Science & Tech2 min(s) read
Girl, 7, calls out Nintendo over 'Pink Tax' after realizing female characters' clothes cost more
A mom has shared the letter her seven-year-old daughter wrote to Nintendo after she realized clothes for female characters cost more than the male characters'.
Taking to Facebook last month, mom Ashley - who is also the author of the mindful parenting blog Raising Brain - revealed in a post that she was playing Animal Crossing on the Nintendo Switch with her seven-year-old and "extremely socially conscious" daughter.
However, while her daughter was purchasing a new outfit for her character in the game's 'Nook Shop', Ashley reveals that her child noticed the "gender price differential of goods" in the shop.
The mom adds that her child is "unknowingly picking up on a real-world problem referred to as the Pink Tax" - the name given when products aimed at women are inexplicably more expensive than the same products targeted at men (such as razors).
Ashley writes: "Confused, she asked me why her brother doesn’t have to pay as much for the Mario outfit/shoes as she did for the Peach outfit/shoes? I really didn’t have an explanation for this other than maybe because it was more fancy?"
"She wasn’t buying it," the mom adds. "Because this was the only Mario Bros themed dress option in this shop, and she was a bit upset at the unfairness."
The mom then reveals that her daughter "paused the game, grabbed her pen and paper", and started writing a letter to the game creators.
"She said she hopes they will take her very seriously because she hates writing, but really felt she had to do this for all the other children who felt the same way," Ashely adds.
The girl's letter is addressed to Nintendo, and asks why Mario's outfit costs so much less than Princess Peach's.
"Plz! Fix this," the letter ends.
After sharing the letter to Facebook, Ashley's daughter was praised by fellow social media users.
"This made me smile so much!! I can only hope my daughter reacts the same way to things when she notices stuff like this as well," one person replied.
A second added: "This is great! Thank you for supporting your daughter. She saw an injustice in her world and wanted it explained or fixed."
Ending her post, Ashley urged all parents to "encourage [their] children to speak up for what they see as a problem. Help them spell, help them find the right contacts. They will do great things for this world.
"One small note written by one small person, making such big awareness alone is invaluable."