For some context, see my previous three “Words Mean Things” posts.
Last time I wrote one of these posts, girls were too pretty to do math. I guess a lot has changed in the STEM world in the last two years, because now they get their own pretty pink telescopes:
In case you started to get the crazy idea that anyone could have whatever color telescope they wanted, please note that the pink one is clearly marked “For Girls” and the blue is clearly marked “For Boys“.
I get it. It’s perfectly OK for girls to like pink and boys to like blue. My daughter loves pink and would undoubtedly love a pink telescope, car, cell phone, and anything else that can come in a color (in fact, she asked for this as soon as she saw it). But is it not a bit patronizing to engage in this kind of gender-specific marketing (that worked so well for Bic, if you recall) in 2013? Is it even necessary for items like pens, telescopes, soda, and chocolate, all of which seem fairly gender-neutral in their appeal?