The other day as I was hanging out with my 7 year old sister, I looked down at her arm and noticed about 3 rainbow bracelets made out of rubber bands. I asked her what they were and she immediately exclaimed that they were made from her "rainbow loom." She looked up at me and said, "Everyone has one! Even the boys!" I was very intrigued by her comment and then when I saw the article on Time.com about the infamous "Rainbow Loom" it immediately caught my attention. The full article can be found here but the article was introducing this new phenomenon and how it was "defying the stereotype" of toys that boys play with.
When I was 7 years old I remember all of the boys playing with legos, cars. swords etc. I (as a girl) was very content playing with my Barbies and crafting but none of the boys wanted to come near any of my toys which was understandable. But, the rainbow loom is a toy for both genders which I find very interesting. Personally, I would guess that boys wouldn't like this new toy because it's technically jewelry making and boys learn at a very young age that jewelry is more of a girl thing. But, the rainbow loom proves that the gap between boys and girls toys may be becoming smaller.
This is an interesting post Anneke! What strikes me the most is that your little sister commented on the fact that "Boys wear them too!" This shows just how significant the gap between gender toys may be, and how we react to it even as a young age.
ReplyDeleteI liked your post as well, Anneke. My two daughters both are rainbow loom devotees, and I can see why boys, too, might like the loom. I wonder whether the gap between boys and girls is becoming smaller, or whether the gap is and has always been smaller, but our society continually works to make the gap bigger by enforcing stereotypes on multiple levels about how boys and girls should act. Both boys and girls should have more options in both play and all other aspects of their lives. Thanks for the interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI was very intrigued by her comment and then when "rainbow loom.
ReplyDeleteI was very happy to use this "rainbow loom.
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