I remember hearing about this over winter break and thought
it tied perfectly into our class discussions of gender stereotypes and identity.
This past December, a teen girl asked Hasbro to create a more gender-neutral
color for the popular toy, Easy Bake Oven. Her four-year-old brother who was
interested in cooking complained that the pink or purple floral print ovens
were only for girls. The teen sister also asked that Hasbro include boys in its
Easy Bake Oven advertisements. Her petition received more than 40,000
signatures and she was taken into Hasbro to see a new black and silver model
that has apparently been in the works for 18 months.
After reading this story, I found an Easy Bake Oven
commercial from 2011 that made me cringe a little especially after our discussions in class. (Please View!!) There are no boys like
the teen girl had mentioned, a mom is in the background, everything in sight
is pink or purple and all the girls are
dancing around the kitchen while they bake.
It seems
to me like this commercial draws a solid line between girls and boys. And, as
we’ve discussed, drawing a concrete line like that puts a lot of pressure on
what it means to be “masculine” or “feminine” in today’s society. Harp, Loke
and Bachmann in First Impressions of
Sarah Palin: Pit Bulls, Politics, Gender, Performance and a Discursive Media
(Re)contextualization, touch on this point when they critique Bem’s Gender
Schema Theory. The authors state, “Gender schema theory explains how girls and
boys exposed to cultural definitions of maleness and femaleness – embedded in
discourse and social practices – will identify with them” (293). What is this commercial saying to boys who are interested in cooking?
Or girls who aren’t interested in pink
things, cooking, dancing, makeup, etc.? Or children struggling with their sexual identity
and what society says they “should” or “shouldn’t” be interested in?
While some of its past commercials and marketing strategies
are obviously cringe-worthy, I think Hasbro is taking a step in the right
direction by making this toy in various colors and marketing
to both boys and girls. I also think it’s great to see a girl take a stance on
this issue at such a young age. What do you all think?
I am very impressed with the young boy for speaking out about wanting the Easy Bake oven despite its specific gender target. I am also very impressed with his sister for also speaking up about it and raising support from people across the country/world about gender-biased toys. Although a more male-oriented Easy Bake Oven was already in development, it is positive that awareness was raised regarding this issue. There are many toys that are seen as "boy" toys and "girl" toys, and are colored in a way to depict that orientation. However, it is clear that many girls play with boys toys and vice-versa. The children's toy industry needs to take responsibility and step past outdated gender stereotypes and market their toys so that they can be appreciated by both genders without the children worrying about negative comments from peers and family.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little girl, I played with Barbies but I preferred Legos and toy cars. My parents were very supportive and never told me I should stop playing with "boy toys". I am thankful for their acceptance of me and how I liked to express my interests as a child. Many people aren't as lucky as I was, and taking away strict gender identifiers on toys will help children be able to express themselves and their imagination without discrimination.
Like Lisa, I grew up in a house where Barbies and Legos were played with interchangeably by both my younger brother and myself.
ReplyDeleteThis past Christmas when I asked my 4 and 7-year old nieces what they wanted for Christmas they excitedly told me about Lego Friends. Being out of the U.S. toy loop for a few years, I had to Google what that actually meant, and was shocked to find pink and purple Legos targeted specifically at young girls. I was torn about whether to indulge my nieces in something that seemed a little sexist with ‘Andrea’, ‘Emma’, ‘Mia’, ‘Olivia’ and ‘Stephanie’ all wearing miniskirts and going to the salon. But then I noticed some of the other sets- Stephanie plays soccer, Emma does karate, and there’s even a convertible you can work on. While I think it doesn’t promote the greatest sense of equality by floral-izing the pink and purple sets, it’s really cool that there are little Lego lady role models out there.
My nieces play with both their new sets and build some pretty stellar structures with all of the old gender-neutral Legos I had growing up. One can’t refuse little girls (or little boys) toys that fall into gender stereotypes just because it seems to promote certain gender roles. In this day and age, kids will ultimately be exposed to both, and it’s up to them to see what they like and don’t like to play with. And with my nieces’ younger brother starting to play with them, I have no doubt that he’ll be just as excited to have ‘Olivia’ build a giant Lego house.
As far as the Easy Bake Oven is concerned, that commercial was ridiculous! The pink apron-clad girls made me laugh out loud. I think the shift toward baking as a gender-neutral occupation and leisure activity definitely encouraged Hasbro to think that marketing this toy to boys would be profitable. Too bad it’s taken so long to get to this point, but better now than never.
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ReplyDeleteIn 1972, Marlo Thomas released a record titled Free to Be… You and Me, which was a collection of songs and stories exploring themes of gender neutrality, individuality, tolerance and identity.
ReplyDeleteOne of the tracks on the record was titled, William Wants a Doll and told the story of a young boy named William who asks his parents for a toy doll. Because of his request he was teased by his friends and family, so his father and mother buy him all types of toys that they believe are more appropriate for a young boy, mainly sports equipment. In the end William’s Grandma purchases a doll for her grandchild and explains, “that when William is older he will be much a better parent because of the toy.”
Free to Be… You and Me was a ground-breaking record and really challenged the cultural norms and stereotypes of the time. I grew up listening to this record (thanks to my mom) and I would definitely recommend checking out the entire album.
William Want a Doll
http://www.refinery29.com/little-girl-complains-pink-toys-video
DeleteI love this topic and have to actively think about it quite often. Above is a video of a pretty astute little girl explaining that some girls like super heroes and some boys like princesses, but that 'they are trying to trick us into wanting pink toys'. If you haven't spent much time in the toy aisles it's worth a detour the next time you go to Target or even make a special trip to Toys 'r Us (I hate getting gift cards for that store because the closest one is in the deep suburbs:( ). Anyways, the way the stores are laid out themselves creat a lens and an experience for boys and girls that is segregated, the space itself is mediated by companies and corporations that push gender stereotypes and 'norms' so that it's very easy to not even expose a child to 'opposite gender' toys. The very store layout create a dichotomy, a binary of different and the other that makes it odd for a boy to be in the girl aisle. I might add that the stereotypes are much stronger against boys. In a way the feminist move,net has empowered women to act more like boys, to work hard like men, 'creating the 'bitch syndrome) but society has not empowered men to embrace their femininity or to even admit they have feminine attributes. The risk for boys is to be considered a sissy, but a girl playing with Legos or action figures is 'cool' and a sigh. Of self confidence and being outside the box. Men are not treated equally I this regard.
As an 8 year old I refused to play softball in the girls league because softball was for sissies and I wanted to be tough and cool like my brothers. I was consequently the only girl in the all boys hardball league. The next year I decided to join the girls because they boys had not taken so kindly to me like my brothers might have. As a result, my parents were called by 2 or 3 coaches asking if they would help 'coach' so that I would automatically be on their team...thinking I was surely a good player of I'd played with they boys. Now, if my brother had joined the girls team, which I think would have been met with a lot more resistance than me playing ona boys team, I do not think the coaches from hardball, the boys league would have been calling my
Parents to recruit.
Unfortunately,I think these gender stereotypes continue to impact boys and girls in an imbalanced way and that feminism has created some inroads for female and girl empowerment, while boys continue to cling to traditional masculinity and there is more fear from parents around boys playing with 'girl' toys than there is about girls playing with 'boy' toys.
http://www.refinery29.com/little-girl-complains-pink-toys-video
DeleteI love this topic and have to actively think about it quite often. Above is a video of a pretty astute little girl explaining that some girls like super heroes and some boys like princesses, but that 'they are trying to trick us into wanting pink toys'. If you haven't spent much time in the toy aisles it's worth a detour the next time you go to Target or even make a special trip to Toys 'r Us (I hate getting gift cards for that store because the closest one is in the deep suburbs:( ). Anyways, the way the stores are laid out themselves creat a lens and an experience for boys and girls that is segregated, the space itself is mediated by companies and corporations that push gender stereotypes and 'norms' so that it's very easy to not even expose a child to 'opposite gender' toys. The very store layout create a dichotomy, a binary of different and the other that makes it odd for a boy to be in the girl aisle. I might add that the stereotypes are much stronger against boys. In a way the feminist move,net has empowered women to act more like boys, to work hard like men, 'creating the 'bitch syndrome) but society has not empowered men to embrace their femininity or to even admit they have feminine attributes. The risk for boys is to be considered a sissy, but a girl playing with Legos or action figures is 'cool' and a sigh. Of self confidence and being outside the box. Men are not treated equally I this regard.
As an 8 year old I refused to play softball in the girls league because softball was for sissies and I wanted to be tough and cool like my brothers. I was consequently the only girl in the all boys hardball league. The next year I decided to join the girls because they boys had not taken so kindly to me like my brothers might have. As a result, my parents were called by 2 or 3 coaches asking if they would help 'coach' so that I would automatically be on their team...thinking I was surely a good player of I'd played with they boys. Now, if my brother had joined the girls team, which I think would have been met with a lot more resistance than me playing ona boys team, I do not think the coaches from hardball, the boys league would have been calling my
Parents to recruit.
Unfortunately,I think these gender stereotypes continue to impact boys and girls in an imbalanced way and that feminism has created some inroads for female and girl empowerment, while boys continue to cling to traditional masculinity and there is more fear from parents around boys playing with 'girl' toys than there is about girls playing with 'boy' toys.