A sixth grade class in Sweden, offended by the 2008 Toys R Us catalog, reported the company to the Reklamombudsmannen (Ro), a regulatory agency in that country that oversees marketing and advertising communications.
The students found fault with Toys R Us for depicting "outdated gender roles because boys and girls were shown playing with different types of toys, whereby the boys were portrayed as active and the girls as passive." And on October 9th of this year, the agency agreed and issued a public reprimand.
According to the Swedish news website The Local:
Thumbing through the catalogue, 13-year-old Hannes Psajd explained that he and his twin sister had always shared the same toys and that he was concerned about the message sent by the Toys"R"Us publication.
"Small girls in princess stuff...and here are boys dressed as super heroes. It's obvious that you get affected by this," he told the newspaper.
"When I see that only girls play with certain things then, as a guy, I don't want it."
Classmate Moa Averin emphasized the importance of children being able to be who they want even if "guys want to be princesses sometimes".
Upon reviewing the case, the Reklamombudsmannen agreed with the sixth-graders complaint, and on Tuesday issued a public reprimand of the toy retailer.
According to the Ro's advisory committee (Opinionsnämnden), the Toys"R"Us catalogue "discriminates based on gender and counteracts positive social behaviour, lifestyles, and attitudes".
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