A pair of children’s books spotted in a west Reykjavík book store – which advocate some outdated gender roles to children – has sparked enough confusion to prompt a statement from the publisher.
The controversy began when Soffía Gísladóttir found the books – entitled My Pink Book and My Blue Book, respectively – at a book store in west Reykjavík. Above is the photo she took of portions of both books put side by side. This photo she then uploaded to her Facebook, prompting over 1,100 Shares at the time of this writing.
As can be seen, girls are shown engaging in cooking and cleaning, while boys explore the solar system and beyond. The girl’s page, it should be noted, bears the title “Everyone Has Their Role”.
Soffía – among many others – expressed shock and confusion that, in the 21st century, there would be children’s books encouraging girls to recognise their “role” as housework, while boys were encouraged to learn more about dinosaurs and space travel.
The publisher of the books, Setberg, has responded to the public reaction, Vísir reports. Setberg says that “these books have been very popular around the world, such as in Britain, Canada and their country of origin, Australia. That is why they are being published here.”
The publishers contend further that neither book is intended for one gender or the other, but that both books can be enjoyed by girls and boys alike.
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