THE Greens, so often teetering on the brink of self-parody, may have finally toppled over the edge.
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By making a causal link between boys playing with Tonka trucks and domestic violence later in life, the left-leaning party has given a political free kick to its rivals and alienated a legion of potential voters.
Adding her voice to the “No Gender December” campaign yesterday, Greens Senator Larissa Waters claimed outdated stereotypes about boys and girls perpetuated gender inequality.
And she’s probably right.
But by going on to say those stereotypes fed into “very serious problems such as domestic violence”, Ms Waters is taking a dangerous leap of faith.
Of course, trying to explain the complexities of gender stereotypes in a soundbite-driven, outrage-fuelled media environment was never going to be easy.
And, not surprisingly, the comments were grist for the tabloid mill, with shock jocks and Murdoch journos yesterday hyperventilating in outrage.
Australians have a hair-trigger sensitivity to being force-fed political correctness, and on social media the spittle-flying fury continued.
Yes, traditional gender roles are shifting and, as such, children should be exposed to different types of toys.
But suggesting parents should “boycott Barbie” and give children only gender-neutral toys this Christmas is ridiculous and wrong.
There’s a reason most small boys gravitate towards toy guns and most girls prefer fairies and princesses, and it’s not all about social conditioning.
It’s called human nature.
Men and women may not be as different as we once thought, but there are still fundamental differences that are hardwired into humanity.
And there’s nothing wrong with that.
The Greens are an authentic and important voice on issues that have lurched dangerously to the right in the public debate, such as asylum seekers and drug policy.
But on this issue, they appear to be pandering to minorities just for the sake of it. And if they keep it up, there could be a boycott of a different kind at the next election.