Rejoice, feminists everywhere. Ding dong, the wicked pink princess is dead. Well, not quite. But almost. This week the campaign group Pink Stinks launched its conclusions a year on from its "anti-pink" crusade against the Early Learning Centre (ELC). It reports – with cautious optimism – that the pink tide seems to be receding in this year's Christmas catalogue.
At the same time, even more unbelievably, reports come from Disney that it is pulling the plug on the animated princess production line. By the age of five, apparently, little girls are now bored of tiaras and frilly dresses. The end of the road for the Disney princess? And fewer pink plastic items and boy-specific sets of armour in our stores? Surely not. Or is this a sign that pester power is finally being replaced by parent power? Or that a new movement calling itself "feminist parenting" is enjoying some success?
Abi Moore, co-founder of Pink Stinks, says her organisation has been inundated with messages from parents all over the world. "Our campaign last year was covered in 43 countries. We are constantly being asked by parents, 'What can we do?'" Parents of girls and boys alike are sick of the marketing messages and, especially, the gender assumptions children are forced to lap up.
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