Middle School Spotlight is an occasional series showcasing Archer middle school students who are learning about journalism. These were written for a class assignment then submitted to The Oracle. Outstanding pieces were selected for publication by the Editorial Board.

I remember how overwhelmed I was by the overflow of pink packaging for toys that were directed for girls. I played with what they called “girl toys,” but sometimes I preferred the “boy toys”. I loved to play with small cars and trucks, but those were only in the “boy” aisle.

Why are there different aisles for different genders? Why are toys so divided?

The Guardian states that toys themselves don’t always enforce gender roles, the packaging and marketing for toys do. Pink toys are targeted towards girls, which pressures girls to feel obligated to play with pink toys, like I did. Toy cars and trucks are almost always targeted towards boys. This fact has a hidden message that boys are always aggressive and dominant.

When it comes to dolls I remember the overflow of pink outfits. The dolls always seemed to always wear pink. Dolls are obviously targeted toward girls, but what about the boys who want to play with them? Dolls teach girls to be caring and nurturing, but who’s to say boys don’t need or want that lesson as well?

In an interview with the Boston Globe, Lori Day — an educational consultant and psychologist — said that consequences of gender enforcing toys include that boys and girls stop playing with each other at earlier ages. Kids use toys to try new roles and explore new interests, but marketing tells kids what they should be interested in and how they should behave. Gender marketing has normalized that boys and girls are so different from each other that they require different toys and aisles. Gender marketing starts and expands on division between boys and girls and also enforces harmful gender stereotypes.

This problem of toys enforcing gender division and stereotypes has prompted the campaign, Let Toys Be Toys. The initiative’s goal is to end the division between toy aisles. Instead, they recommend organizing toys by theme or interest.

I agree with everything this campaign stands for. Kids shouldn’t feel pressured to play with certain toys. Kids of all genders should be able to feel as though they have a choice of toys they can play with. They shouldn’t be limited by what they see.