Should stereotyping always have negative connotations?
Stereotyping has been used as a marketing tool for many years and has allowed designers to create some of the most successful products on the market. If you take Mattel as an example of a company that has used stereotyping to their advantage you can argue that they have definitely made the most of a stereotype. Mattel, the creators of barbie and Action Man, have made a name for themselves by creating arguably two of the most stereotyped toys in existence and the most popular and widely distributed ‘promotional doll’ marketed by name. ‘Here, Barbie and Action Man provide a case study through which to explore the contradiction if a gendered object which appears to be reiterating and reinforcing gender stereotypes but exists in a world which increasingly questions traditional gender roles. Gender stereotypes, as represented by Barbie and Action Man , become an antithesis to a popular culture that adopt androgyny as an image to redefine gender identities.’ (Kirkham 1996) Kirkham questions the position of Barbie and Action Man in todays society. They are two products which seem to be successfully reinforcing gender stereotypes while existing in a society that is trying to dispel them. He then goes on to further explain that ‘the simplicity and minimal number of joints in Barbie suggests the priority given to posing rather than action.’ Here Kirkham argues the fact that Mattel has created the barbie doll with one thing in mind, posing. It is suggested that the idea for barbie came from a German doll called Lilli that was created by cartoonist Reinhard Beuthien in 1955 for adults. Lilli was portrayed as a ‘three-dimensional version of a pinup poster’ (Thomas, 2003) Since then the company has played on the stereotype that a young age girls want to grow up to be this perfect looking ideal posing humans. ‘Little girls in advertisements are usually pictured playing with Barbie dolls in their bedrooms.’ (He). This statement further supports the fact that companies use product placement to further enhance the stereotypes of what kids like. They have created a toy that its primary function is to be made to be dressed up, made to pose and to look pretty.
‘Handler had mentioned her idea for marketing an adult doll who had well-made clothing to Mattel designers, who were male……. “They were all horrified by the thought of wanting to make a doll with breasts” (Lord, 1994)…… Thus barbie, named after Handler’s daughter, was born with an adult figure and nipples breasts that have remained controversial ever since.’ (Thomas, 2003).
Barbie wasn’t created to do anything else and this is shown with its lack of joints and movable parts. This is also reinforced by the fact that on the barbie packaging the had the phrase ‘Now as posable as You are’. The only parts that are moveable are the hips and head. Barbie is shown as this model like figure who always has to have the latest clothes, perfect hair and best accessories as girls grow up they see this as an ambition to recreate. ‘It's just so insidious and it shows how commercial forces can get under their skin even by that age’ (Palmer, 2006). This statement from Toxic childhood shows that Mattel has used the stereotype of girls wanting to be the prettiest and most desired to create a product that has sold in the masses since its first inception in 1959. They did the complete opposite with Action Man. They created a product that made males want to be the toughest and most action driven men. They preyed on the stereotype that men should be tough and not be wimps in order to desired by women. Action Man was seen as the complete man and he was marketed always in a jungle situation or in some a place with a sense of danger. He was always the hero that was portrayed in films but was never caught in a shopping mall or doing anything that didn’t portray him as the complete man he was. He was made with multiple joints in the elbows knees and shoulders. He even had moveable arms and feet on some models while barbie could only stand and pose he could do all these other things. ‘The Joints of the dolls provide material evidence of the ability for movement. The technical improvement added over the years to the joints in the Action Man figure embodies the increasing possibility of complex movement.’ (Kirkham, 1996) Although this might be seen as wrong because of how they were market and they preyed on the vulnerability of children, it also enabled Mattel to create two of the most marketable products on the planet. The clothes industry is a market that also has played an integral part in gender stereotyping towards children. Recently, Next and Tesco came under fire for creating products that were aimed at certain genders and by using negative stereotypes to promote their clothes. Next released a line of baby grows that had different phrases on them based on the theme of space. They made the baby grows targeted at boys blue in colour and had phrases like “in space I’m taller” and the baby grows targeted at girls were pink and had the phrase “I need my own space” on it. The reason that they faced so mach backlash is because they were implying that males were the gender that needed the scientific facts and that baby grows with facts about space would appeal to while girls would be intrigued by emotional phrasing. This plays on the stereotype that girls are emotional and they should grow up and be able to express their emotions while males should grow up suppressing emotions and concentrate on their work. Tescos baby grows were similar to this in the fact that the phrases they used in the male and female baby grows had different connotations around them. The female ones had phrases like “beautiful” and “I feel fabulous” which plays on the idea that they should concentrate on their appearance and being this posable object and the males had phrases like “Desert adventure awaits," “Hero” and “Think outside the box” on it which support the idea that men should always be active, adventurers and always moving. This goes back to Barbie and Action Man mentality of Mattel that girls should be objects for posing and thinking about how the look and guys should be the rough and rugged one. I am not saying that they shouldn’t create baby grows without these phrases on, I am saying that with the argument of gender neutrality the baby grows that they created for both male and females should have had both these phrases and so males can have baby grows that talk about emotion and females can have baby grows that are filled with fun scientific facts. An increase with this kind of marketing and equality within products will reduce the stereotypes that children grow up with and will help them to grow up not feeling subjected to behaving and acting in a certain and will allow them to express themselves run whatever way they like.