‘Get off your woke rocking horse’: Loose Women debate over whether buying dolls for little girls pushes ‘outdated gender stereotypes’ leaves viewers unimpressed
- Loose Women discussed whether it’s outdated to buy baby doll babies for girls
- The panellists’ opinion were mixed: one loved dolls, another called them weird
- A Twitter poll asking viewers for their opinions prompted some mixed responses
- One social media user told the women to ‘get off their woke rocking horse’
Loose Women has sparked a debate after asking parents whether they would buy their daughter a baby doll, or whether doing so pushes outdated stereotypes on young girls.
Panellists on the programme shared their mixed views on the toys, with Charlene White branding them ‘weird’, and Nadia Sawalha admitting that she loved playing with dolls as a child.
Nadia explained that she loved to nurture, and enjoyed lavishing affection and care on them, but Charlene revealed that she doesn’t like to buy dolls for her daughter Florence.
‘You give birth to a girl child, and one of the first things you do is almost teach them this is their job in life, to birth another child themselves,’ Charlene explained. ‘So I do find it quite bizarre, and so I’d never bought her one, but other keeping keep buying her [dolls].’
However, some viewers weren’t impressed by the debate, branding it ‘woke, liberal’ posturing, while others said that parents should just buy whatever toys appeal to their children without overthinking it.
Nadia Sawalha said she loved playing with baby dolls as a child, explaining that she was a person who loves to nurture others
Loose Women host Charlene White said she finds the concept of giving girls dolls ‘weird’, as it suggests to them that looking after babies is ‘their job in life’
The conversation sparked debate, with one person telling the presenters to ‘get off their liberal woke rocking horse’ after they asked people’s views on gender stereotypes
She added that she didn’t like playing with dolls as a child, and that her brothers never had them. I guess I’d feel better about it if there was a bit of equality.’
But she added that once you become the mother of a girl, you ‘have to pick your feminist battles’.
‘The most impactful person in her life in terms of women will be me,’ she said.
Panellist Jayne Moore felt that the toys children like to play with depends on their personality and taste, with her daughter enjoying to play with building bricks when she was small.
The programme also shared a poll on its Twitter account, saying: ‘Today on the show the Loose Women are chatting about outdated stereotypes. So, would you give your daughter a doll?’
A huge majority of respondents – 94% – said they would, although many had different opinions about toys and gender.
Amongst the responses was one Tweeter who told the panellists to ‘get off [their] woke liberal rocking horse’.
Many Twitter users said that they would buy baby dolls for girls – and also for boys, with some respondents discussing how the toys are suitable for all children
Lots of commentators said that they had young boys in their families who enjoyed playing with dolls as much as many girls do.
One social media user wrote: ‘We bought my grandson a doll and buggy when he was small he loved it, my niece bought her 3 Yr old son one and his dad nearly had a stroke yet had no problem pushing child in buggy.. Time to stop stereotyping.’
Another felt the same, writing: ‘I bought my 2 year old boy a doll for Christmas. . We have a 6 month old baby and he is obsessed with her. . Now he has his own ‘baby’. . Why is it considered ‘wrong’ or why wouldn’t you get a doll for a boy as well as a girl. It teaches them to nurture at a young age.’
Some social media commentators felt that it was sexist to say there are specific toys that boys and girls shouldn’t play with, and that children should have the toys they enjoy
Many social media users questioned the idea of dolls being an ‘outdated stereotype’, with one writing: ‘Who Said it’s an Outdated Stereotype? Let Children Enjoy whatever they like to play with.’
Another agreed, saying: ‘Boy or girl, if they want a doll I wouldn’t say it’s sexist. I think what’s outdated and sexist is parents saying boys shouldn’t play with Barbies and girls shouldn’t play with action figures.’
One simply asked: ‘Why wouldn’t you?’
Another agreed, saying: ‘I actually can’t believe this is even a question.’
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