can opt to reject definitions of gender by pink and blue.

* Extracurricular reading on the history of girls & pink 

Toplessness and Equality

I was driving the other day and listening to Here & Now on NPR. Since making the conscious decision to give up cable, I watch very little broadcast TV and radio is where I get my news of the day. Back to the program...I happened on an current story about Sonoko Tagami, a supporter and participant in the "GoTopless Day" in Chicago who was issued a ticket for baring her breasts in public. She is now suing the city on the basis of a violation of free speech and equal protection for women under the law. 

If you're not familiar with the story, read the details here. 

The Here & Now story documented the facts of the case, straightforward and informatively, but here is what concerned me and why toplessness, equality and the rights of women are still important in the year 2014.

In the broadcast, the Here & Now hosts giggled at the mention of breasts, toplessness, nipples...Finally, the clip ends with Robin Young, the female host, stating "Just make men where shirts in public too...be done with it."

Relatively benign, right? I disagree. You've missed the point of Tagami's argument and the crux of the toplessness cause. The issue at hand is a law that unfairly (and unconstitutionally) requires one gender to cover up, while the other is excluded. To expand beyond the legality and constitutionality of the topic, we as a society have over-sexualized women's breasts, to the point where everyday actions like breastfeeding in public and the open and unadulterated discussion of breast cancer have become taboo and subject to controversy. 

Giggles aside, it's not about whether you're an A cup or a double D. And it's not about whether you want to go topless to the park or wear a tank top. It's about the right to choose to do so and equal protection under the law. Freedoms and equality are not inherent, they are fought for, tirelessly and over time. And they can be chipped away, piece by piece, in the name of morality, safety and security. 

I love you NPR, but I would like to live in a world where one day soon the words "breasts" "nipples" and "areola" are not a laughing matter.