Predetermined Gender Interests -or- Why do girls like pink?

photo from feministing.com

The question to the subject title is: because their parents made them. Same with why young boys tend to lean towards blue, red or green. It's because most people, even those that are not parents, have these preconceived notions embedded in their brains by society that girls should like pink and boys should like blue. Also, girls should play with dolls and boys should play with toy trucks. A generalization? Yes, but it is mostly true. In fact, I wrote about this on Re:Generator Magazine* based on an article posted on the UK's Telegraph news website. The opening two sentences of the article sums it up pretty nicely:

Experts have claimed that the so-called "pink plague" on the High Street is brainwashing girls and reinforcing gender stereotypes.

They claim that girls are already becoming "hooked" on the colour before the age of three and soon reject toys and clothes if they are not pink.

This doesn't help my gender growing up when some girls grow out of the pink craze and choose to pursue things that are not considered feminine. Boys will make fun of a girl who wants to play a masculine sport, or even if she wear jeans instead of shorts, skirts or dresses. I know, it's happened to me.

Introduction: Why-a hello and a-howdy

The subject of video games and its target audience seems to have become very convoluted over the years. Although still mainly a "guy thing", more and more females are getting into gaming. A lot more than when the first Ataris, Colecos, and Nintendo Entertainment Systems became popular.

According to the research group NPD, 44% of US-based gamers are female*. That's a huge jump. It's also a spit in the face of the Michigan State University study** from July that said women have less time to game than men do. Despite that, it does seem like I run into more women my age that play games in some form than I did about ten years ago, and frankly I'm impressed (not to mention ecstatic.)

I grew up with my dad and my brother, so I was surrounded by testosterone and lots of 'guy' things which included video games, womanizing, horror movies, and grunge music. I enjoyed every second of it and I'm certainly aware of how much interacting with my brother and his friends shaped me into the open-minded 25-year-old I am today.