Disney is continually a disappointment (as is society)...

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been lacking in the blog posts for a little while. I've been working like a crazy person and trying to study for MTELs so I can actually student teach and not be a bum for the rest of my life. ANYWAYS, I meant to write about this last week but I waited until meow to do it. The "this" I am referring to is the gender stereotyping that the Disney store does all the way down to their beach towels. Now you may think that a beach towel is no big deal and that I'm making too much of it but what I noticed was just a representation of a larger issue. Let me try to explain what I'm getting at by sharing with you all a little anecdote...It was a beautiful Friday morning in mid July (aka last Friday) and I had the day off so I was planning to go to the outlets with my dear friend Jamie. We went out to a delectable lunch, got handcrafted cupcakes, and then were off to explore the newly opened outlet bonanza that resides in Merrimack NH. On a good note, I got some great bargains, a little bit of a tan (which means more freckles but eventually they'll blend together to form a tan), and some quality time with one of my favorite people. We were just moseying along and found out that there was a Disney Store Outlet. Now if you know me, you know I LOVE Disney. I have been critical of it this past year, but only in theory (get it??) yet I still really enjoy the films at face value. Well, as we walked into the Disney store what I had previously thought about Disney's gender stereotypes was only intensified. There was a large table of beach towels adorned with beloved Disney characters and I really wanted to purchase one. This was until I discovered that the "girl" towels only had princesses and Minnie Mouse on them AND they were significantly smaller than the "boy" towels. The "boy" towels were not only larger in size but they had superheroes and cars as the characters. This really made me upset because it's sending the message of what girls and boys are "supposed to" be interested in and if they have different interests, something is wrong with them. The store is also separated into the Boy's side and the Girl's side with the same character differences. It made me think about how gendered ideals of social normalcy are thrust onto people at a very young age and even though they do not understand what that means, they do learn what is considered "normal" and feel badly about themselves if their interests differ. I think that every child should be able to play with whatever toys he/she wants to and I will encourage all of my future students to do whatever their hearts tell them. Why should children be forced into a strict gendered way of thinking starting so young? It just sets them up for differences later on in life and leads them to focus on the way people are separated rather than how they are alike. Needless to say, I did not buy the towel or anything else in that store and I am going to be more aware of the way I approach gender with children. Childhood should be a place of exploration, freedom, laughter, and whimsy but that is difficult to achieve when abiding by gender stereotypes is pushed onto children so stealthily and at such young ages. Readers,what are your thoughts about this? Am I a crazy koala about this? Please share your thoughts!