Pink: It's not for boys

Go to any toy store and you will see aisles and aisles of toys which are not gendered, but which are assumed to be for boys. And you will see separate aisles of pink toys specifically for girls.  But why are toys for girls pink?  Recently I've seen a great deal of discussion about "why pink?"  Pink is an arbitrarily chosen color.  It doesn't matter at all which color was chosen, but pink was chosen as the feminine color.

The feminization of pink does not specifically make pink toys for girls.  Rather, it is to make them not for boys.  Boys are the default human beings, and therefore can play with any toy of any color.  So long as they do not play with a feminine toy.  To play with a feminine toy is to become feminine.  And to be feminine, or "a girl" is the worst possible fate for a boy.

The end result is that toys which are made in pink are to show girls what they are allowed to do, and to show boys what girls should do.  This is the strongest possible enforcement of gender roles in children.  Typical pink toys include babies, princesses, ovens, vacuums, and fashion games.  Sometimes they allow pink microscopes and pink computers.  This simply expands the gender roles allowed for girls, rather than breaking gender roles.