Research into gender stereotypes of children shows 'feminine' males face more ...

Boys with feminine characteristics are less likely to be accepted than 'tomboy' girls, research has found.

Six in ten people agreed that it is more acceptable for a girl to be a tomboy than it is for a boy to be feminine.

A spokesman for the Fawcett Society, which commissioned the research, said: 'This finding was consistent across women and men, and across ages.

'This feeds in to the debate about 'toxic masculinity' in the light of the #metoo movement. Some 69 per cent of men aged under 35 said that stereotypes had a damaging effect on perceptions of what it means to be a man or a woman.'

The survey was conducted to address concerns that companies are continuing to use gender stereotyping to market their products, with pink for girls and blue for boys.

The Fawcett Society, which champions equal treatment and rights, is setting up a commission headed by academics and politicians to investigate the problem and try to end the stigma suffered by children who do not conform to the stereotypes.

Watchdogs have introduced new rules to outlaw the use of gender stereotypes to advertise products, such as portraying boys as daring, ambitious and career minded while girls are shown as caring or interested in looks.

At the same time, many retailers and parents themselves are keen to break the mould that boys and girls should conform to certain traditional roles in terms of behaviour and dress.

However, the survey found that 63 per cent of mothers and 60 per cent of fathers agree that product marketing reinforces gender stereotypes.

This concern is not limited to parents, with over half of women and men who do not have

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