Australian PM Blasts ‘No Gender December’

Straight-talking Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has criticised a campaign to “de-genderise” Christmas, saying organisers should just “let boys be boys, let girls be girls”.

A number of Australians have come out in support of the campaign to de-gender Christmas gift-giving, including humanities academics and Green party spokesman Larissa Waters. When asked about his opinion on the campaign, Abbott, who is already cultivating an international reputation for traditional conservative principles told local station Channel Nine: “I certainly don’t believe in that kind of political correctness.

“Let boys be boys, let girls be girls – that’s always been my philosophy – and above all else, let parents do what they think is in the best interests of their children.”

The campaign to end natural gender classifications, one of many in Anglo-sphere countries around the world is run by Play Unlimited, an Australian pressure group which is calling on parents to “take a stand against gendered marketing”. No Gender December and it’s parent group campaigns under slogans such as ‘Stereotypes Don’t Belong Under my Tree’, ‘Boys Need Feminism Too’, and ‘No Bullying Under the Rainbow’. 

Green senator Waters has heaped praise on the campaign, and scorned the “genderisation” of childrens toys, which can include the use of pink and blue, or targeting toys specifically at boys or girls. The New Zealand Herald reports that Waters said recognising natural genders in toy design damaged children, as “Setting such strong gender stereotypes at early ages can have long-term impacts”, and even causes domestic violence. 

As well as the Prime Minister rubbishing the campaign, a number of other conservative politicians joined him. Mark Coulton MP mocked the Greens for trying to ruin Christmas, remarking that if all toys were changed to fit their policies, there would be no gifts left to give. He said: “Farm sets show the terrible oppression of farm animals and we all know they should be running free – except maybe in the alpine regions.

“If the Greens are against extractive industries, intensive agriculture and paper, it doesn’t leave a lot for Christmas. Honestly, I’m glad there’s a difference between boys and girls and I’m glad that’s celebrated in the toy aisles of toy stores”. 

Senator Cory Bernardi joined in, saying: “I hope that Santa brings Senator Waters some common sense for Christmas”.

Australia isn’t the only country under pressure from campaign groups to reject the concept of gender. Breitbart London reported last month how British campaign group Let Toys Be Toys had lobbied Ladybird Books into dropping sex-distinctions from titles. The publisher vowed to drop titles like Favourite Fairy Stories for Girls and Favourite Adventure Stories for Boys, remarking: “At Ladybird we certainly don’t want to be seen to be limiting children in any way”.

Best selling boys-author Hal Iggulden, who’s best-seller The Dangerous Book For Boys sold over eight million copies was unimpressed with the move. He said: “For Ladybird to give up these titles is unfortunate, and they are doing nothing more than pandering to a vocal pressure group.

“The vast majority of boys want to read boy things, and girls want to read girl things. Gender neutrality is a ridiculous theoretical concept; gendered books don’t hurt children or restrict their development.

“This campaign is a po-faced, stale reaction”.