Toys R Us UK Commits to Phasing Out 'Girl Toys' and 'Boy Toys'

Well, this is lovely news! The UK branch of Toys R Us has announced that they’re partnering up with Let Toys Be Toys, an organization devoted to eliminating the arbitrary divide between “boys’ toys” and “girls’ toys.” As a former girl-child who spent countless hours creating elaborate cavalry formations involving G.I. Joes riding on My Little Ponies, CONSIDER ME DEAD CHUFFED OR WHATEVER.

The campaign has already made strides with other U.K. stores, such as the supermarket Tesco, which is now devoid of “boys” and “girls” signage. Toys R Us is the campaign’s first multi-national tackle, and things are going quite swimmingly. Following Friday’s meeting, Toys R Us agreed to work on plans for a fresh marketing scheme that falls in line with Let Toys Be Toys’s principles. The goal of the partnership is to eventually phase out gender-specific marketing and to promote the idea of boys and girls being able to fully enjoy the same toys, no questions asked and no suggestions made. The upcoming Christmas catalog will be the company’s first true test of these new techniques.

To clarify, because this always seems to need clarification, dismantling systemic gender expectations does not mean traditional expressions of gender will become illegal. Girls can still wear pink and clean fake shit off of a fake baby’s ass, and boys can still wear blue and pretend to bayonet each other’s bowels in the name of fun—IF THEY WANT TO. That’s the point. It’s about increasing choice, validating nonconformity, reducing pressure, and eliminating shame. Go ahead and be against that and I’ll go ahead and consider you an asshole.