You might think that’s a typo in the headline. How can a boymom like myself know much about being a mom of girls? Let’s just say it’s pretty telling that even I noticed. It all started with a doll.We’ve got about a thousand trucks and cars in the house, so naturally, the boys were spending their entire morning arguing over who got to play with the one and only doll we own. I got online to buy another, same exact doll with a different colored shirt so we could tell them apart. I saw the selection: doll with blue shirt that we already had- $25. Doll with yellow shirt- $15. Doll with pink shirt- $59.99. That’s not an exaggeration. The exact same doll from the exact same company in the exact same shirt in pink cost more than double the other options. Wow. Either there’s a real shortage of red dye or there’s something else going on.
I’d heard of the “pink tax” when it comes to things like women’s razors or clothing and other products, but when I stopped to really look at the merchandise aimed at children it was eye-opening. Pink tricycles, helmets, cars, board games, they’re all on toy store isles we only frequent when Big Bro wants to play with the Barbie cars. The price tags on the “pink” isles are definitely different, and when a third option for a toy is available, it’s the most economical. When shopping online, it's so easy to make a direct comparison that I'm surprised companies can still get away with charging triple for a product targeted towards a certain gender.
Most of the moms I know, myself included, try not to play into gender stereotypes when it comes to toys, clothing, activities or interests. I think that's part of the reason grey is such a popular color for baby clothing and nurseries nowadays. But man is it hard to combat the onslaught of marketing from the rest of the world.
So, to all my girl moms out there, I have one wish for you- that your daughter’s favorite color is yellow.
