boys' toys

Ads in these catalogs go beyond the usual gender stereotypes of girls playing with kitchens and dolls (or using only female pronouns in the write ups for the doll toys: "Her First Doll! She’ll Love it!") and boys playing with trucks. When I sift through the catalogs that have accumulated over the last couple of weeks, I notice something else that makes my blood boil.

If you know even one kid, you already know they’re more than a stereotype of their gender with a myriad of interests—so why don’t toy manufacturers and ad executives acknowledge this?

Yup, that’s right. The folks at the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood scoured the toy aisles and found (what they feel are) the top five most offensive toys, and will present the TOADY (Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young children) Award to the one that takes home the (dis)honor of Worst Toy of the Year.

Click here to check out the five finalists and VOTE!

If I had a chance to nominate some toys, here’s just a few that would have made my list.