She took on McDonalds and Won! - OG Myth-Weavers

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She took on McDonalds and Won!

 
She took on McDonalds and Won!

A girl took exception to the way the fast food giants employees offered its gendered happy meal toy options to its customers.

What do you think?

http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/ar...nalds-and-wins


Odd definition of winning. She wrote the CEO a letter and he responded that she was right and they intended to get around to doing something about it.

Very nice, always good to see this sort of thing. As someone who identifies as a feminist & the father of 3 daughters, it always pleases me to see the Patriarchy being challenged.

@Silveroak: It may not fit your definition of a victory, but oftentimes these sorts of things don't even get acknowledged, so recognition & acknowledgment is something of a victory in & of itself.

Baby steps, you know? Thanks for sharing this, Nautilus.

I seriously have to ask what the hell I am supposed to be rooting for here. I mean they have this boy toy and this girl toy. And they asked her which one she wants meaning that they do cater to the trans demographics as well.

Seriously, if anyone despises McYuck and other fast food chains whose names I even refuse to say out loud it is me. But in this case this all seems so insignificant that even reporting on it, even on a random internet blog would seem pointless.

I don’t see it as much of a win or a valid complaint. For one part, McDonalds is always the first to implement changes and they are quick to do it, this has been going on in the Fast Food Business for quite some time, Mc changes it, the rest follow. Then again, I don’t see a problem with them asking boy toy or girl toy, you have to be general in your questions, you can’t go the specific route always when the probability of someone getting offended or caring is almost null.

Yeah. I'm not a fan of girl toys vs boy toys generally, but from a practical point of view they probably know that this pair of toys will cover the majority of the population well, between them, and they're not forcing anyone to choose a particular one. If they actually label them as "boy" and "girl" toys, well, they probably shouldn't, but they're hardly the only offenders in this regard.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheFred View Post
If they actually label them as "boy" and "girl" toys, well, they probably shouldn't, but they're hardly the only offenders in this regard.
Growing up (born in '88), I distinctly remember the cashier asking my mother in the drive-thru if I wanted a boy's toy or a girl's toy. Mostly because I was pissed at getting Strawberry Shortcake toys instead of Power Rangers toys.

If there is an actual change (and not just the promise to look into it that was given), I imagine they'll just train the cashiers to stop asking boy or girl and instead ask by type of toy - "Would you like My Little Pony or Adventure Time?" And that's cool. I despise the way toys are so gendered these days, but happy meal toys are a symptom, not a cause. Still, any step away from the typical boy/girl toy bullshit is a win in my book, even if it's a minor win.

Well, yes - if an individual cashier calls them "girl" and "boy" toys, that's not necessarily the company's fault - it's more a symptom of a societal thing, and you're right, it's just a symptom. I don't see one woman's letter as a major thing in the grand scheme of things, but I do agree, the whole gender stereotyping toys thing is silly.

As a company, they may know that one kind of toy does indeed appeal to girls more and another to boys. Maybe that's because other people have given those kids those kinds of toys in the past, in which case it's society again, but still, from their point of view, that's the way it is so it's good business. If they stop calling them "girls" and "boys" toys, though, at least they aren't contributing to it (as much).

There is also another thing you people are not considering. Children don't usually place orders, parents do. And parent's don't nesecerily know what their child wants. If the cashier was to ask the parent, or worse yet a more distant relative (uncle, aunt, grandmother etc.) making the purchase something along the lines of what Little_Rudo suggests chances are that the buyer would have no idea what they are talking about, let alone which to chose. So they would fall back to the obvious question "Well what do you think my little boy/girl would want?" Like it or not the "boy" vs "girl" classification provides a decent benchmark for most children and makes it easy for parents to select the toy without having to prompt the child at all.

And if it works, don't fix it.

Quote:
If the cashier was to ask the parent, or worse yet a more distant relative (uncle, aunt, grandmother etc.) making the purchase something along the lines of what Little_Rudo suggests chances are that the buyer would have no idea what they are talking about, let alone which to chose
Because My Little Pony toys have so many male collectors?

Edit: Bad example.




 

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