Why is it that people seem to think that girls will only be interested in dinosaurs if they are offered pink dinosaur toys?
Despite the fact that kids of all ages and genders are fascinated with the sheer size and awesomeness of dinosaurs, it is still assumed that it is only boys who want dinosaur toys.
What makes this whole pink dinosaur toys for girls even more ironic is that the history of the study of dinosaurs is studded with brilliant women. One of the most famous palaeontologists was a woman called Mary Anning.
Long before most people knew what a palaeontologist was Mary Anning was fossil hunting on the Dorset coast. She is mainly known for discovering the remains of 2 dinosaurs, the Ichthyosaur and the Plesiosaur, and for finding the first Pterosaur outside of Germany.
Born in 1799 in a time when society still assumed that women were illiterate and certainly not interested in things like science, Mary Anning first became interested in dinosaurs when she started selling fossils to tourists to make money after the death of her father. By the time she was in her 20s her ability to spot fossils had led to her discovering the Plesiosaur and and she also figured out that coprolites were fossilised dung. She became famous in her lifetime for her immense knowledge of fossils, and her comprehensive fossil collection. Charles Darwin even mentioned her work in his book “On the Origin of Species” She also inspired the rhyme "she sells sea shells by the sea shore."
She died in 1847, an undisputed “geological lioness” who was later given the epithet of the greatest fossilist the world has ever known
Other famous female palaeontologists include Zulma Brandoni de Gasparini who led the team that discovered the Gasparinisaura, which was subsequently named after her.
In fact there are a few Dinosaurs named after women scientists. The massive 250-pound Sarahsaurus is a dinosaur named in honour of Sarah Butler who funded numerous dinosaur exploratory expeditions. It is known for having very strong, flexible hands, with prominent claws.
There is also the Trinisaura, a four foot long dinosaur named after the geologist Trinidad Diaz which lived in Antarctica, and the Leaellynasaura, named after the daughter of the palaeontologist Dr Patricia Vickers-Rich, another dinosaur that lived in the far south. It had very large eyes due to living for long stretches in the Antartic darkness and cold.
Another brilliant palaeontologist is Dr Karen Chin, a paleontologist and ichnologist who found the first fossilized T. rex dung that contained bits of Triceratops frill in it.
Science is filled with women palaeontologists and scientists so why shouldn’t girls be as interested in dinosaur toys as boys? We are not saying that there shouldn’t be pink dinosaur toys, we have a lovely pink diplodocus rattle, but we don’t think dinosaurs should be drawn in to the pink for girls, blue for boys trap. Children love dinosaurs, and they love dinosaur toys. We have dinosaur toys in red, blue, orange and green ones too! Girls do not need to have things in pink to interest them in the same way that boys do not need to have things in blue before they want them.
We agree with the kids, Dinosaurs are fascinating! What do you think? Interesting or just big and old?! We have a Facebook page for anyone who loves them as much as we do, so come and join the debate.
