Most recently I've been
seeing articles about feminism and it's discontents, so to speak. Without
digressing into the ridiculous debate about whether the word
"feminism" should be abandoned, yet moreover blamed for lack of
progress for women, the Merida debacle is yet another example of how
the male dominated toy industry with its roots enmeshed in
general manufacturing and fashion industries are woefully out of step with
women's needs for justice and equality in today's society. A woman still only
makes $.77 for every dollar a man earns. The number of women in top executive
positions as well as in Congress are still painfully low for the amount of the
population that we represent. Arguments around
the work/life balance still center upon women's lives; super women who are
still presumed to be the primary caretakers of children with very little
attention given to male responsibility for juggling all of the work/household
duties. Unfortunately, girls are still being objectified, commodified and
devalued in their childhood years in comparison with the way boys' identities
are shaped. Perhaps when adults, being they parents, relatives, friends or
caregivers, stop dressing up little girls in princess outfits, taking them
for mani pedis and giving them toys with outlandish feminine
traits (skinny waists, large breasts, pumped up lips and doe eyes), will
Disney et al stop tinkering with their strong, smart and
empowering heroines and deflating them for young, female consumption. Let's
continue to put baseballs, trucks, blocks, fishing rods, compasses,
calculators, chemistry sets, and screwdrivers in our daughters hands. As
with anything, the answer is never completely black or white, pink or blue, or
supply or demand, but a combination of both sides of the economic relationship
making changes. However, it can start with consumers changing spending habits.
