Girls Like Super Heroes Too - a wise little girl's rant on toys

Girls like super heroes too.

It's true.

Ask Riley:

I saw this adorable little girl (who is wise beyond her years) on CNN recently and she got my attention.

Why do girls have to buy the pink stuff?

Now, when I was younger, I definitely liked the pink stuff and princesses. Heck, I still do!

However, I also liked the boy stuff.

I did not realize how blessed I was because, as a little girl, I also got to play with super heroes. And blocks. And sling shots. Plus, tractors, army men, cars... You name any basic boy toy and I probably played with it.

Not because my parents were super progressive or because my relatives mistook me for a tomboy.

I was just lucky enough to have a twin brother.

Annnnndddddd, I had access to all of his toys. The non-pink-princessy stuff that Riley so rightfully pointed out is usually unavailable to most girls.

I wonder for only daughters or families full of sisters, when do those little girls race their first set of hot wheels, have a sword fight or build a Lego tower? I did all of the above before age 4.

I didn't realize how lucky I had it: my toy selection went across the entire gender spectrum.

Same goes for my brother. Though he might not appreciate me sharing this, he joined me more than once to play Barbie, dress up or have a tea party.

And that is ok. In fact, it should be fine... desired even.

The "pink toys" pull out a different side of kids imagination and creativity. And by boys playing house and girls playing super heroes, they expand what they are in their imagination AND, consequently, what they might dream themselves to be when they grow up. If more kids could play with toys across the gender spectrum, we'd have more male nurses, dancers, stay at home dads. Or more female presidents, surgeons, pilots, etc.

But, why do we separate toys? Blue for boys and pink for girls? Super heroes verses princesses? Why do - as Riley pointed out - the companies (and society I might add) trick the girls into buying the pink stuff?

Because toys are way more than just playing.

They're socializing kids into gender roles. This paper details the process as does an article on education.com.

Don't get me wrong. I have no problems with a female nurse or a male pilot. To each their own. I just want to make sure kids have the option to decide what they want to play with and what they want to be when they grow up.

So the Rileys of the world can play princess or super hero.

Next time you're babysitting or hanging out with children in your church/family/neighborhood/wherever, spice up their imagination. Give a girl a sword and give a boy a doll. Have the whole group play house and then have the whole group play super heroes.

Open up their imagination.
Expand their dreams.
What they play and dream as a kid will one day become reality.

The Princess and the Frog

I am a feminist but I also adore Disney. Sometimes this proves to be a difficult situation.

I may be 20 years old but that did not quell any of my excitement at the fact that Disney would be releasing (A) a new movie and (B) a princess one!!! It was the first Disney princess in 11 years!?! I grew up with the princesses and loved each one of them for one reason or another.

SIDE NOTE: one reason I know I have always been a feminist - even before I knew what that was - my favorite Disney heroine was Mulan (the defiant fighter in a man's world and very patriarchial society)... followed closely by Pocahontas (who wasn't afraid to defy her father in the name of love and who stood up for what she believed in) and, lastly, Belle (who was brunette, a big fan of books, and didn't fall for the muscle head who was quite the sexist).

Anywho, the current Disney female lead was Tiana, a hard-working waitress who was African American and living in New Orleans. There were concerns about her - the first black princess - from the get go. People were worried she would look to white, had a name that sounded like a slave (her previous name was Maddy), would not be as glamorous as other princesses, etc. A full list of these worries can be found here.

However, that article brings up a good point "Aren't we all just overreacting here? After all, this is an animated movie for kids about people who transform into frogs; the main characters even spend most of their screen time as... amphibians." For the most part, I agree.

Overall, the movie was cute with good music and some memorable characters like the gator who played music and Ray the lightning bug. However, it did not completely wow me. Maybe I have just grown up too much to be mesmerized by the princesses anymore. As a southerner though, I really enjoyed seeing her cooking shrimp or hearing them say "y'all" or seeing the plants and trees that I have grown up around all my life.

I did have a couple issues though.

1) She was still mostly white painted black. She did have a bit bigger butt and lips and maybe nose but mostly this just added to her waist looking even tinier than usual. Disney still sets up that almost impossible beauty standard :(

2) Her prince - A) he wasn't black like her BUT (as the previous linked article points out) his different race is positively showing an interracial relationship B) he was laaaaazy (she was the one that had to nag him to help with cooking, getting back to town, etc).

Overall though, it is pretty cute. I hope this is the first of many more princesses to come from Disney - let's just get them looking a little more like the girls who look up to them!!!