This can especially happen when a gift-giver doesn’t really know the kid that well and relies on traditional go-tos. One year a—very kind, well-intentioned—extended family member bought my daughter a mini doll and her male cousin trucks. When my daughter ended up playing with the trucks the gift-giver said, with a little surprise, “Oh I wish I knew she liked trucks, that’s what I would have given her!” It wasn’t an intentional act of gender role promotion; she bought what we have been told our whole lives to buy for girls and boys. It is what we were given as children.

“Children’s wide-eyed excitement over the products we buy them pierces through our own boredom as consumers and as adults,” Peggy Orenstein writes in her book Cinderella Ate My Daughter. “It makes us feel again.” Marketers bank on the nostalgia  adults feel when shopping for children. Unfortunately it isn’t Christmas magic  that’s happening: it is perpetrating the same sexist messages.

In my case, my daughter’s favourite colour rotates between pink and purple. She prefers dresses to anything else and swoons over ballerinas. She also hates having her hair done, loves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and asks her uncle to wrestle with her. The fact that she plays princess doesn’t bother me; it is when our culture is so dead set on making princesses the only option that I take issue with. Then there is this whole macho manly man image that is sold to boys—like a two-year-old’s maleness makes him ready to go make a cabinet.

Kids are multi-dimensional, and something as simple as a Christmas gift can send them the message that they are not. It is even implied with comments like, “What are you asking Santa for this year, little girl? A dollhouse?” The kid isn’t even given a chance to say anything different. There are progressive options like Toward the Stars and Goldie Blox. However, it would be nice if these weren’t “progressive” options and we just gave our children options in the first place.

A former This intern, Hillary Di Menna writes Gender Block every week and maintains an online feminist resource directory, FIRE- Feminist Internet Resource Exchange.

Parlovr wishes you a merry Xmas.

So last week I hinted at the impending holiday season, but as each day passes it becomes more and more difficult to avoid the Christmas standards. I suppose it’s a little grinchy of me to even try to avoid them. It’s not that I don’t like the holidays, I just find this time of year stressful. Stressful and predictable. But it’s my own fault I suppose, the holidays are about checking cynicism at the door and embracing the self effacing ugly sweater attitude of the season.

That being said, as much as I love listening to Bing Crosby and David Bowie’s rendition of “The Little Drummer Boy,” I feel like there is always room to expand that Christmas catalogue. So this week on Tuesday Tracks, we look at a trio of new, unconventional nominations to the Christmas Carol Canon.

First up, “Kindle a Flame in Her Heart” by Los Campesinos, is probably the most traditional of the bunch here. The song is vaguely reminiscent of “Fairytale of New York,” perhaps for the Arts & Crafts set. Anyway, the song puts its holiday identifiers front and centre with descending winter wonderland chimes. A great addition to any Christmas mix.

Next is Moka Only. You may not hear much about the West Coast MC these days, but he’s about as prolific as it gets. In addition to releasing three albums this year, he’s also got Martian Xmas 2010 available, a tradition he has maintained every year since 2004. That’s right, Moka Only LOVES Christmas. “Canada Line” is but one of his gifts to you. Here’s to hoping we see more hip hop artists making their contributions in the future.

Finally Parlovr has decided to do a little Christmas giving of their own. The band have made available two original Christmas songs for download when you donate to avaaz.org, an organization that “brings people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.” Charitable giving and a new Christmas classic called “Spike the Eggnog”? That’s sure to grow your heart at least three sizes.

Fucked Up, winners of the 2009 Polaris Prize, this week released their cover of the seminal 1984 Bob Geldof/Midge Ure song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” and it’s pretty great. The band used part of their $20,000 Polaris cheque to bankroll the recording, and are donating the proceeds to three important Canadian charities: Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in Montreal, DTES Power of Women Group in Vancouver, and Sisters in Spirit in Ottawa. The three groups together advocate for and agitate about the hundreds of murdered or missing Aboriginal women across the country; the song is 99 cents on iTunes and will be released as a 7″ vinyl single in February, apparently.

I bought mine, and Fucked Up’s cover version of the song definitely captures some of the campy charm of the original, which has lately become a bit of a punchline because of its maudlin message, the assemblage of crazy music personae out-caterwauling one another, and the tone-deaf paternalistic/neocolonialist thrust of the whole exercise. The tongue-in-cheek approach is clearly on display, with a WTF-inducing grab-bag of guest singers including Canada’s Tegan & Sara, Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew, Yo La Tengo, Andrew W.K., comedian David Cross, and Wu Tang Clan’s RZA. “Jingle Bell Rock” this ain’t, thank goodness. Here’s wishing everyone Happy Hardcore Holidays.

Buy it: “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Fucked Up