Picture this: you and your friend have run to M&S for some Colin the caterpillar cake. Something catches your eye – did you read it correctly? Does it really say Connie? Where’s Colin? A female version! Oh yes. Excitedly, you rush to buy the girl version of your favourite cake because um, you know – girls support girls. And as you eat … it suddenly hits you. Connie is spreading dangerous political messages right in front of your very eyes. WHY?
Before I tell you, hear me out….. I think that the best way we can go about abolishing the patriarchy and eradicating sexism is by teaching kids, from nursery– that girls and boys are equal and don’t have to exist in certain stereotypes. If the young generation are all able to grow up into a world where they aren’t surprised to see a female firefighter or don’t associate football with only men and are comfortable enough to play with both dolls and trains -> then already, they understand that gender does not define a person and so women should not be treated differently. It’s vital that we stop labelling certain things as ‘girly’ or ‘boyish’. Please bear in mind here, I am not discrediting that gender is important, I just think stereotypes should be dissolved. Of course, being a certain gender will play an important role in each person’s life and it is important to cherish that – I am simply saying it should not change the way people treat you or limit and restrict the way you choose to live your life.
So here is my issue… WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY did M&S just release a female version of Colin the caterpillar called Connie the cute caterpillar who has pink love heart sprinkles and a pink bow. Why, in 2021 are we still resorting to covering something in pink to quickly show that it is a girl. Can she not be blue, red, orange? Can she not wear glasses or a hat. Does she need long lashes and pink lips? IT HAS to stop! Listen, gender stereotypes have been around for ages. But that is not my argument. I am confused as to why they are STILL being fed to young children when we simply cannot afford to raise children in a world with harmful stereotypes that affect both boys and girls and make sure that our progress as women is stunted. (And keeps boys trapped in cycles of toxic masculinity) Anyway – there are more pressing issues around this topic, I just think we should stop involving stereotypes in food and toys targeted at kids when we should be empowering them to be bold and different and free. Just imagine what the world could be like when those kids grow up …..
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