(CNN) – Like many parents, Carrie Goldman was thrilled to learn that Britain’s biggest department store recently reopened its toy department with a fresh look: dolls and trucks side by side.
Instead of organizing toys into color-coded aisles of pink for girls and blue for boys, Harrods’ new 26,000 square-foot “Toy Kingdom” is broken into six interactive “worlds.” Looking for costumes, a rocking horse or stuffed elephants? Try the Big Top, which Harrods describes as “a fairground of circus acts and candy floss, with magicians and jugglers on stage.” In the Odyssey, “a gigantic space rocket crashes through the floor and a huge sun bursts through the wall in front of an Area 51-inspired space and gadget zone, complete with alien space pods and limited-edition pieces.”
For Goldman, a mother of two in suburban Chicago, it’s a step in the right direction toward breaking down the gender divide erected at an early age through playtime. She experienced firsthand how those barriers can hurt children and make them feel like they need to change who they are to gain acceptance on the playground.
Two years ago, Goldman’s 7-year-old daughter came home in tears after classmates teased her for carrying a Star Wars thermos to school, saying Stars Wars was for boys. Goldman shared the story on her blog, Portrait of An Adoption, and within a matter of days, the tale of Star Wars Katie went viral, drawing support from around the world.
Her plight didn’t just strike a nerve with parents and children – George Lucas’ daughter, also named Katie, and the actor who played Chewbacca also had words of wisdom for Katie based on their experiences getting bullied for somehow being different.
The sheer volume of responses compelled Goldman to delve into why so many people could relate to Katie’s story. That research culminated in her first book, Bullied: What Every Parent, Teacher and Kid Needs to Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear, released this month. In it, she explores the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which society fosters a fear of those perceived as different and what parents can do about it.
The negative effects of enforcing gender norms emerged as a prominent theme, including the way girls are often nudged in the direction of princess fantasies and dolls while building blocks and train sets are traditionally boys’ toys. It’s part of the reason why Goldman saw the move by a large retailer such as Harrods as promising. Removing gender-specific connotations from packaging or displays sends the message to children that they’re open to everyone, she said.
When stores separate toys into aisles for girls and boys, however, they learn that anyone who deviates from their designated shelves deserves to be ridiculed.
