Even President Obama Thinks Girls Should Play With ‘Boy’ Toys

obama picture

I am loving the direction we are heading into as a society in regard to what toys are appropriate for boys or girls to play with. That direction is that any toy is appropriate for any child, no matter what their gender. I know so many moms who happily buy dolls or play kitchens for their sons and Legos or race cars for their daughters. I have always believed that kids should play with any and all toys that appeal to them whether they are from the bubblegum pink “girls” aisle or the action figure-filled “boys” aisle and I know I am not alone. That is why I am so glad to see someone like President Obama acknowledge that there is value in girls playing with toys traditionally meant for boys.

From Addicting Infowe have a story of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sorting toys for the Marine’s Toys For Tots program. President Obama was very pointed in his wording as he sorted the toys into bins for boys and girls:

Between them, the pair delivered about 1,000 toys from the President’s staff to the U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots campaign, an annual holiday toy drive.

But then things got even more adorable. The President started putting the sports and the science toys into the ”˜girls’ bin.  Placing a basketball into the bin, Obama says:

”I just wanna make sure some girls play some ball.”

SIGH. I just love this. Ignoring politics, I think anyone can admit that it’s wonderful that he recognizes that girls might want to do things that are traditionally meant for boys. He went on and it got even more amazing:

A person from the crowd queries his decision to put legos in the girls, rather than the boys collection because they might not like them.  The President responds:

”Girls don’t like toys?”

As he continues to sort, he comes across a T-Ball set.

”T-Ball? Girls like T-Ball” and nodding, puts the set in the girls’ bin.  The crowd is snapping photos, with some looking a little confused and he adds. ”I’m just trying to break down these gender stereotypes.”

I am political Fan-Girling so hard right now- this is wonderful. Even though I wish he had also made a point to put some dolls in the “boy” bin, I think it’s so great he made the topic of gender stereotypes a part of this event, period. I’m sure that girls having access to things that are typically thought to be boyish is high on his mind as the father of two lovely, young girls and I’m guessing that is what went into his thought process while sorting the toys. I think his wording is incredibly sweet and as the mom of a girl who plays baseball and basketball, it makes my heart happy to hear the leader of our nation acknowledging the importance of girls in sports.

We still have a long way to go toward there being no gender stereotyping at all with toys but I think we have come very far in recent years. If my son wanted his own doll, I would buy it without question and I know my husband would be supportive. If my daughter wants Spider-Man action figures, they are hers. I don’t think the same could have been said of parents when I was a child. I am proud to be part of a generation making progress toward letting kids be themselves, no matter what.

(Image: Ron Foster Sharif/Shutterstock)

Similar Posts