Tony Abbott does it again, says boys shouldn't play with girls' toys

It’s no secret that Tony Abbott is likely to make the occasional gaffe- think Winkgate . Now, the controversial Prime Minister has made another heavily loaded statement that has left the gender neutral supporters fuming.

The Australian PM said that boys shouldn’t play with girls’ toys.

“Let boys be boys, let girls be girls - that’s always been my philosophy - and above all else, let parents do what they think is in the best interests of their children.”

His comment comes after the latest debate on gender-neutral toys that has been backed by Greens senator Larissa Waters. Her campaign has been gaining a lot of traction in Australia despite the PM calling it ‘political correctness’.

The campaign called “ No Gender December ” is aimed at breaking down stereotypes most parents follow by buying dolls for girls and trucks for boys. The campaign is asking people to sign online pledge saying, “there is no place for gender stereotypes under my Christmas tree”.

Abbott, who has three daughters, told Channel Nine, he did not support it. “I certainly don’t believe in that kind of political correctness,” he added.

Waters however received a thrashing in the Australian media for ’trying to ruin Christmas’. News Limited front pages went so far as to photoshop her head on a barbie doll with the headline “Greens’ War on Barbie”.

She retaliated in The Hoopla asking, “Why should kids be limited in their play because of old-fashioned stereotypes espoused through marketing?”

She also commended Britain’s " Let toys be toys campaign" and lauded seven-year-old Magiie who criticised Tesco for advertising that super hero toys are for boys.

Maggie, who is a fan of Batman, Superman, Spider Man, Wonder Woman and The Flash TV series, pointed at the sign and told her mother that Tesco was “being stupid”. Tesco was forced to remove the sign and apologised for it.

My superhero loving 7yo daughter not impressed when she spotted this sign in @Tesco today @LetToysBeToys pic.twitter.com/8F3bsRv6PK

— Karen Cole (@karlou) November 22, 2014

Waters supported her campaign by vehemently adding, “Outdated stereotypes about girls and boys, and men and women, perpetuate gender inequality, which feeds into very serious problems such as domestic violence and the gender pay gap.”

If Tony Abbott learnt anything from his previous ‘winkgate’ scandal it’s hard to say but here are some of the other controversial things he’s said over the years .

As a university student in the 1970s, Abbott wrote, “I think it would be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in a large number of areas simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons”.