‘Sexist’ cards spark outrage for suggesting 'girls' should make 'boys' sandwiches

'Did someone from the 1950s drop their cards?'

Olivia Petter
Monday 08 April 2019 11:50 BST
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(Natasha Hodgson/Twitter)

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A photograph of two greeting cards has gone viral on Twitter after one woman pointed out that they perpetuate stereotypical gender roles.

The image shows a pink card with the words: “You’re the kind of girl I’d buy flowers for” next to a blue card, which reads: “You’re the kind of boy I’d make a sandwich for.”

Artistic director Natasha Hodgson tweeted the snap on Friday, writing: “Ahh yes the two sides of heterosexuality, commerce and toil.”

The tweet has since been liked more than 19,000 times and garnered more than 4,500 retweets.

Many people responded to Hodgson’s tweet by describing the cards as “sexist” for deploying archaic tropes that portray men and women as financially and domestically servile, respectively.

“Did someone from the 1950s drop their cards through a portal to the modern day or something?” teased one person.

Another added: “What if I want to make the sandwich for my wife and have her select the flowers for me instead? Conversely, what if I wanted to cook a dinner with her? This doesn’t compute.”

Hodgson did not name the retailer in which she saw the cards.

The tweet prompted some people to respond by sharing images of other items they’d seen that reinforced harmful gender stereotypes, such as a magazine encouraging women to “wake up pretty” next to one telling young boys to “explore [their] future”.

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