Necessity for Gender Neutrality in OCC

Hello Packers!

     I was planning on making a post about this for a while now and also realized that I, myself, haven't been following my own guidelines in regards to gender neutrality in my shoe boxes. (i.e. The Pink Theme and Baking Themes) I have reevaluated my box inclusions and have figured out that it is necessary for us as packers to include gender neutral items as well as colors. Let me give you my reasoning before you blast me for being that "Millennial Packer".

1. GIRLS ARE NOT THE ONLY GENDER THAT GETS GIRL BOXES

     That's right. When there is a surplus of children and not enough boxes to go to the 10-14 year old boys, the boys either end up with 5-9 boy boxes or sometimes boxes that should go to a 10-14 year old girl. I know I mentioned it before but I want to mention it again, I think it would be a bit of a downfall for a boy to receive a box full of dolls and pink sparkles. But then again, that's just my opinion. That is why we need to include a box filled with gender neutral items that can be good for both genders on the off chance that one of those girl boxes lands in a boy's hands.

2. TIMES ARE CHANGING FOR GIRLS

     There are programs all around the world that are helping girls become strong and independent women. This could be anywhere along the lines of getting a business underway, going to school, wearing pants in a dress-oriented village or simply not allowing themselves to be married at such a young age. Times are changing and that also means that opportunities are changing. Putting a ball in a box shows girls that they CAN go out and play and that they CAN do what the boys do. There are girls out there that still don't know their value and yes, although a ball can't do everything in showing a girl that: it can be a start. 

     Another thing that I noticed in some distributors' stories are how girls have found little matchbox cars in their boxes as well and play with them just like the boys do. I think that is something that we need to consider while packing our boxes because what better thing to send than something that both genders can enjoy? 

3. ADVANCE THE AMOUNT OF BOY BOXES (IN A WAY)

     With gender neutral boxes we are able to increase the amount of boy boxes or even girl boxes when it comes to distributions. Like I said in the top reasoning, a boy can be stuck with a girl's box but when it is a gender neutral box, although marked girl, we are still able to send a boy box because it is meant for both genders. So, if at a distribution there is a lack of boy boxes but they give him one of our gender neutral girl boxes, it will be like giving him his own boy box although it is marked for a girl. The same can go on the off chance there are more boy boxes than girl boxes at a distribution as well.

GENDER NEUTRAL IDEAS!!!!

     As you can tell, I'm relatively passionate about thinking of some gender neutral ideas so that both sides win with our boxes. So, here are some ideas that I'll show you in some photos. I recently bought these items and I believe they are pretty relevant in my post today. So, here we go:

So, this is an excellent example. This is a dream lite that can be put in either box as it is a rainbow colored teddy bear but lacks the color pink in its pattern. This is perfect for either gender and can be used for any age along the lines. This was found at the 99 cent store for only 99 cents and it lights up! Super fun and recommended. 

If you are considering getting a gender-neutral Dream Lite, I circled the ones that would be perfectly fine for any gender. I didn't circle the dinosaur mainly because I feel that is more along the lines of boyish rather than neutral but that is just my opinion. I wouldn't choose any pink items or any items that resemble fairy land (unicorn). But a puppy dog, teddy bear and a nice little penguin are all gender neutral and can be great choices for those non gender specific items that you want.

Erasers tend to be far too down the boy side or far too down the girl side. Basic erasers like this with no gender specific shape or color is a perfect purchase for your shoe boxes. Another thing that I think is pretty nice is a set of playing cards like these or like the ones you see at Poker games. Whichever you choose, both genders can enjoy a nice game of cards as they are usually family friendly games that are not gender specific.

Bouncy balls of all sorts are great for a boy or girl shoe box. I like these balls specifically because they are large enough to throw and catch and they also have some weight to them. They are also gender neutral colors of green, black, yellow and red.
As for the toothbrush cases, I have seen tons of cute pink cases and some really cool race car ones but for general purposes, try going for basic colors for the cases because I know the guys might not think too much about it when they get it but there might be a possibility of them getting made fun of by associates if he's the only one with a Hello Kitty Toothbrush and Case.

I know I haven't been following my own rules when it comes to gender neutrality but it is something that I want to get out there for ideas. For pencil sharpeners, I like to steer clear of any floral or heart shaped pencil sharpeners mainly because some boys might be a little bit embarrassed if they receive that (the flowers more than the hearts). Also, if you are going out for notebooks, I like to find gender neutral colors (think of all colors of the rainbow and you're fine *Yes, even purple.) If you're still a bit iffy on colors, go for a neutral legal pad or a black notebook.

Now, one of the things that I found myself concerned with was clothing. If you pack a shoe box for a girl, more likely than not you will include a pair of socks and maybe a shirt. With socks, I have no way around that as socks are pretty gender specific unless you guys are able to find non-gender specific socks. (If you have, contact me over the comments) But shirts are a lot easier to get for gender neutral colors. I found these shirts at the Dollar Tree. One is Fruit of the Loom, one is Gildan and one is Jerseez. They are all durable fabric and all are also gender neutral colors. Like I said earlier about colors of the rainbow, just go for any color you can find on a basic rainbow set. Pink might be showing up more in our boys' attire but in other countries, pink might still be considered a strictly girl color so try to get colors that would be suitable for both genders. A tactic I've used is imagining a girl wearing it first and then a boy wearing it second. If it doesn't look right on the boy, DON'T BUY IT.

I have not been following these little guidelines whatsoever but when it comes to drink ware, try to go for, again, gender neutral colors. I have had many bottles and containers that aren't gender neutral and I plan on changing that for some of my boxes as well as for next year, but try to go for some basic color bottles or cups for your shoe boxes because again, I know they are "happy to get anything" but we should also make that "anything" pretty OK for their gender.

Last but not least, Character type things for your boxes. We all love to include media in our boxes with funny characters and movie-related things. If we are going to include things like that, I try to go for things that are gender neutral. Minions are pretty neutral as long as they aren't on pink or floral designs. Other gender neutral character ideas are: Any Mickey Mouse theme, Shrek, Paw Patrol, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Curious George, Despicable Me, Legos, Spider man (yes, that works for girls), Limited Marvel merchandise, Finding Nemo, The Croods, The Flintstones, Peanuts, Barney and Friends, Winnie the Pooh, Looney Toons, Scooby Doo, Adventure Time (Although I don't think that's appropriate for children), Spongebob and many more!

     So, in my last few words of this post, we as packers should want all children to be able to get their boxes and be super happy and rather excited to get these boxes but when a 10-14 year old boy gets a girl's box, it can render the excitement at a low bar. When we include gender neutral items, we are then able to keep his excitement at a nice high which is what we are striving for along with the chance to open up their world to Christ.

Happy Packing!