Barbie and her manufacturer Mattel has come under fire recently for perpetuating gender stereotypes and pushing a poor body image message.

Australia’s toy industry and various domestic violence groups made numerous submissions to the inquiry, and these were made public today.

Do the toys Australian children play with — and the marketing material they consume — have a part to play in our huge domestic violence problem?

News.com.au asked a representative from both sides of the argument to put forward their case.

Like many ‘girlie’ toys, Barbie dolls are often displayed using bright pick packaging. Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty Images.Source:Getty Images

Lina, 7, gets a tour of the kitchen at the Barbie Dreamhouse Experience in Berlin, Germany. The Barbie Dreamhouse is a life-size house full of Barbie fashion, furniture and accessories. Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty Images.Source:Getty Images

FOR: Sue Phillips from Junction Australia, an organisation which provides services and housing to victims of domestic violence

If we want to fix our domestic violence problem, we have to work towards gender equality. These gendered toys are a part of that.

We have to start that national conversation. People need to get over the ‘It wasn’t like that when I was a kid’ argument and start to face the facts.

In Australia, we have more than one woman a week and one child per fortnight who is killed through domestic violence.

Women are not valued, respected and treated as equals and that allows the power, control and cycle of abuse to continue. The way toys are marketed contributes to that cycle.

We know that marketing plays a much stronger role in the development of children and our general attitudes these days than it ever has before. It’s not just about whether a kid is playing with Barbie or G.I Joe. The marketing and display of those goods is just as influential as what the product is.

When we separate the two genders in toy stores and catalogues - by saying that blue is a boy colour and pink is a girl colour - we reinforce the idea that boys play with these sorts of toys and girls play with other toys.

Seeing Barbie looking beautiful and thin in a short dress, or playing with a doll in a toy kitchen, that reinforces the idea to girls that this is what women do.

And sure, sometimes there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a girl wearing pink and loving princesses and boys wearing blue and loving trucks.

But the segregation does perpetuate those gender stereotypes, which is what this is all about – gender inequality. It’s saying that women are in a different space in terms of their influence in our communities than men are.

If you’re constantly saying to girls ‘Wear pink all day and play with these toys’, you’re perpetuating that divide.

If you’re separating out the gender and saying ‘Girls do this and boys do this’, knowing that men have more power and control in our society as a whole, what you’re doing is perpetuating the essence of domestic violence.

Gender inequality - and domestic violence - is about power and control.

In an abusive relationship, the man often comes into it absolutely believing – often without consciously realising it – that he has more power and control in that relationship.

He’s been taught that it’s OK for him to make the decisions in the family, which can escalate into also making decisions for his female partner. That can escalate to decisions about finances, who she sees, what she does for work.

If she steps outside his view of her role in their relationship - what if she wants to be more dominant? - that’s when he starts to want to control her. Because he wants to maintain his power and ability to make decisions in a relationship.

All this stuff can come down to how children are parented. How they’re valued as kids and what behaviours are instilled in them.

Subtle pink colours are injected into this Lego marketing material.Source:Supplied

Blue features heavily in this photo.Source:Supplied

AGAINST: Gabby Anderson, executive director of the Australian Toy Association

Toys are vital for a child’s development. Play is the way children learn. With a wide range of well-selected toys, children are more likely to be challenged and stimulated.

Studies find that children reach higher levels of intellectual development regardless of sex, race or social class by playing.

But a child’s behaviour is far more influenced by their family environment, school life or mass media, rather than the toys they play with. It’s too great a stretch to think there is any link between domestic violence and toys.

We believe there is an ongoing problem between domestic violence and gender inequality, and it’s definitely worth investigating. But we strongly reject any link between these behaviours and playing with toys.

You have to think about what is innate in a child and what kind of environment they’re in. If there is some sort of aggression that is innate in a family, does that influence their toy purchasing behaviours? There’s no substantial research to support that argument.

But there is, for example, some research that suggests military-style toys can help children to cope with what is happening in the world around them, rather than through outwardly aggressive behaviour.

The current concerns around the marketing of toys in general are being addressed by the industry and by retailers.

Last year, Mattel had a male actor in a Barbie ad for the first time. Toys R Us are removing the gendered labels in their catalogues. Myer and David Jones have removed the option on their online stores to shop by gender. They are responding to consumer sentiment and if they didn’t, they would be foolish.

Each retailer has to respond to different consumer requirements and demands. Some retailers don’t have separate boys and girls sections. Other mass retailers may want their stores to be different.

Often they want to make the store as easy to navigate quickly as possible, so laying out the products in a logical way can help with that.

We understand domestic violence is a huge issue in Australia, but the link between that and toys a long bow to draw.

rebecca.sullivan@news.com.au