December 6, 2007 | Product Talk, Retail gone wrong
I don’t generally have a problem with products being marketed specifically at one gender or another. I mean, most boys I know are not interested in a hair salon play set. Most girls I know do not find Beyblades the awesometastic wonderfulness that boys generally do. So I get it.
But you know what? I draw the line at a learning globe specifically for girls. I was just talking with a friend yesterday (hi, Dorothy!) about how great those learning globes are, and how they’re a hot item right now. Never once did it occur to me that girls aren’t allowed to like globes unless they’re pink and—I swear, I nearly fell over when I read this in the product description—come with a cookbook. Seriously??
If you’re in the market for such a thing, I suggest you get a smart, gender-neutral model that will be used for years. Check out the Leapfrog and Oregon Scientific versions (not currently marked down much, but keep your eye on ‘em). Someone is buying those pink monstrosities; lots of someones, in fact, or they wouldn’t keep selling them. We need to start sending the message to manufacturers that there’s no need to pander to our girls when it comes to educational products.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:42 am
WTF? No, wait… WTFityFF?! A cookbook?!
I love those golbes - please keep us updated if you see any good deals (I couldn’t talk myself into buying one from Walmart…)
December 6th, 2007 at 10:12 am
Its a Bratz product, what can we expect? Nothing like teaching your daughter to dress like a whore and require a cookbook in order to make learning fun.
I agree, a good globe is so very important for little minds, but all the pink and kitchen tips is a bit ridiculous.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:21 am
I hate that, too. My little girl LOVES Thomas and Power Rangers and I have to buy her jammies in the BOY section because they don’t make those things for girls!
December 6th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I won’t buy ANYTHING from Bratz. Ugh.
Sam’s Club (at least where I live) has a great electronic globe on sale. I got one for my son and one for my nephew.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:31 am
I don’t think it’s so much geography as it is Bratz. Blame Bratz. My little sister is CRAZY about them & I think they’re so gross. But then again I guess I am a total hypocrite because I played with Barbies.
December 6th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
My 9 year old daughter is a Pokemon and Webkinz lovin’ skateboarder and HATES Bratz with a vengeance, thankfully! She received one in a holiday gift exchange last year and was NOT AMUSED!!! This Bratz globe with the cookbook is just plain silly.
December 6th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Amazon cracks me up. I looked up the pink globe (I have two boys, but was curious…cause WTH? A cookbook “with yummy recipes”?)
and it promptly suggested I combine it with…
Buy this item with Fisher-Price® Little People Eddie & His Boulder Worksite by Fisher Price today!
So do they want the girls to play with the construction set, the boys to play with the pink globe, or to pretend to be on the side of gender neutrality in the face of blatant gender marketing?
December 6th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
BRATZ! I should’ve known. Who are the people buying these whore dolls for their girls???
December 6th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Hey Lou!
You are not a hypocrite! At least Barbie is a SMART AMBICIOUS slut…err poor wardrobe chooser. But damn girl, she’s a pilot, a veterinarian, a pediatrician, a teacher, a pet sitter…..ok, now I’m totally disillusioned. I know there was US President Barbie when I was growing up too, but I went to the website to see if there was “computer programmer” or “NASA Engineer” Barbie and they were all “Fairies”, “Top Models” and “Fashion Fever” dolls….WTH? I guess Barbie is over the career thing now.
They do have Barbie Globe though. It’s by Oregon Scientific, so the globe itself isn’t pink, but the countries are all colored in pastels.
December 6th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
EWWWWWWWWWWW.
Bratz. It just figures. A frickin’ pink musical globe with a cookbook.
December 6th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
That’s just wrong.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
You know, Mir, you’ve always been funny and smart (and of course, thin), but this holiday season, I must say you’re even funnier.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I’m so glad my daughter is 21 and I don’t have to deal with icky things like Bratz dolls. Wow, are those creepy. I could say other things about them, but I guess this is a family blog.
Barbie, at least, was never pushed as something ’s*x*.’ I’m sure the Bratz aren’t meant to be, either, but they wear thongs for heaven’s sake. (Then again, Barbie never wore undies, LOL!) But I never realized until mama speak pointed it out–why has Barbie given up all her cool careers?
I like the idea of a globe with a cookbook of international recipes. But I’d buy them separately so that I’d be sure to get something really cool, not just pink and girly. Hey, I love pink and girly–but I don’t think it’s necessary to push the love of geography or the fun of cooking. Boys like to cook, too!