Not too long ago, practically every geek on the internet was reading an article about a little girl called Katie who was bullied at school for having a Star Wars water bottle that was "for boys".In no time, a Facebook event sprang up calling for people to get their geeky pride on and wear something Star wars related on this Friday - December 10th.
Katie's mom, Carrie, posted a follow up article which I thought made a really awesome and important point - which was that we should think very carefully about how we gender label our toys and the effect that that has on children.
To that end, she suggested a really wonderful thing - which is that we each donate a Star Wars/geeky toy to a shleter/hospital/children's charity and very clearly label it as being suitable for a girl OR a boy.
If we all stop and thing about it - anyone who is in to geeky things definitely has at least a little bit of cash to spare. We go to conventions, make costumes, and buy lightsabers when we really shouldn't (GUILTY!).
So this Friday I'm heading out in my Her Universe Star Wars t-shirt and dropping my geeky gift off at the Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal - which anyone in the UK can do at their nearest Salvation Army or participating Superdrug.
You can also Google for local children's charities or your nearest children's hospital as they always appreciate donations.
Let's make an effort to get some awesome toys to kids who wouldn't have the chance to receive gifts like that otherwise, and raise a new generation of geeks while we're at it!
