Every time I stroll through the aisle of Wally World it is a brand new experience. I see people from every demographic. The questionable ensembles, unique and sometimes scary combinations of grocery items in a cart and the intriguing snippets of conversations I hear walking by other shoppers, are all descriptions of American culture. I am particularly struck by the products actually sold at the store. What do things like electric toothbrushes, duck dynasty boxers or sexy birthday cards say about modern society?

I have always been interested in the toy aisle. It is hard to miss the bright blue and pink aisles as you walk past. The blue aisle has trucks, superhero figurines and dinosaurs, while the pink aisle has dress-up clothes, fake makeup and jewelry and baby dolls. One aisle is for boys the other for girls.

At the University of Mississippi (hotty toddy) I took several anthropology classes. In a nutshell, Anthropology is the study of people: past and present. It covers everything from archeology to modern cultures. One of the most intriguing aspects of this for me was studying gender roles in various societies. So, I like to look at the blue and pink aisles from an anthropological stance. What do these supposedly boy and girl aisles tell us about American culture?

We have pink and blue. At some point our society gave colors to genders and all toys are branded with a gender label. With this, we tell kids which color they should choose and so dictate which toys and games they are allowed to play with. Little girls are allowed to play house with baby dolls, fake food and kiddy make-up, boys are allowed to play scientist or construction man with dinosaurs and building blocks.

From an early age, we are priming children for what they should do as adults. Girls can do girl things like be housewives, nurses or teachers and boys can do boy things like be scientists, doctors or engineers. I am not saying that this applies to everyone or that everyone adheres to this assignment. I know female scientists, such as my mom and male teachers, such as my favorite middle school English teacher. I am also not downplaying the importance of any of these roles. My point is that we push children into certain roles, and it’s unfortunate that so many women can’t escape them.

One of my Anthropology teachers went into a rant about not being able to find her children gender neutral items. She was kind of funny about the whole thing, but it is sadly true. Very few toys, baby clothes or any other child specific items are colors other than blue or pink.

We can see the possible effects of this labeling in our society. As an example, an unacceptably low percentage of women are going into STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Although this is gradually improving, women are still vastly underrepresented in these prestigious areas. Why? I will make the leap to say that it may have something to do with those pink and blue aisles at Wally World.

Women are underrepresented in STEM, paid less than men, are thought of as the primary homemakers and many times just a jumble of sex parts to gawk at. This of course is a very broad view of our culture, but you’ll have to just take my word that there are thousands of studies to support these conclusions from various research institutions across the world.

The tides are turning, and I know everyone reading this is now thinking of at least ten examples of women who are dominating their fields. The push needs to continue throughout communities, schools and politics.

Let me make something clear; I would never want to insult a stay-at-home mom or woman choosing another traditional female role. I personally would not choose the path of a stay-at-home mom, but guess what? That mom gets to make her own choice about what she wants to do with her life. That’s the whole point. Women should be making their own choices about life and should be unconfined by those blue and pink aisles.

I am ready to see internationally renowned American females in STEM fields who are making the same pay as men (not the average $4,000 less), and if they want, they should be able to wear their high heels while doing it without losing the respect of male counterparts. Let’s encourage girls to move toward the future and integrate those gender roles.

It will take a conscious effort for me to shop for my future children. I’m sure I’ll be mocked for buying my daughter hot wheels (my favorite childhood toy of all time) and my son ballet slippers, but I will try my hardest to let them choose their path, with all the options laid out before them. I hope in my house that pink and blue will no longer be associated with a specific gender. It may take Wally World a while to catch on, but one day maybe they will make a purple toy section.