Pinkstinks is a campaign founded in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in May 2008 by twin sisters Emma Moore and Abi Moore (born 1971, London) to raise awareness of what they claim is damage caused by gender stereotyping of children. Pinkstinks claims that the

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

of gender-specific products to young children encourages girls to limit their ambitions later in life.

Activities

Pinkstinks has created a listing of "Pinkstinks Approved" companies providing non-gender-specific play and learning products for children. In 2009 the campaign was reported as urging parents to boycott shops selling pink toys and gifts. In 2010 Pinkstinks criticised

Marks and Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

for labelling underwear aimed at six-year-old girls as "bra tops".

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, Marks and Spencer and

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

have responded quickly to criticism by Pinkstinks, removing a "girls" label from a pink

Playmobil Playmobil () is a German line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG), headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. The signature Playmobil toy is a tall (1:24 scale) human figure with a smiling face. A wide range ...

set and a "boys" label from a science kit and adding non-gender-specific labels to children's nurse and doctor outfits.

Awards and recognition

The campaign's founders, Abi and Emma Moore, won an award in the Women Creating Change category at the 2009 Sheila McKechnie Foundation awards. In 2012 Pinkstinks won the

Mumsnet Mumsnet is a London-based internet forum, created in 2000 by Justine Roberts for discussion among people with child- or teen-aged offspring. History and finances Mumsnet was created in 2000 by Justine Roberts to help parents pool informati ...

Award for Promoting Body Confidence in Children. In 2009 Bridget Prentice MP, who was then

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Justice Minister, backed Pinkstinks' campaign to boycott shops selling

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

gifts which were aimed particularly at either girls or boys, saying "It's about not funnelling girls into pretty, pretty jobs, but giving them aspirations and challenging them to fulfil their potential". Speaking in the UK

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, Lady Morgan, the junior children's minister, said that "it is extremely important that we ensure girls have a chance to play with trucks and trains and wear blue if they look pretty in blue and we shouldn't be defining how young people are looked after by the colour of their toys". The campaign has also been backed by Ed Mayo, author and former UK government adviser on consumer issues, who said: "I feel this colour apartheid is one of the things that sets children on two separate railway tracks. One leads to higher pay, and higher status and one doesn't." According to Mayo, before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

pink was more usually associated with boys, while blue – traditionally the colour of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

– was linked with girls. He said: "When you walk into a toy store, as the campaign Pinkstinks has argued, it is as if feminism had never happened."

International impact

Pinkstinks has attracted attention in other countries and has inspired the setting up of a similar campaign in Germany, set up in 2012 and based in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel.

References

External links

Official UK website

Pinkstinks video: "There's more than one way to be a girl"
2011
Pinkstinks video: "SLAP – On the face of Childhood"
2012
Pinkstinks GermanyGirls Out Loud: creating shining starsLet Toys Be ToysPigtail PalsPrincess Free Zone
2008 establishments in England Advocacy groups in Germany Advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Gender roles Girls' toys and games Non-profit organisations based in Hamburg Non-profit organisations based in London Organizations established in 2012 Parents' organizations Toy controversies Toy culture

Activities

Awards and recognition

International impact

See also

References

Further reading

External links