Gender

The Princess Problem

Our good friends at Women You Should Know put together this nice little interview with political cartoonist/illustrator David Trumble who partnered with Dr. Rebecca Hains, the author of the book The Princess Problem.

“I figured if I could sum up what was wrong with the face of girls’ marketing today in one succinctly satirized image, it might make it easier for us to admit how we fail. And sometimes the best way to reveal something is to provide a fresh look at what’s already right in front of our eyes.

…

The Princess Problem is certainly a complex issue, but thankfully we don’t have to look too far to see it; It’s right in front of us on every shelf, emblazoned in sparkly, hermetically sealed, perfect pink packaging. A litany of stereotypes defining the standards of how girls are supposed to look and behave, with a startling lack of racial diversity to boot. And we can’t look away, because it’s the whole aisle.

–David Trumble

Mixing illustration, photography and ideas, Trumble created a striking image that manages to convey The Princess Problem in a single glance.

The Princess Problem
The Princess Problem

Read all of Women You Should Know’s exclusive interview with Trumble here.

Costumes So Cute, It’s Scary

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We went to the local Halloween superstore for some supplies. While we were browsing, my wife Patti noticed they had a “Boys Career” section, complete with doctor, fireman and astronaut costumes.

We thought it would be interesting to compare the boys’ choices with the choices the girls were given in their career section. Would the girls get equivalent options? Or would they be offered nurse, secretary and cheerleader instead?

Halloween_Boys AisleThe good news is that I was wrong. The girls were not saddled with nurses and secretaries as their only career paths. The bad news is there was no “Girls Career” section at all. None.

They did, however, have an entire section – I am not making this up – labeled “Flutter Fairy”. This was separate from the regular fairy section. I’m guessing because there is more “fluttering” involved.

What message does that send to girls about who their heroes are? About whom they should aspire to be?

Looking more carefully at the costumes, we compared the “Boys Fright” section the “Girls Fright” section. The boys were given some truly terrifying options. Freddy Krueger, Jason, Bloody Skeleton, and more.

Over on the girls’ side, there was literally nothing that was legitimately scary. From “Feisty Fairy” to a tutu-clad “Zomberina”, real terror was in short supply.

I mentioned it to Patti, “None of these costumes are scary in any real way. They all are cute.”

Halloween_Girls Aisle 2A passing employee chimed in, “Most of the scary costumes involve a mask. Girls don’t like to cover their face.”  She added helpfully, “They want people to see them.”

The superheroes aisle was not much better. Spider-Girl wore a tutu and had a “princess wand”. Batgirl was clad in head to toe HOT PINK. There were dozens of choices to help a girl look cute. But what if she wants to look tough? What if she wants to look scary? What if she wants to look professional?

It was easy for me to draw a line in my mind connecting row after row of costumes that tell little girls that the only thing that is important is that they look “cute” to the row after row of costumes that tell young women that the only way society values them is if they look “sexy”.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love the spookiness, the costumes and the creativity. I’ve dressed up in everything from silly, to creative, to scary. Hell, if I could pull off sexy, I might go for that, too – but I really appreciate the fact that when I go to the store, I have other choices.

I hope that someday my girls will be able to say the same.

The Trouble with Barbie

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I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with Barbie. As a male, she represented the “pink” aisle — a literal “no man’s land” in the toy department where most boys fear to tread. As a father, she epitomized a package of narrow, rigid gender stereotypes that I was afraid would limit my girls’ choices rather than broaden their horizons.

The record of how Barbie has been merchandised to girls is spotty at best. From her unrealistic body image, to the book “How to Lose Weight” that was included in the 1963 version. (The advice given? “Don’t eat.” It also came with a scale permanently set at 110 lbs.) Or the 1992 version that perkily exclaimed, “Math is hard!” Or the 2009 “Totally Tattoo Barbie” that came with two tramp stamps — one for Barbie, and one for the little girl who bought her.

Over and over again, Barbie has stuck a bubble-gum-pink high-heel in her mouth, sending bad messages to little girls wrapped in a cheerful “girl power” package. Sure, she showed girls that they could be doctors or astronauts — but only if they were also 5’9″ blonde Amazons with flawless makeup and breasts the size of volleyballs.

Psychology professors Aurora Sherman of Oregon State and Eileen Zubriggen of UC Santa Cruz shared many of the same reservations about Barbie. The wanted to investigate how playing with sexualized dolls affected young girls. But rather than focusing on how it affected their body image, as many studies have done before, Sherman and Zubriggen studied how the dolls affected their career aspirations.

From the press release regarding the study:

Thirty-seven girls between four to seven years old from an Oregon college town were randomly assigned to play for five minutes with either a sexualized Doctor Barbie or Fashion Barbie doll, or with more a more neutral Mrs. Potato Head doll. The girls were then shown photographs of 10 occupations and asked how many they themselves or boys could do in the future.

The girls who played with a Barbie doll – irrespective of whether it was dressed as a fashion model or a doctor – saw themselves in fewer occupations than are possible for boys. Those girls who played with Mrs. Potato Head reported nearly as many career options available for themselves as for boys.

The two Barbie dolls were identical except for clothing, with unrealistic bodies, extremely youthful and attractive faces, and long full hair. The researchers believe that the doll itself trumps the role or career aspirations suggested by its costume.

“It’s sobering that a few minutes of play with Barbie had an immediate impact on the number of careers that girls saw as possible for themselves” Zurbriggen said. “And it didn’t matter whether Barbie was dressed as a model or as a pediatrician, suggesting that the doll’s sexualized shape and appearance might trump whatever accessories are packaged with her.”

“Perhaps Barbie can ‘Be Anything’ as the advertising for this doll suggests,” said Sherman. “But girls who play with her may not apply these possibilities to themselves.”

 

A L B on “Fake Geek Girls”

This is the video that introduced me to the wonderful Angelina L B, and which helped me see that casual sexism you encounter in comic book shops and at conventions had moved beyond basic social ineptness and had become a large problem for the entire community.

I think I had seen her videos before, but the super-girly appearance made me think that I was definitely not her target demographic. I didn’t think less of her, just that her videos were probably not my thing. But she was so articulate in defining just what was wrong with an industry that I love and that I wanted my girls to love, that I became an immediate fan.

There is a bit of language in here that is not appropriate for younger ears, but the message is something that everyone should hear.

Anya & Stella vs. Action Figures

Anya and Stella demonstrate what girls run into when they try to buy action figures at the store.

Notes: Gamora is available as part of one of the two-packs of mini-figures. She is also available as part of the Marvel Legends series. Target was out of both of those and has been for weeks.

The only female action figure we were able to find in the entire aisle was Wonder Woman, and she was only available as part of a seven-hero set that cost $50. So in order to get one Wonder Woman, the girls would have to buy six heroes they didn’t want and pay $50 for the privilege. That was a non-starter.

I’m enough of a nerd that I know where to go to get female super hero figures, but they are generally designed for the adult male collector market. They are often inappropriately attired and always more expensive than the lines that are developed to be played with by children.

This is our first ever video. We hope to make more and we promise that as our skills improve, they will get better.