Toy stores have traditionally divvied up their stock by gender, each aisle a sea of blue or pink. Making progress toward more gender-neutral options for kids (both in terms of toys and clothes) has been slow. But here's a lovely dose of it's-about-time news: An ad by Irish toy company Smyths Toys features a boy dressed up as a princess, The Gaily Grind reported.
In the video, "Oscar" explores a toy store and ends up riding a motorcycle, flying in space, and sitting on a throne as a queen. So, basically, he likes "boy things" and "girl things." He and Adele's son, Angelo, have that in common: Angelo dressed up as Anna from Frozen for a trip to Disneyland earlier this year.
And what makes this ad even better is Oscar's rendition of Beyoncé's "If I Were a Boy" narrating the scene (his version: "If I were a toy"). There's an adorable twist at the end, too, which we won't give away.
Even though this shouldn't be all that newsworthy, it is. Because while it's become more acceptable for girls to be "tomboys," there's still a stigma against boys dressing in "girls' clothes," and really far to go before gender is removed from things like clothing and toy choices, period. Ads like this help us break from that outdated approach. With progressive depictions like this one, and more stores ending gender segregation in their toy aisles, we're hopeful that the arbitrary and unnecessary gendering is coming to an end.
And, hey, maybe that means more kids will feel comfortable dressing up in whatever costumes they want this Halloween.