Playing With Dolls

Boys playing with dolls is supposedly taboo in American culture, but in reality the toy industry caters to it. What I mean when I say that the toy industry caters to the idea of boys playing with dolls is a product cleverly (or perhaps not so cleverly) disguised under the product category of "action figures." What I imagine is really looked down on in boys who play with "girls" dolls.

When I was a young boy I had a few different sets of these action figures. I had a Batman, which I recently passed down to Jupiter, who was also a dress up doll as he is able to switch out from his costume to Bruce Wayne. I had a Pee-Wee Herman action figure complete with his pal Chairy from the Pee-Wee's Playhouse series. I also had all four Ghostbusters action figures and some ghosts for them to trap complete with the Ghostbuster's House (dollhouse) and a Ghostbusters car. These are only some of the various action figures I spent my childhood playing with.

I was not alone in my love of dolls... er... action figures. My brother was very fond of his G.I.Joe action figures. He could often be seen playing with them in his room.

I was not discriminatory about which dolls I played with. If I was at a female cousin's home for a visit, I had no reservations about playing with Barbie and Ken that they had in their toy arsenal.

As I mentioned, I passed down my Batman and his Batmobile to my son Jupiter to enjoy, as his interest in the Batman franchise has recently gained steam. I did the same with the Pee-Wee Herman set that my mother had the good foresight to save from my childhood. The other day Pee-Wee even borrowed the Batmobile. I love Jupiter's imagination.

The point is, that there is far less gender difference between the toy options of boys and girls than the mainstream would like to believe. The industry manufactures different versions of the same basic toys for either sex, but they are played with pretty much the same.

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