PM Tony Abbott Angers Gender-Neutral Group With Sexist Remarks About Toys

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has retired from politics, so she could no longer question present Prime Minister Tony Abbott's outdated outlook towards gender.

Mr Abbott, known for being against same-sex marriage despite having a lesbian sister in a relationship with another female, was openly accused in Parliament by Ms Gillard in 2012 of being a misogynist.

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It is the turn of gender-neutral groups to express their rage at Mr Abbott's sexist outlook after he was quoted as saying by FirstPost, "Let boys be boys, let girl be girls - that's always been my philosophy - and above all else let parents do what they think is in the best interest of their children."

Such an outdated and conservative outlook goes against the No Gender December campaign backed by Greens Senator Larissa Waters to break the long-held tradition of Christmas gift buyers purchasing dolls for girls and trucks for boys. Part of the campaign is for supporters to sign an online pledge that gender stereotype play items has no place under their Christmas trees.

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Mr Abbott does not support the campaign, saying, "I certainly don't believe in that kind of political correctness."

A similar Let toys be toys campaign is ongoing in Britain, which Waters approved. The UK campaign features a seven-year-old British girl who likes hero figures and criticized a Tesco commercial that stated super hero toys are toys for the boys, not girls.

Waters, whose 5-year-old daughter loves toy dinosaurs and whom she wants to enjoy playing with a wide range of toys, said, "It's important to be kind and be a good person and not just play with guns and play with dolls."

An uproar led Tesco to remove the offensive sign and apologise for using the marketing pitch.

Mr Abbott's antiquated view of women dates back to the 1970s when he was a university student and he once raged losing to a female candidate for a student council position. He also then wrote that "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."