The toy store that shrugged off gender norms in 1973
New trends in packaging showed boys making crafts and girls using construction toys
Barbie was still doing her thing in gold lamé hot pants and bride dolls were sold out at some stores.
But ahead of Christmas 1973, some people in the toy industry were noticing a not-so-subtle change in how toys were marketed, and how they were selling.
"If they're showing a toy [on the package] they're showing a boy and a girl playing with it at the same time," said Craig Morris, a salesperson at a toy store called Play 'n' Learn.
"The craft kits, they will show a boy with string or yarn ... making puppets, which generally wasn't done before."
Store opened in 1971
According to the Globe and Mail, Play 'n' Learn was opened in the spring of 1971 by a pair of women business partners, Carol Slatt and Ester Strasser, who created the kind of toy store they couldn't find for themselves.
"We wanted to make it possible for parents to see and buy the kinds of toys, books and games that develop skills," they told a reporter for the newspaper.
"The store does not carry war toys or toys that operate on batteries," noted another story, which described Slatt and Strasser as "housewife-partners."
The store's other emphasis was quality books, which parents appreciated.
"Books, much more so than toys, are becoming a point of concern for parents," said Morris. "And people will actually ask for books ... that don't have sex roles."
Gender-neutral doll
A child was shown taking a doll with short hair and wearing jeans and a black turtleneck out of its box.
"An English firm has produced a doll that both boys and girls can be friendly with," said reporter Trina McQueen. "And it is selling very well."
Earlier in the report, the camera showed a shelf full of Malibu Ken figures.
"Dolls for boys are a major item," McQueen noted. "Even though they are overwhelmingly masculine and the word 'doll' is never used."
It had already become "routine" for parents to buy trains, trucks and fire engines for their girls. But there was a sign that girls weren't the only ones whose parents wanted a break from sex stereotyping.
"One toy store says that this Christmas, for the first time, they've sold a dollhouse for a little boy," she said.