Action figure essay

[soc_puppet]

Girls Who Kick Butt and Toys That Don’t: Mixed Messages in Plastic and Play
By socchan

Everyone’s familiar with the pink aisle/blue aisle mentality in toy and department stores; having spent an inordinate amount of time browsing the shelves myself, I am certainly no stranger to the system. So it was with low expectations that I approached the action figure aisle of the blue section months ago – not expecting, or even hoping feebly for, any female characters from my favorite show to be represented in plastic.

Unfortunately, my expectations were not low enough. While I was ultimately un-phased by the three different versions of the main character available, and pleasantly surprised to see an elderly minor character, the presence of a nameless, faceless cannon fodder soldier beside them left me speechless with shock and frustration.

The fact that a toy company would mass-produce so indistinguishable and unimportant a character before even considering one of the female leads speaks volumes about our society – and not flatteringly. It says that we value any character, no matter how small a role he plays, as long as he is male. It says that, even though we can acknowledge that girls will watch television shows targeted at boys, we don’t think they will buy toys for the same series. In fact, we don’t think they would be interested in action-oriented toys at all.

“The sad fact of the matter when it comes to marketing ‘strong female characters’ is that they’re either a) in a ‘boys show’ and therefore considered moot for putting out merchandise, or b) marketed incorrectly,” says children’s librarian and media specialist A. “Take for example Kim Possible, a show that is about a kick-ass female who saves the world on a daily basis while the co-star (the ‘lead male’ if you will) is nothing more than comic relief and often is the ‘damsel in distress’ that Kim must save.”

And yet, A goes on to explain, most of their main line of merchandise is marketed with more traditional female roles in mind. Of five play sets with four inch figures, the closest things available to action figures, only one of these is taken from one of Kim’s missions; in addition, all of them manage to sneak in a hair brush and other accessories.

“Part of the appeal of the show is that Kim is a strong, kick-ass female who just happens to be a normal high-school cheerleader. The marketing focuses on the ‘girly’ aspects and ignores the main concept – that girls can kick ass too. Just proof that it isn’t only the marketers for ‘boy’s shows’ that have ‘girls that kick ass’ marketing problems,” A points out.

Toy stereotypes even stretch beyond the boundaries of stores and into the fast food market. When you go to your favorite fast food restaurant and order a kids’ meal, you’re usually given the choice between a “boy toy” and a “girl toy” to go with it. The “boy toys” are usually inspired by an action show or movie or by a line of toys already marketed for boys – toy cars for example. The “girl toys” can also be inspired by currently successful movies and television shows, but they’re usually on a different slant – they feature the princesses, the fairies, the ponies and butterflies; occasionally there’s even make-up and jewelry.

There’s a clear distinction between perceived gender preferences, and even clearer pressure over which a child should choose. When presented an option between a “boy toy” and a “girl toy”, most children will pick the one that coincides with their gender; to pick the other toy makes them less a ‘girl’ or ‘boy’ and more the opposite, something still heavily frowned upon in our society.

Laura Dallal, a Toronto mother of three, shared her experience with the subject. “Another time […] it is my daughter who has to make the tough choice. It is between Micky Mouse or Minnie Mouse. Mickey was the ‘boy toy,’ Minnie was the ‘girl.’ Lindsey picked Minnie, of course. But if the question had been, ‘Would you like Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse?’ she would probably pick Minnie one time and Mickey the next.

“What a concept,” she concludes. “Toys that come with a message that you’re okay, whatever toy you choose.”

Perhaps it’s simply the age of the potential buyers that concerns marketers, though. A number of run-away hit movies and television series have action figures for female characters as well as male characters. “I’d use the example of Star Trek figures they had out […] where they literally made figures for any significant (and some not so significant) characters,” sci-fi fan and media critic K told me – and she has the photos to back it up. “They made the women and some that only appeared on occasion (or died later!). But Star Trek has its own fan base and, despite the fact that the figures were in the ‘toy’ section, I suspect more adults bought them [than children]. The collectors would want to be able to collect all of them and the neglect of the women would have created backlash.”

Female action figures were also put out for Star Wars and Ninja Turtles. “I was an avid action figure buyer of Ninja Turtles especially and I bought all the different variety of characters, including April O'Neal, the persistent reporter and source to the Turtles,” student and longtime children’s show fan G recalls. Looking back, she’s surprised they even made one at all. “But my next door neighbor, a boy named Ryan who was a year my junior, had about as many Turtle figures as I had... except April. He instead had Casey Jones, the masked vigilante wielding bats and hockey sticks.” And what did April come packaged with? “Erm, I believe it was a microphone and camera. Imagine my surprise when I watched the Ninja Turtles movie that came out last summer; April can actually fight? Where the heck have I been?!”

Despite leaps and bounds made in portrayal of female characters in the media, we still lag far behind where we could ideally be, and this is reflected in the toy industry. While television shows with strong female roles can start the fight against sexism at an early age, lack of representation in play will continue to make the process one of one step back for every two steps forward. Learning, after all, begins with the smallest things at the earliest stages, and the messages we introduce to children now will become the societal norms of tomorrow. The sooner strong female characters start appearing in the pink and blue aisles, the sooner the lesson will be learned that women are valuable people too.



Dallal, Laura. "Kids Get Served Stereotypes," the Toronto Star. Posted 12/10/05, viewed 9/20/07. Newspaper.

Interviews from this post used. (Sorry I couldn't fit everyone in! Believe me, I wanted to, and I may yet if I get the chance.)

Pictures are used here, since I couldn't get the text to wrap right.




I'm not entirely satisfied with the end results, but it'll do for an assignment. Hopefully I'll be able to expand on it again for class. If not, there's always free time.