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.

Comments

The Poky Little Puppy

Sometimes Jupiter likes to read the classic Golden Book tale, The Poky Little Puppy before bed or nap time. This is another of many children's stories where the intended moral of the story seems to have been surpassed by a message that, I think, conveys the nearly the opposite message. The Poky Little Puppy is a story about five little puppies who dig a hole under the fence to go out for a walk in the wide, wide world. The fifth, poky, puppy is always behind the others. Eventually the poky little puppy smells the dessert that is prepared for the puppies each night. The four other puppies smell it too and hurry home while the poky puppy takes his time. The four puppies then eat their dinner and are scolded by their mother for digging a hole under the fence with the punishment being that they do not get dessert. Then along comes the poky puppy after everyone is asleep. He is met with no dinner but left over dessert, since the four puppies were not able to eat it. This scenario takes...

Kid on a Leash

Has anyone seen these kid leash products around? Sometimes I see them at the zoo, farmers market, or other crowded areas. If a company can make a product that will make a parent feel a little bit safer, there will always be people out there to buy it. When I see one, it reminds me of that scene in Rise of the Planet of the Apes when a leashed Caesar sees a dog on a leash and turns to Will and signs, "Am I a pet?" The idea of the product is that it will keep the child safe and nearby. It is designed to subside the fear that a child will run off or get abducted. I think that if someone is out to abduct a child during the few seconds when a parent is looking away, a leash is a very small deterrent, and likely, not effective. All the abductor would need is a nice pair of scissors or simply their fingers. The latch cannot be that hard to work. If anything, having a leash might give a parent a false sense of security causing them to pay less attention to the child. In that case it...

The Santa Lie

When I was young my parents followed a tradition which I imagine was passed down to them from their parents who received the tradition from their parents before them and so on for a generation or two before them. I am of course talking about the yearly tradition of deceiving their gullible offspring with myths of a jolly man who lives at the North Pole. I fell for it. They were fairly elaborate to the point of even having a man dressed up as a Santa come to the front door one year. This of course sparked my suspicion a little. Why the front door and not the chimney? Though I do not remember what it was, a satisfactory explanation was given and I continued to believe in it. Eventually I did finally figure it all out, mostly through ridicule from schoolmates and my 3rd grade teacher for still believing it. I did not take the news well. I did not understand that my parents, who regularly told me that lying is wrong and makes Jesus cry, would keep up such an elaborate and ultimately pointl...

Kirk blAug

Search This Blog