After today’s discussion I have quite an interesting rebuttal / response. Today we looked at marketing for young girls and how society has become a trap for girls to become too feminized. This is a surface observation. In reality, looking more deeply into this issue, I think a reasonable explanation can be obtained.
I have a four-year old sister who is a popular consumer of modern marketing for children. As I see her enjoy herself with her vast amount of toys, I cannot help but think the following. Looking at the overly feminized dolls such as “Bratz,” my sister has a few of these dolls (not “Bratz” necessarily but similar types), in which she enjoys playing with. However, she also has addition dolls that range into all types of people, including minorities, and even men. So although she does have a few of these overly feminized dolls, they only make up a small portion of total collection, showing an interest in all types of people.
In addition to the various amounts of toys she plays with, my sister loves putting on play make-up. On a surface level, a typical response to this act is society’s push for girls to become more “girly.” I disagree. People behind marketing are not trying to push little girls into any direction whatsoever. They simply create and sell the products that sell; and play make-up happens to be a big seller. This is explained because young children love imitation in almost every form. They love to repeat common phrases used by their parents, and they love to take on the actions of their parents. This is how the learning process happens. So, after seeing my mom put on her make-up, my sister gains a desperate desire to imitate her mother. This is not only present in girls, but also boys. Little boys watch their fathers get dressed for work and want to do the same. I know that when I was a kid, a had a play shaving kit which contained a bottle of foamy soap, a plastic razor, and a box equipped with a mirror in which it came in. Does this mean I was being over masculinized? Certainly it does not. It simply means that I wanted to imitate my father because that is the natural instinct for children. This instinct is how children grow up and learn to become much like their parents.
Therefore, it is not the drive of society to try and push little girls to become overly feminized, but simply businessmen and women trying to create something that will sell so they can stay employed at their current institute.
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3 comments:
I agree with Adam’s points to a certain extent. I think that there is something in little girls and boys that they are born with that makes them act the way that they do. Although I know that society does shape the way that they act or what they are interested in at times, I also think that it is a something in their nature that would make them want to pick a certain toy or activity over another. I think the main problem that is being addressed with the bratz dolls and other similar dolls is not the fact that little girls are interested in playing with them or looking like them, it’s the fact that they are being designed to look the way that they do. They are so skinny and disproportioned, while having skimpy clothing on and wearing a ton of makeup. I think some of the toys are portraying the wrong ideal for little girls, but at the same time, depending on their age, I have to wonder how much of it they are actually taking in. Little kids are observant but at the same time, I think that they take more to what they see their mothers and fathers doing than anything else.
I have two cousins that are the same age. Both are big into the American Girl dolls and the Bratz dolls. I personally think those dolls are cute for kids. Yea maybe they dress a little skanky and wear to much make-up but what toy is made these days that doesn't give off some sort of negative notation? Either way at least they are including other races and not singling out everyone but white people. Anyways back to where I was going with my cousins...One is what some may call the little 'preppy girl' and the other is 'the tomboy'. Both of them play with the same dolls and and get along fine. One of them wears make-up, makes sure her outfits match, and is more into how she looks. The other doesn't wear make-up and lets her mom pick out her clothes half the time. Looking at both my aunts, you can see why they are the way they are. Children definitely take after their parents. As said before when a little girl or boy sees their mother or father getting ready, they initially want to imitate them and do the same. However, I do think that all these new toys and inventions are just asking for trouble. The whole poll dancing toy blew my mind. How can you even think about selling something like that to 6 year olds. I would never allow my cousins to own such a toy. Whether it sells or not, it should not be made. Kids these days start doing "grown-up" things alot earlier then they did in the past. Manufacturers do not need to encourage such behavior. However, parents to can limit what their children own and play with. If they are out buying these dolls and toys for their kids what is that saying about them? I just think that before making a toy or whatever, they should consider the image and message they are giving to little children. Then if they still choose to make that product, the parent needs to think long and hard on whether they want their child owning it.
In response to Adam’s post, it is not the actual products today aimed towards children I am worried about, it is the attitude of many parents who don’t give a second thought to their little girl who idolizes the “Bratz” dolls and wants to dress and act like them. I have no problem with many toys on the market today that obviously are geared towards one gender or the other such as makeup and tool sets, that, as Adam pointed out, are things that aid in children imitating their parents.
Toys such as the pole dancing kit and “Bratz” dolls are the ones that really worry me, and not because they are manufactured, but because adults buy them. Although these products are marketed towards little girls, parents still have the control over what their child plays with, because they are the ones that purchase these products, not their 6 year old daughter. While it is not always the case, I feel like I have come in contact with many parents, especially mothers, who encourage their daughters to be like the “Bratz” dolls. (and besides the horrific way the “Bratz” doll bodies are represented and the horribly inappropriate clothing and makeup, WHY in the world would you want your daughter to play with a BRAT? Essentially, why would you encourage your daughter to BE a BRAT???) I feel like there are so many mothers who stress looking “really good” and being “girly” way too much. These girls may not want to actually be this “girly” but their mothers are pressuring them to be like this.
I work at a nature-based day camp in the summer with kids ages 3-12, and we are essentially outside all day with them, playing games, hiking through the woods, and catching crawdads in the creek. It is ridiculous how many mothers send their daughter to camp the first day in a little pink skirt and cute platform flip-flops. Then, as counselors, we have to try and explain to these mothers why their daughter cannot participate in camp unless she has a pair of tennis shoes because it is unsafe. Some mothers respond with something like “Oh, but she just looked so cute!”. While in my head I am thinking, “Seriously!?! This is nature camp. Come on.” While not always the case, I feel like it’s these mothers that most encourage their daughters to be like a “Bratz” doll, and it’s these mothers that worry me.
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