Dear Hasbro,
Good Afternoon.
I wanted to share an experience I had recently, and ask that Hasbro consider trying to fix a problem.I was recently a parent doing birthday shopping, and one of the items on my now-just-turned-8 year old daughter's list was good squirt guns, for family squirt gun battles. Â This seemed like a great idea, but, having been disappointed in lousy squirt guns in the past, I decided to do some research. Â I combed through the internet, some review sites, and decided that I definitely needed some Super Soakers (which wasn't a surprise--there's a reason they're synonymous with good water weaponry) and I was pleasantly surprised that the guns I wanted were on sale at Kohl's.As I started to put them in my cart, I saw to the left, Â checkboxes for shopping, and clicked the box 'girls' and the squirt guns disappeared. Â But not just the squirt guns disappeared, EVERY high power squirt gun disappeared from the list of options.Here is a *Screenshot here* :I was bothered by this, so I went further down the rabbit hole--because nerf gun battles, super heroes, and star wars are popular in my house, I went into Nerf/Hasbro/Super Soaker's 'character' options, and selected 'girl'...again, just about EVERYTHING cool disappeared.
*SCREENSHOT*
 This is the tip of the iceberg.  Basically all the active Hasbro/Nerf toys were listed under 'boys' but disappeared when I clicked 'girls'.  Things like 'mini sports ball pack' are only available if you slept 'boy toys'.When I contacted Kohls, they said they 'did not intend' to label toys as inappropriate for one gender or the other--and, frankly, I find that inadequate.  If only intentional discrimination was problematic, racism and sexism would all but cease to exist--but unintentional consequences are real, and are INCREDIBLY problematic here.
For me myself, I paid 30% more to buy some super-soakers at a store that wasn't listing them as only 'for boys'.  But I must confess if I'd not found them there, I probably would have quit shopping in disgust and decided on a different brand of less-awesome squirt guns, or opted for a different gift option.I'm asking Hasbro to take a stand. Â
I know Hasbro isn't Kohl's. Â But I also know that you're HASBRO--one of the most iconic toy manufacturer. Â Hasbro has power in this situation.
This is a problem where blatant sexism is being used in the marketing of NERF products--surely the maker of foam action gear doesn't want that association?
It's a problem where in a world where we bemoan the obesity epidemic and the lack of active time for kids, one of the best outdoor action toys of all time, the super soaker, is being advertised as 'not for girls'.Hasbro prides itself on social responsibility when it comes to the environment. Â Hasbro SHOULD be thrilled at it's inclusion on lists of ethical companies and corporate citizens. Â And Hasbro talks openly of it's lofty goals for diversity and inclusion in it's corporate environment--surely that starts at diversity and inclusion in the toy aisle. Â When there is talk in corporate publications of creating a diverse pipeline, surely children who play with toys are a part of that pipeline?
If you decide to continue allowing your toys to be gender divided, a great first step would be to make sure that toys that even chauvinists can see as gender neutral--like a squirt gun!--can be categorized under the girls tag too. Â Hasbro has that much clout--because they *are* super soaker, the best of squirt guns.
Please make an effort here to combat something insidious and problematic, and put Hasbro on the right side of history.
Thanks for your time.
(and in response to all of this, you can also find me on twitter @toyasilesexism. Â Hasbro *has* gotten a few tweets but hasn't chosen to respond.)
