images revealing the shocking extent of gender stereotyping in toy shops have been posted online under the hashtag #notanaprilfools the pictures show a wide divide between the aspirations set out for girls and boys, with females offered pink beautician's outfits while males are offered doctor's uniforms products intended for infants are equally polarised, with babygros for girls emblazoned with a slogan that reads: 'i hate my thighs' the fancy dress options for girls and boys hint at very different future careers  babygros reading 'i hate my thighs' and 'i'm super' left customers in one store feeling cross  by contrast, the boy's effort offers up the much more pleasant: 'i'm super' the #notanaprilfools feed, which was launched by campaign group let toys be toys, is based on the idea that the toys are so ridiculous that they must be a joke the images sparked a furious response from twitter users, with several getting in touch to complain about the gender stereotyping bethany usher's angry tweet was typical, with the journalist writing: 'when i was little @elctoys were actually about learning now about learning gender stereotypes?' other examples included separate cookbooks, with boys getting to make gourmet burgers and giant chocolate sundaes, while girls make small pink cupcakes girls' cookbooks include recipes for delicate cupcakes, while boys are encouraged to make burgers  pink has become the colour of choice for companies marketing products for girls  many more of the boys' words evoke action and bravery whereas the girls' ones focus on looks and fluff  let toys be toys, a campaign group set up by a group of british parents two years ago, is petitioning retailers to end the practice of labelling products by gender one of the campaign's founders, tricia lowther, 46, a self employed copywriter from durham, told mailonline:  'it does bother a lot of parents, we seem to have tapped in to a huge and growing sense of frustration with the way toys are promoted according to outdated, illogical and sexist stereotypes 'i can't speak for any of the others but what pushed me to make a stand was the realisation, after my daughter was born, that gender stereotyping in children's products had become worse than when i was a child myself back in the seventies 'it's something that has become almost impossible to escape and is very limiting for children' boys will be learning to draw warriors while women draw faces and flowers  wizards and werewolves are favourite subjects for boys' books   but not for girls  many parents responded to the images of the sexist toys by posting pictures of their children playing with 'the other gender's toys' they included two girls playing with a train set, a little boy pushing a pram and a little girl covered in mud playing in the garden the campaign has gathered momentum in response to what let toys be toys describe as the increasing gender stereotyping of toys and the dearth of neutral playthings not all, however, are so keen with many parents arguing that pink and blue toys are harmless but campaigners point to the domestic nature of the majority of girls' products and say that by contrast, boys are encouraged to play with science sets, cars and action heroes but most items that relate to being domesticated are aimed at girls in contrast boys are encouraged to play with science sets, cars and action heroes not even food is immune as these differently coloured crisp packets reveal  a blue and green slide marketed at boys also roused the ire of campaigners  one mother who is throwing her weight behind the campaign is psychologist dr linda papadopoulos, 44, who told mailonline that it is essential to challenge these stereotypes 'i think any toy or any activity that dispels the idea that a girl's value lies just in the way she looks; that shows she can be more than that, that she can do more, is a positive idea 'sadly female scientists or business leaders aren't celebrated in the same way that males are, so [the launch of a range of female scientist lego figurines] is fantastic 'the younger you can get girls to see these things as the norm the better getting them to see that it's just as normal for a woman to wear a white doctor's or scientist's coat as it is for a man; that's such an important thing 'the whole idea that there is the whole idea that there is just one section for girls   the pink section   reinforces gender stereotypes 'of course, there's always going to be evolutionary differences, but so many more toys aimed at girls have to do with being pretty and looking a certain way, whereas those all about having fun and action heroes are for boys 'girls need to be seen as doers rather than passive, to subvert the objectification of women the object is someone acted upon; 'how can i make my hair curlier, my lips pinker, my eyes brighter' 'i think there's a problem here' #girlslovetrains is also a hashtag parents sharing pictures of their 'princesses' playing with 'boys' toys' #caringboys is pics of little boys playing with baby dolls and pushing them around in prams (playing dad) dr linda says any activity that dispels the idea that a girl's value lies just in the way she looks is positive 
notanaprilfools babygro
let toys be toys highlighted some of today's 'sexist' toys . started hashtag #notanaprilfools on april 1 sharing pictures online . toys include cookery books with separate foods for boys and girls . babygro for girls reads 'i hate my thighs'   the boys' one says 'i'm super'