The Dangerous Post for Gender Stereotyped Kids' Products

I was thinking about reading The Dangerous Book for Boys because it looked interesting. What kind of activities did the British authors recommend? Fox hunting? Poking bunnies in the face with sticks? Actually, I guess rabbit-poking is not terribly dangerous, as the little beasts tend to run away rather than fight back, but it seems like something that a manual written to get boys back in touch with their masculine side might suggest. After all, petting cute furry animals gently is for sissies and girls.

My curiosity about the book never got me to the point of reading it, though. I am just too peeved at the notion that these activities (like tying knots) are "for boys." If this was not a clever publicity ploy, I don't know what is. Title a book that has basic fun kid activities as "for boys" instead of "for children," sit back, and watch the ensuing furor. Conservative pundits can talk about how we are finally recognizing that "boys will be boys" (maybe date rape is an activity?) and feminists like me can moan and groan about how much we hate assholes. It's a win-win-win situation!

I blathered more about the book and Tonka trucks (their new slogan: "Built for Boyhood") over at BlogHer.