We tend to think that we have come a long way in gender equality in recent times. But taking a walk around your local toy shop or reading through a store catalogue can be a stark reminder that some things really haven't changed very much.
Manufacturers and retailers still think in terms of different toys for boys and girls and use colour (particularly pink) as a marketing tool.
In 2008, Sweden's Trade Ethical Council against Sexism in Advertising (ERK) asserted that some of the images in the Lego catalogue 'constituted a form of stereotyping which was degrading to both men and women' in that they preserved 'traditional and anachronistic views on gender roles' by displaying a pink room for girls and a blue room for boys.
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