Maybe we haven't come so far.

The commercials this time of year either annoy me or piss me off entirely. On the annoying side you have the increase in shit peddled to little kids. Everything sings, dances, vibrates and/or has wheels so the little buggers can simultaneously deafen you and knock you on your ass by running it under your feet. Awesome. On the entirely piss me off and make me frothing-at-the-mouth-angry, you have This. When I first saw the commercial for this thing it annoyed me, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. It irritated me that the commercial kept playing in my head. But it wasn't the commercial itself that was bothering me. It's the idea of it. Why, in 2007, damn near 2008, are we still telling little girls that they should hope for nothing more than a fucking cottage kitchen with a cradle and all the other acoutrements of a domestic centered life? Is there no higher hope for our daughters than poppin' out kids and tending to a home? If I had a daughter, there's no way in hell that thing would make it into my house. There is NOTHING wrong with being a mother, a wife, a domestic person. There's nothing wrong with playing house, playing mommy, or playing wife. But I'll be damned if I teach any little girl that that's what she SHOULD be. And this 'toy' (I'm more inclined to think of it as a weapon.) does that. It's not marketed to boys. There are no boys in the print/net/tv ads for it. The whole thing is pink and purple and soft yellows-all the colors generally associated with femininity. Their description of the thing even points out that it is specifically for girls. "Rose Petal Cottage gives your little girl a house of her own to live in, take care of, and decorate" and "Playing “house” in the ROSE PETAL Cottage lets your little girl build her very own home – and her imagination – right in your living room!"
Hello, 1950 called and wants its gender roles back.
Why can't we teach our little girls that they can be doctors, or lawyers, or police officers, or professionals of any kind AND play house at the same time. Why isnt' there a briefcase included in that kitchen set? A microscope? How about a law book or a gavel? Why isn't there anything included in that kitchen set that teaches a little girl to imagine her potential beyond exercising her uterus? Why are we still propogating the uterus-as-clown car mentality? (I LOVE that phrase Michelle !)