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Appendix 1: BRIO images

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Appendix 2: LEGO images

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Appendix 3: TOP-TOY images

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Appendix 4: BRIO statement – Company profile

This is BRIO

BRIO has been manufacturing quality products since the end of the 1800s. We have successfully combined innovation with respect for our heritage of craftsmanship and products ever since. We will carry on recognizing the magic of play, supporting children’s development and making life more enjoyable for you as parents. And we are willing to bet you have fond memories of your own BRIO toys.

This is why we say we create happy childhood memories. And we want today’s children to feel the same way about BRIO as all the generations before them.

In that case, we will have succeeded

Appendix 5: LEGO statement I – Company profile, extracts

The LEGO Group 2012

P.6: LEGO Friends was launched in 2012 as one way of attracting more girls to LEGO products, and the LEGO Group will continue to develop its position within the Girls category.

P. 9: LEGO® products for all childrenThe range embraces products for all children.

P. 16: When the minifigure first appeared, it was decided that its face should have only one colour: yellow. And that its facial features should be happy and neutral. The figure would have no sex, race or role – these would be determined by the child’s imagination and play. It was not until the launch of LEGO pirates in the 1980s that the need seemed to arise for having a figure, who could be evil or good, happy or grumpy.

Appendix 6: LEGO statement II – Press release

Press Release 21. February 2013LEGO® Friends doubled expectations for sales in 2012

Mads Nipper, Chief Marketing Officer, reflects:

“We entered 2012 with high expectations for LEGO Friends but also with a lot of anxiety as we have historically never been very successful attracting girls to our play offers. That is why it has been amazing to experience the enthusiastic welcome, which consumers have given the new range, as well as know that we through LEGO Friends have managed to introduce LEGO play to millions of girls who had never received a LEGO product before.”

The LEGO Friends concept development spanned four years and involved more than 3500 girls and their mothers around the world to understand what girls who have previously not been attracted to LEGO play, would expect from a construction toy.

LEGO Group Vice President Nanna Ulrich Gudum, who was responsible for developing the LEGO Friends product line, explains;

“The girls we talked to let us understand that they really wanted a LEGO offering that mirrors what the boys experience, but in a way that fulfils their unique desire for redesign and details and combined with realistic themes in community and friendship.”

Appendix 7: LEGO statement III – Progress report, extracts

LEGO Progress Report 2012P. 15: We are committed to caring for the society that children will inherit and to inspire and enable them to build the society of tomorrow.

P. 29 + 30: We develop, manufacture and market play materials, so children are our core target group. But to us they are much more than that. Children are ourrole models. And children are our vital concern. We want all our activities to have as positive an impact as possible on the world we live in today and the planet that our children will inherit. (…)We believe that the most important positive impact we as a company have is through our products, services, play experiences, and the quality and safety of our products is consequently a key priority for the LEGO Group.

Appendix 8: TOP-TOY statement – Press release

We reflect the modern way of children’s play in our catalogues

Corporate News, Business News, 2012-11-27, 14:57By: ADJ

This year’s Swedish Christmas catalogue is more gender neutral to reflect the values of Swedish market. Swedish customers appreciate this new approach.

The gender debate in Sweden has become more significant in the last couple of years. TOP-TOY has been following the debate and wants to reflect these values in our markets and mirror the modern way of children’s play.

Thomas Meng, Retail Marketing Director for BR Toys and TOYS”R”US in the Nordic countries says, “We want our catalogues to reflect the way boys and girls play in real life, and not present a stereotype image of them. If both girls and boys in Sweden like to play with a toy kitchen, then we want to mirror this pattern.”

Previously, customers have been criticising TOP-TOY for being too conservative in its marketing approach with regards to gender roles and have made complaints to the Swedish Advertising Ombudsman.

“We acknowledged that we could improve our catalogues in that respect which is what we are now doing, among other things, receiving training from the Swedish Advertising Ombudsman“, says Thomas Meng.

The improvement is primarily implemented in the Swedish BR Toys’ catalogue, but also the TOYS”R”US catalogue, which for example shows a girl playing with a soft gun and a boy with a doll house.

The changes have been made to show girls more actively playing with toys typically perceived as toys for boys – and vice-versa for boys.

“We have already made similar changes in other Nordic markets as well, but not to the same extent. We began with the Swedish catalogue as the gender debate in Sweden is more further ahead. The customers in all our Scandinavian markets will experience, going forward, a more gender neutral approach in their catalogues. We are very pleased with the positive feedback we have received from our Swedish customers“.

Appendix 9: Scheme of textual analysis

BRIO – Company profile

Ideational resourcesProcess types Circumstantials Time and

perspectiveConcept taxonomies Analysis

Action: Have combined Will carry on Making Create

Mental: Recognising Supporting Say Want To feel Will have

succeededRelational:

Is Has been Are willing Have

Manner: Since the end

of the 1800sPlace:

With respectTime:

Generations before them, ever since

Role: As parents

Contingency: With respect

for our heritage of craftsmanship

For you as parents

Past tense of verbs: has been,

have combined,

Future-now: will carry

on, supporting, making, are willing to bet

Present: is, have,

say, create, to feel

After-now: will have

succeededPerspective:

ongoing

Synonymy: BRIO – quality

products Fond

memories – BRIO

Hyponomy: Innovation –

heritage of craftsmanship

Meronomy Life – parents Children –

generations

Action = narrative textMental = expressive (emotional) textRelational = expository

Interpersonal resourcesPositional vs. relationalSentence structures Modality Attitudinal lexis AnalysisDeclarative:

BRIO has bee manufacturing, we have successfully combined, we will carry on, we are willing to, this is why we say, we want today’s children, we will have succeed

Modal verbs: will carry on,

will have succeeded

Qualitative adjectives: quality, enjoyable, fond, happy

Degree adverbs and evaluative manner adverbs/adverbials:

successfullyLinking verbs:

is BRIO, are willing,Cognitive verbs:

to feel

Positional

Textual resourcesCommunication Channel and voice Cohesiveness ThemesOne-way communication

WrittenActive voice

Anaphoric (to previous element): BRIO has been – we have successfully, we will carry on – we are willing to, we say we create – we want today’s children to gell the same way“And”: craftmandship and development = temporal, development and making life = causal, and we are willing to = temporal, and we want today’s children = temporal

Unmarked themes

LEGO I – Company profile

Ideational resourcesProcess types Circumstantials Time and

perspectiveConcept taxonomies Analysis

Action: Was launched Continue Develop Embrace Appear Play

Mental: Attracting Decide Determined To arise

Relational: Should have Should be Would have

Manner: As one way

ofPlace:

withinTime:

until the launch

in the 1980s

Role:Contingency:

for all children

by the child’s

Past tense of verbs: was launched appeared was decided should have should be would have would be

determined was seemed could be

Present: attracting develop embraces

minifigure – face

colour – yellow

sex – race – role

children – imagination ‘ play

pirate – evil – good- happy -grumpy


Would be Was Seemed Having Could be

imagination

to arise having

After-now: will continue

Perspective: completed

Interpersonal resourcesPositional vs. relationalSentence structures Modality Attitudinal lexis AnalysisDeclarative sentences Modal verbs:

Will Should Would could

Textual resourcesCommunication Channel and voice Cohesiveness ThemesOne-way communication

WrittenPassive voice

Unmarked themes

LEGO II – Press release

Ideational resourcesProcess types Circumstantials Time and perspective Concept

taxonomiesAnalysis

Action: double entered have given introduce have never

received developing explains talked

Mental: reflects attracting experience know understand been attracted would expect wanted fulfills

Relational: have never been is has been spanned have managed involved comnined

Manner: In a way that

fulfils With realistic

themesPlace:Time:

entered 2012 spanned four

yearsRole:Contingency:

with high expectations

to experience the enthusiastic welcome

Past tense of verbs: entered have never been

attracting have given have managed has been

amazing spanned involved was talked wanted combined

Future-now: would expect

Present: is to introduce explains understand mirrors fulfills

Before-now:

Perspective: Completed and

on-going

Friends – girlsGirls – LEGOPlay – toyCommunity – friendship


Interpersonal resourcesPositional vs. relationalSentence structures Modality Attitudinal lexis AnalysisDeclarative sentences Modal verbs: Qualitative adjectives:

High Very Successful Amazing Enthusiastic New

Emphasising adjectives: A lot Really

Reporting verbs: Explains

Cognitive verbs: Reflects

Textual resourcesCommunication Channel and voice Cohesiveness ThemesOne-way communication Written

Active voiceUnmarked themes

LEGO III – Progress report

Ideational resourcesProcess type Circumstantials Time and perspective Concept

taxonomiesAnalysis

Action: Build Manufacture market

Mental: Committed Caring Will inherit Inspire Enable Develop Want believe

Relational: Are Have is

Manner: for the

societyPlace:

on the world

the planetTime:

of tomorrow

in todayRole:

as a company

Contingency: of our

products for the

LEGO Group

Past tense of verbs:

Present: to inspire enable build develop manufacture market are want have live believe is

Future-now: are committed

to caring will inherit

After-now:Perspective:

on-going

Build – develop – manufactureChildren – role modelsVital – activitiesWorld - planet


Interpersonal resourcesPositional vs. relationalSentence structures Modality Attitudinal lexis AnalysisDeclarative sentences Modal verbs:

willQualitative adjectives:

VitalEmphasising adjectives:

All Most

Degree adverbs: consequently



TOP-TOY – Press release

Ideational resourcesProcess types Circumstantials Time and perspective Concept

taxonomiesAnalysis

Action: Mirror

Manner: with a toy

Past tense of verbs: has been

Synonymy:Hyponomy:

Action = narrative

Says Play Have been

criticising Have made Show Playing

Mental: Reflect Appreciate Has become Wants Acknowledge Could improve Began recieved

Relational: Is Has been Being are

kitchen with regards

to gender roles with a softgun with toys with the

positive feedback

Place: in Sweden in our markets in the Nordic

countries in real life in that respect in the Swedish

BR Toys’ catalogue

in all our Scandinavian markets

in their catalogues

Time: in the last

couple of yearsRole:

as toys for boys – and vise-versa for boys

Contingency: of Swedish

markets of children’s

play of them to the Swedish

Advertising Ombudsman

among other things

from the Swedish Ombudsman

as the gender debate

from our Swedish costumers

following has been

criticising acknowledged began

Future-now: has become could improve is implemented have been made have made will experience going forward are pleased have received

Present: reflect is to reflect appreciate wants mirror says play are doing playing

After-now:Perspective:

Meronomy

textMental = expressive (emotional) textRelational = expository

Interpersonal resourcesPositional vs. relationalSentence structures Modality Attitudinal lexis AnalysisDeclarative: Modal verbs:

couldQualitative adjectives:

new significant last

Positional

real both stereotype primarily typically all

Degree adverbs and evaluative manner adverbs/adverbials:Emphasising adjectives:

Too Very

Linking verbs:Cognitive verbs:

Criticising Acknowledge



Appendix 10: Scheme of visual analysis

Description Representational Interactive Compositional

LEGO 1 A boy is standing beside his grandmother. He has replaced her dentures with LEGO bricks.

NarrativeAction: Transactional Unitransactional:

- Actor: Grandmother

- Goal: Boy

Contact- Demand

Social distance- Medium-close

shotAttitude

- Subjective:Horizontal: Frontal Vertical: Mostly middle, partially lower

Information value- Polarised

Given: Grandmother New: Boy Ideal: Logo Real: Text in lower right corner

Salience- Minimum

Tonal contrasts

Framing

- Maximum connection

LEGO 2 A boy is playing with a LEGO helicopter, and has during the play accidentally lead out a bird from its cage.

NarrativeAction: Transactional Non-transactional:

- Actor: Boy

Contact- Demand

Social distance- Long shot

Attitude- Subjective:

Horizontal: Oblique Vertical: Middle/Equal

Information value- Centred:

Centre: Boy Margin: Bird, cage, dresser

- Polarised Ideal: Logo Real: Text in lower right corner

Salience- Medium

Tonal contrasts Primary colours

Framing


LEGO 3

A girl has planted LEGO flowers in the flower box, and thereby killed the real flowers

NarrativeAction: Transactional Non-transactional:

- Actor: Girl

Contact- Demand

Social distance- Medium shot


Horizontal: Oblique Vertical: Mostly middle, partially higher


Ideal: Creative girl Real: LEGO flowers Ideal: Logo Real: Text in lower right corner

Salience- Medium

Tonal contrasts

Framing

- A little disconnection made by the frames of the window

LEGO 4 A girl is replacing the bridal couple on top of the wedding cake with LEGO figures. A boy is standing behind her holding the bridal couple figures taken from the cake.


- Actor: Girl- Goal: Toy

charactersReaction: Non-transactional:

- Reacter: Boy

Contact- Demand



HorizontalFrontal: BoyOblique: Girl Vertical: Middle/Equal


Given: Boy + bridal couple New: Girl + LEGO characters Ideal: Logo Real: Text in lower right corner

Salience- Minimum

Tonal contrasts

Framing


LEGO 5 A boy has surrounded himself with an army of LEGO figures. He sits in the sofa looking satisfied.

NarrativeReaction: Non-transactional:

- Reacter: Boy

Contact- Demand



HorizontalFrontal: Boy Vertical: Middle/Equal


Ideal: Satisfied boy Real: LEGO characters and machines Ideal: Logo Real: Text in lower right corner

Salience- Minimum

Tonal contrasts

Framing


BRIO 1 A boy and a girl are playing with toy fire trucks, pretending to extinguish fire


- Actor: Boy- Goal: Toy- Actor: Girl- Goal: Toy

Contact- Offer



Horizontal:


Given: Boy with boy’s toys New: Girl with boy’s toys

Salience

Reaction: Transactional:

- Reacters: Boy and girl

- Phenomena: Boy and girl

Oblique Vertical: Middle/Equal

- Medium/maximumTonal contrast Colour contrasts

Framing


BRIO 2 A blond boy is playing with toy cars, while a dark haired boy is observing him


- Actor: Blond boy

- Goal: Toy carReaction: Transactional:

- Reacter: Dark haired boy

- Phenomenon: Blond boy

Contact- Offer



Horizontal:Frontal Vertical: Middle/Equal


Triptych, non-polarised Centre: BRIO toy carsNon-central: Boys on left and right side

Salience- Medium

Colour contrast

Framing- Maximum

connection

BRIO 3 A) A boy is playing with a toy train, while a girl is seen walking behind him

NarrativeReaction: Transactional:

- Reacter: Boy

- Phenomenon: Toy train

Contact- Offer

Social distance- Medium-long

shotAttitude

- Subjective:Horizontal:Frontal Vertical: Middle/Equal


Given: Playing individually New: Connection, playing together Ideal: “Connect them all” Real: Boxes with BRIO toys

Salience- Medium

Colour contrasts

Framing- Maximum

connection

B) The boy and the girl are playing together and have unified their toy rail tracks into one big rail track.


- Actor: Boy- Goal: Toy

train- Actor: Girl

- Goal: Toy house

TOP-TOY 1 A boy and a girl playing with a toy kitchen


- Actor: Boy- Goal: Pot- Actor: Girl- Goal: Sink +

vegetables

Contact- Offer



Horizontal: Oblique Vertical: Middle/Equal


Triptych, non-polarised Centre: KitchenNon-central: Children

- Polarised Given: Boy New: Girl

Salience- Maximum

Tonal contrast Size

Framing- Maximum

connection

TOP-TOY 2

A boy and a girl playing with kitchen utensils


- Actor: Boy- Goal: Pot

Reaction: Transactional:

- Reacter: Girl- Phenomenon

: Pot

Contact- Offer


shotAttitude

- Subjective:Horizontal: Frontal: GirlOblique: Boy Vertical: Middle/Equal


Given: Boy New: Girl

Salience- Maximum

Tonal contrast Colour contrasts

Framing- Maximum

connection

TOP-TOY 3 A girl at a toy cash register and a boy observing her


- Actor: Girl- Goal: Cash

registerReaction: Transactional:

- Reacter: Boy- Phenomenon

: Cash register

ConceptualSymbolic Attributive:

- Carriers: Children

- Symbolic attributes: T-shirts

Contact- Offer


shotAttitude

- Subjective:Horizontal: Frontal: GirlOblique: Boy Vertical: Middle/Equal


Given: Girl New: Boy

Salience- Medium

Tonal contrastFraming


TOP-TOY 4 A girl and a boy playing with blocks


- Actor: Girl- Goal: Blocks- Actor: Boy- Goal: Blocks

Contact- Offer


shotAttitude

- Subjective:Horizontal: Frontal: BoyOblique: Girl Vertical: Middle/Equal


Given: Girl New: Boy

Salience- Minimum

Colour contrast

Framing- Maximum

connection

Appendix 11: Scheme of persuasion analysis

Text Credibility Ultimate terms Vividness and intensity

Iconicity, indexicality and syntactic indeterminacy

BRIO – 1

‘This is BRIO’ –

Expertise:“…since the end of the

God terms:Quality products

Vividness:Concrete words:

Syntactic indeterminacy:BRIO toys bring

Company profile

1800s.”Trustworthiness:

Recognising the magic of playSupporting children’s developmentWe want today’s children to feel the same way (Happy childhood memories)

Goodwill:Making life more enjoyable for you as parents

SuccessfullyCraftsmanshipEnjoyableHappy childhood memories

Charismatic terms:MagicDevelopmentInnovation

BRIO toysEmotional language: Respect Happy childhood

memories Enjoyable

Intensity:Willing to betMagic of playCreate happy childhood memoriesMaking life more enjoyable

children together

LEGO – 1

‘The LEGO Group 2012’ – Company profile

Expertise:The LEGO Group‘Develop its position’

Trustworthiness:‘Embraces products for all children’

God termsFriendsEmbracesHappyPlayGoodNeutral

Devil terms:SexRaceRoleEvilGrumpy

Charismatic terms:Imagination

VividnessConcrete words:

FriendsLEGO productsChildrenMini-figureFaceYellowPiratesFigure

Emotional language:AttractingEmbracesHappyEvilGoodGrumpy

Iconicity:Creativity

Syntactic indeterminacy:Children will be forgiven for their actions as long as these are creative

LEGO – 2

‘LEGO Friends doubled expectations for sales in 2012’ – Press release

Expertise:‘Chief Marketing OfficerLEGO®LEGO Group Vice PresidentSpanned four yearsInvolved more than 3500 girls

God terms:Doubled expectationsFriendsEnthusiasticIntroduceRedesignDetailsCommunityFriendshipLEGO offeringRealistic themes

Devil terms:AnxietyNever been successful

Charismatic terms:NewMirrorsUnique

VividnessConcrete words:

FriendsGirlsPlay offersNew rangeLEGO playLEGO productMothersConstruction toyLEGO Friends product lineCommunity

Emotional language:High expectationsAnxietyHistoricallyExpectResponsibleUnderstandReally wantedMirrorsDesire

Intensity:High expectationsVery successfulAmazingManaged

LEGO – 3

‘LEGO Progress Report

Expertise:The LEGO Group

Trustworthiness:

God terms:ProgressCommitted


Report

2012’ – Progress report

‘We are committed to caring for the society that children will inherit’‘Inspire and enable them to build the society of tomorrow’‘Children are our role models’‘Children are our vital concern’‘As positive an impact as possible on the world’‘Quality and safety of our products is consequently a key priority’

CaringSocietyInspireEnableRole modelsPositive impactProductsServicesPlay experiencesQualitySafety

Devil terms:Vital concern

Charismatic terms:Society of tomorrowKey priority

SocietyChildrenPlay materialsTarget groupPlanetCompanyProducts

Emotional language:CommittedCaringInspireEnableRole modelsVital concernPositive impactPlay experiencesSafetyKey priority

Intensity:The society of tomorrowChildren are our role modelsVital concernThe world we live in todayThe planet that our children will inheritConsequently

TOP-TOY - 1

‘We reflect the modern way of children’s play in our catalogues’ – Press release

Expertise:Retail Marketing Director

Trustworthiness:‘To reflect the values of Swedish market’‘has been following the debate’‘wants to reflect these values’‘Not present a stereotype image’

Goodwill:‘We could improve our catalogues (…) which is what we are now doing’ ‘The customers (…) will experience, going forward, a more gender neutral approach’

God terms:Gender neutralReal lifeImproveTrainingImprovementActively playingPositive feedback

Devil terms:Stereotype imageCriticisingConservativeGender rolesComplaints

Charismatic terms:ModernValuesNewChanges


CataloguesSwedish marketSwedish customersNordic countriesToy kitchenTrainingSoft gunDoll houseToysNordic marketsSwedenScandinavian markets

Emotional language:AppreciateSignificantValuesVery pleasedPositive feedback

Intensity:‘Mirror the modern way’‘Reflect the way boys and girls play in real life’‘Mirror this pattern’‘Typically perceived as toys for boys’‘Already made similar changes’

Iconicity:Gender neutrality (except one)

Indexicality:Boys can play with ‘girls’ toys’ and girls can play with ‘boys’ toys’

Syntactic indeterminacy:Toys cannot be gender categorisedToys connect boys and girls in play

‘We are very pleased with the positive feedback’

Appendix 12: News article: The Guardian

Sweden makes my gender-free toy Christmas wish come true

With a picture of a girl with a Nerf gun, a Swedish toy retailer is arming children with the ability to

question outdated gender roles

The Christmas ad campaign by Swedish retailer Top Toy

"All I want for Christmas … is an end to the mandatory gendering of every children's toy!" Mariah

Carey didn't sing. Though if anyone could cram that many syllables into a phrase of music, it surely

is Mariah. The person singing this particular affront to seasonal pop is me, and I must have been an

awful good girl, because Santa has already given me what I want. Except, instead of being attended

by a round ruddy man in clouds of beard, my chimney has been visited by the entire country of

Sweden. Nice one!

In 2009, the Swedish equivalent of the Advertising Standards Authority sanctioned retailer Top Toy

for producing a catalogue that "preserved an anachronistic view of the sexes" and showed both

sexes in a "disparaging way". So this year, the company has responded with advertising designed to

confound every gender prejudice. Behold: a girl … with a Nerf gun! A boy … holding a doll! A girl

… in a blue T-shirt! Eat it, patriarchy.

The amazing thing is that gender roles for children have become so calcified that such petty things

can be presented as radical. Sample headline from the Daily Mail: "Dolls? They're not just for

girls", which of course relies on the voice of your inner Ukip voter shouting, "YES, dolls are just

for girls!" to get the reactionary sap rising. Has the Mail secretly signed up to a lesbo-matriarchy

where children are reared by women only? Has it gone cold on the need for fathers? It seems

unlikely, but if boys can't play at childcare, then by extension we're saying they can't grow up to

care for children.

Play is how children practice belonging to the world they've been born in. Dolls let infants rehearse

the care they'll give to their own infants in turn, and imagine themselves into the feelings of their

own parents – the ability to second-guess mum and dad being second only to the ability to destroy

expensive consumer electronics in a preschooler's skillset.

A lot of people will try to tell you that boys just don't like playing with dolls. Coincidentally, these

same people also tell any boys in their vicinity that boys don't play with dolls. It's not innate sexual

difference that makes girls and boys play either side of the pink-blue divide – it's adults constantly

impressing on their charges that one group of toys is right and the other is wrong.

This pressure can be as subtle as the involuntary "ooh!" of applause for a child picking the "correct"

toy, or it can be as blatant as the teacher from Chicago who had pupils categorise toys as boys' or

girls' for a sorting exercise, then failed an eight-year-old girl for putting most things in the "both"

column ("wish she had failed it even worse," tweeted the girl's proud, awesome dad.)

I was determined to give my first child a beginning free from gender dogma, so it was both brilliant

and slightly blindsiding when, aged three, his Christmas list led off with a baby and a buggy (I

found him one upholstered in blue, of course. The gender police have spies everywhere, even inside

me). I was helped out by the fact that I was a student at the time, and my son went to the university

nursery where a lot of the other parents were thoughtful, right-on lecturer types who raised their

children on dungarees and wooden toys.

But even thoughtful, right-on lecturer types have TV, visits to toy shops and slightly less thoughtful

and right-on family and friends: the pink pox couldn't be kept out forever. It seemed to arrive in the

space of a single week, a preschool room of stripy T-shirts and denim half-erupting in tiaras and

princess dresses. Us parents had enjoyed a good run, but our children had finally twigged that

greater forces wanted them to conform to a certain pair of types.

At first, my reaction to this was one of cynical resignation – of course we couldn't win against the

massed forces of Disney and Mattel, so why had we even tried? I've changed my mind now. You

can't resist the gender sorting hat for ever, but you can give children a start that shows them the

gender sorting hat isn't a natural and inevitable part of being human.

That's why Top Toy's catalogue is good news for Swedish kids: when someone next tries to insist

that girls play one way and boys play another, these children will have a picture in mind that tells

them otherwise. And that's why every time my second child, a girl, shoots me in the face with the

Nerf gun that she demanded for Christmas, I remind myself that this is exactly what I asked for.

Appendix 13: News article: The Atlantic

You Can Give a Boy a Doll, but You Can't Make Him Play With It

CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS

The logistical and ethical problems with trying to make toys gender-neutral

Top-Toy

Is it discriminatory and degrading for toy catalogs to show girls playing with tea sets and boys with

Nerf guns? A Swedish regulatory group says yes. The Reklamombudsmannen (RO) has

reprimanded Top-Toy, a licensee of Toys"R"Us and one of the largest toy companies in Northern

Europe, for its "outdated" advertisements and has pressured it to mend its "narrow-minded" ways.

After receiving "training and guidance" from RO equity experts, Top-Toy introduced gender

neutrality in its 2012 Christmas catalogue. The catalog shows little boys playing with a Barbie

Dream House and girls with guns and gory action figures. As its marketing director explains, "For

several years, we have found that the gender debate has grown so strong in the Swedish market that

we have had to adjust."

Swedes can be remarkably thorough in their pursuit of gender parity. A few years ago, a feminist

political party proposed a law requiring men to sit while urinating—less messy and more equal. In

2004, the leader of the Sweden's Left Party Feminist Council, Gudrun Schyman, proposed a "man

tax"—a special tariff to be levied on men to pay for all the violence and mayhem wrought by their

sex. In April 2012, following the celebration of International Women's Day, the Swedes formally

introduced the genderless pronoun "hen" to be used in place of he and she (han and hon).

Appendix 14: Own translation of text in LEGO images

On pardonne tout à leur créativité:

- Creativity forgives everything

Etes vous prêts à tout pardonner? LEGOcreativite.fr:

- Are you ready to forgive? LEGOcreativite.fr

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