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Feb 3

American Girl Dolls

Molly, American Girl Doll

As a child, I loved playing with my American Girl Dolls. I loved dressing them for different occasions, making up stories about them, taking them everywhere I went, etc… When I was little there were only about 8 staple American Girl Dolls: Felicity, Addy, Molly, Kit, Josephina, Kaya, Samantha, and Kirsten. Each girl represented a certain time period or historical event. For example, Molly was my first American Girl Doll, and her story was set in America during World War II. The Dolls were each about $125, which included the doll, her book, and her accessories. The American Girl Corporation is still producing new dolls today, and they have now started making dolls that you can personalize to look exactly like you.

When we discussed the articles from the 1920s in class, the article my group read was about how American toys were seen as more practical, while the European toys were meant to be whimsical. I believe this still to be true when addressing the American Girl Dolls. These dolls were not only fun for girls to carry around and play with their friends, but they were educational as well. Each doll also comes with a book that tells her full story in their specific time period. My friends and I collected the dolls and shared the books so we could read about the other dolls we didn’t have. The books taught us about the different time periods and historical events that each doll was supposed to have lived in. They ranged from Molly’s World War II story to Addy’s Civil War slave story to Kaya’s Native American history.

These dolls also play a role in developing gender roles for girls. Clearly, these dolls were marketed towards young girls and not boys. It could be argued that these dolls taught the young girls how to care for others. The dolls also came with clothes for different occasions you could change them in to, such as gym clothes, sleeping clothes, and various party clothes. These dolls teach girls to take care of and protect others, instilling mothering instincts into the girls’ soon-to-be adult responsibilities.

Feb 3

Toy Horses

Plastic Toy Horse

As Gary Gross said “parents expected playthings that imitated current adult roles. [1]” With this mentality, there is no doubt why growing up with a farming father I was showered with agriculture animal toys. My favorite ones to play with were the plastic toy horses. With them, I would imitate everything my father would do in real life. I pretended to feed them by laying them on the grass so they could eat or dipping their head in the water so they could drink.

To me the rocking horse was pure amusement, but its creation was intended to provide additional benefits. Dating as far back as the 17th century, where King Charles I of England rode one as a child, toy horses were used to advance child development. The rocking horse would provide a form of exercise that helped build balance and coordination in the child. Additionally, it embedded in them the basic skills of riding a horse-mounting, proper seating and riding, holding on, dismounting. The model horse became so popular, adults practiced their use as well. Knights in the Middle Ages rode on wheeled horses to improve their jousting techniques just like children practiced their riding skills on rocking ones[2]. Unknowingly, I was gaining more than enjoyment out of my toy horses. I was improving my physical skills and preparing for the future role I was to hold in the farm. If I showed I could took good care of my toy horses, it displayed I had the knowledge required to take care of a real horse.

Georgian Rocking Horse Hall Museum Washington USA

Initially, the rocking horse was made of materials such as barrel,  wood and cloth[3]. Due to the abundance of the material, the rocking horses were very affordable. Rich and poor alike could own one. For this reason, it became such a popular toy everywhere. Today toy horses are still abundant and being created in additional materials such as plastic, metal, and glass. Unlike the old days where the rocking horse was simply the bareback figure of the horse, today they closely resemble the real ones by being equipped with saddles, horseshoes, and riders gear. Children now are more prepared than ever to learn everything necessary to become great horse owners.

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[1]  Cross, Gary. Kids’ Stuff.  Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London: Harvard University Press, 1997 (pg49) 
[2] “The History of the Rocking Horse.” Casam LLC, Tampa, 2012
[3] Rolo, Jeffrey. “History of the Rocking Horse.” Alpha Horse, 2011

Feb 3

The New American Christmas

Gary Cross and his claim that parents over-indulge their children during the Christmas holidays in order to express their wealth to outsiders is definitely accurate.  Although I do so long to believe that Christmas is truly revolved around the spirit of giving, it is difficult not to notice the emphasis that has been put on what is being given.

Any other time of the year, it is seen as “spoiling” your child if you give them every item that they ask for. However, during the Christmas holidays, parents are able to shower their children in lavish gifts without anyone questioning whether or not the child really needed the item in the first place.  Even if families don’t necessarily have the means to pay for everything their children want, they are more than willing to max out a credit card or save all year just for this one particular day. Competition not only arises between kids comparing their Christmas gifts, but one of the bigger and maybe even more worrisome competitions is between the parents.

Advertisements such as the Kay Jewelers commercials are perfect demonstrations of how the media portrays the idea that women, especially mothers or wives, expect diamonds in some form or fashion during the holidays. These advertisements make the diamonds seem as if they are accessible to the everyday family. The same kind of advertising can be directed toward the younger generations as well. Best Buy’s “Game on Santa” commercials showed a mother buying her children Kindles and digital cameras. When children are exposed to this kind of advertising, how could they expect any homemade toy?

Now, with all of that being said, I do still believe that Christmas is still largely centered around spending time with the family, and I do not agree that this family time is ONLY for parents to pamper their children with presents. However, I think it might be time for American families to rethink the importance and meaning of the Christmas holidays.

Feb 3

Christmas Spending

Growing up in my family, the holidays were a huge deal. We would gather around the tree and spend hours opening presents.  It was everyone’s favorite day of the year, but not just because of the receiving of presents, a large part of the enjoyment was spending the day with my whole family which does not happen often and seeing the look on their faces when they would open a present that I put effort into looking for and making sure they would like.

Gary Cross’s view of the American Christmas and it being about the spending of money on presents to show off one’s wealth is I believe a bad way of depicting Christmas.  The act of giving presents to your child at least one day a year is a tradition that should keep going.  I believe the majority of parents give their kids presents with the expectation of making their child happy, and if those gifts somehow boast about the wealth of the parents then that is further down the list of expectations for the parents, at least this is how my parents felt.  According to The NY Times the act of giving gifts is important in the role of interaction and the bonding of a family.  Psychologists also believe that the giver of the gifts often reaps more “psychological benefits” then the recipient.  While it is okay to cut back on spending during the holidays, and not overly spoil your child with outrageous gifts, it is still important to keep the gift giving experience alive because if it were gone then you would be missing out on an important connection with your family.

While Christmas has become bigger and bigger during the last century and the act of gift giving has become more extravagant, I still believe that the main purpose of Christmas is still understood.  Even if the world is made aware of our wealth by our giving that does not mean it is a bad.  In 2006, Americans donated almost $300 billion to charities and without the wealth of our nation these donations never would have been made.  According to Tracy Ryan, an associate professor of advertising research at Virginia Commonwealth, “It [gift-giving] shows that a lot of the pleasure is in the giving, knowing you’ve taken care of someone.”

Feb 3

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are (book cover)

 

Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” has long been one of my favorite books from my childhood. This classic children’s book, which was published in 1963, is about a mischievous young boy named Max who gets sent to his room by his mother to be punished for being too rambunctious. In his room, Max’s imagination takes him to the land “where the wild things are”, where he becomes “king of all wild things”.

Although this book is a mere thirty-seven pages long, with most pages filled by elaborate illustrations, the underlying messages and reinforced gender roles are extremely clear nonetheless. The book reinforces the gender roles discussed by Elizabeth Segel, as the protagonist is a young boy, and the subject matter is that of action and adventure. In addition, Sendek’s book directly exemplifies Segel’s assertion that “the boys’ book was, above all, an escape from domesticity and from the female domination of the domestic world” (70), as Max tries to escape his mother’s control by running away to an imaginary land where he is the king.

Despite the presence of these familiar themes, the book has prompted some negative feedback, as many people wonder if the book is truly for children. Furthermore, Sendak’s statement in an HBO interview,  “I don’t believe in children. I don’t believe in childhood”, has prompted some people to debate whether the story is some sort of psychoanalytic masterpiece about a boy’s anger and emotions, or merely a bunch of colorful illustrations designed to catch the attention of children. However, whatever the author’s intended meaning and motivation was behind the story (and Sendak is deliberately making it ambiguous), it seems that certain aspects of Max’s personality seem to resonate with all who have read and enjoyed the book , which is a testament to how much the line has been blurred between what is appropriate for adults and what is appropriate for children.

 

Feb 3

Christmas is all about family’s happiness

While I was reading “Modern Childhood, Modern Toys” by the Gary Cross, Cross argues that Christmas gifts are used as a tool to show parents’ wealth. Cross’ argument bothered me because what I experienced, I had different perspective about Christmas in America.  I felt that American’s Christmas culture is more focus on the children. When I came to America for the first time, I lived with families who have very Americanized life style and values.  My host mom ‘Debbie’, started to make Christmas wish-list for her children as days of Christmas was getting closer and closer. We shopped together for children’s gift. When Debbie tried to find perfect gift for her daughter, Debbie didn’t buy the gift to show her wealth. And also she didn’t care about what her neighbors thought about her family. She was excited to pick up her daughter’s gift rather than thinking that what their neighbor might say about them. On Christmas morning, her daughter un wrapped her gift and on her face she had the biggest smile and my host parents were happy that she liked it. This was my experience about Christmas in America and many commercial films cover this scene of family on Christmas morning.

In the Wal-Mart commercial film for Christmas 2010, children are using various ways to wake up their parents. They jump on the bed, shake their parents and they even try to make dad drink water to wake him up. In CF (commercial film), Story delivers message about how children are happy and trilled about Christmas gift and also how parents are happy to see their child excited about gift.

At this point, I disagree Perri Watts’ opinion on February 3, 2012 “Christmas: Is It Really About the Children?”  Perri said “Today, Christmas gifts are not necessarily about making the child happy, or giving them the toy they’ve been waiting for all year; it’s about keeping up with the Jones’ and making sure everyone in the neighborhood knows that you are wealthy and financially stable enough to give your family everything they want and more.”  Even though the price of gift might vary depends on family’s wealth and financial stability, happiness  of unwrapping Christmas gift in the morning for children is just same as parents picking gift for their kid. And Christmas is all about family’s happiness.

and children love~~~ their gift

 

Feb 3

LEGO Contributing to Gender Roles

According to the article New Legos Aimed at Girls Raise Questions (Chris O’Brien, San Jose Mercury News, Jan. 2012), Lego brand has introduced a new line of products, Lego Friends, that is directed towards girls. While Lego’s products have remained general neutral in the past, they have always appealed to more male consumers than females. However, the company decided to veer toward products that would attract more boys, such as fantasy and escapist based kits, when sales began to drop a few years ago. Recently, Lego has been working on putting out a product directed towards girls. After conducting a study to see what girls like in toys, they discovered that girls prefer a more “reality-based” toy that creates a setting in which they can see themselves as the characters. Though the author does agree that his daughter is interested in the Lego Friends line, he ultimately argues that she, along with other girls, are happy with the traditional product lines that Lego has to offer.

"City Park Cafe" selling for $29.99 as of February 2012.

While this product has great potential to boost Lego sales, the company made several errors when designing the product, each of which involves gender roles, which we have discussed during multiple lectures over the course of the semester. First, Lego made the bodies of the girls different from the traditional, bulky build of the classic Lego person. The figure on these girls shows a thin waste as well as breasts on the figure. Some argue that this will lead to an increase in lower self-confidence in girls. Also, the Lego Friends line includes a cafe and beauty parlor, which goes back to the traditional female stereotype of women centering life around cooking while simultaneously maintaining good looks. John Baichtal, co-author of the recent book, The Cult of LEGO, thinks there is still time to improve the product line and suggests adding more professions, such as science and technology professions. Finally, the Lego Friends kits require a significant amount of less building than the previous Lego kits. This causes the consumer to wonder if Lego felt they needed to dumb down the product for a girl product, which does not please the consumer.

This article clearly relates to multiple class discussions we have had as it focuses on the gender roles that toy makers place on their products and how the consumers view the products. While the company may be doing what it thinks will boost their sales, they often lose sight of what exactly they are marketing and turn to the classic stereotypes. Likewise, as companies begin to put out these products, some of the consumers (in this case, the parents) will buy into the product as that they believe will be “normal” for the gender of their child based on previously established gender roles.

 

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