The Miley Cyrus scandal

Sarah S. pointed us to a blog post by Bluemilk about the recent outcry over 15-year-old Miley Cyrus in this month's Vanity Fair (below) and the more general sexualization of little girls.



Bluemilk calls out Abercrombie and Fitch, Fred Bare, and, elsewhere, Bratz Dolls.

Abercrombie and Fitch marketed a pair of thong underwear that says "wink wink" and "eye candy" to ten-year-olds. The product was pulled after protests:



Fred Bare's summer collection includes a slide show with many images of little girls hinting at a sexuality utterly inappropriate for their ages:



And Bratz Dolls, well, are Bratz Dolls:

(found here)

(found here)

Halloween costumes too (found here):


I think it's interesting that the Miley Cyrus cover is getting so much negative press, when these other instances include girls who are so much younger. Thoughts?

Thanks to both Sarah S. and Bluemilk!

Also in the sexualization of young girls.

Mental Illness and Stigma

Alicia T. sent us this promotional material for "Psycho Teddy." I can't tell if it's an actual stuffed bear, a cartoon character (see video below from youtube and purchase the ring tone if you so desire), or both.



Text:

We’re letting our Pulse members in on the latest craze… he’s cute, he’s cuddly, he’s a great dancer, but he is also insane… don’t call him at a bad time, or you may trigger a psychotic episode!

Apart from that, he really is a very sociable, well traveled, well connected Teddy, who is storming up the charts and fast becoming the world’s favorite bear.

I think he goes psycho about 1/3rd of the way in. Enjoy!



Thanks Alicia T!

Also in mental illness: kipnapping ads get pulled after protests.

Kids' Book on Cosmetic Surgery

This book, self-published by a cosmetic surgeon, is supposed to help kids understand the wonderful transformation their mothers are about to go through, with the help of Dr. Michael, the superhero-like surgeon.

Read more in this post at boingboing.

Thanks, Nick W., and Jason S., and Green Ink!

Resident Evil 5: Africa Is the Dark Continent

Here is the trailer for Resident Evil 5, which is not yet on the market:



The player is the sole white person in a dismal, threatening city, apparently in Africa. The locals engage in torture (which we see in some detail) and gleefully cheer at a hanging. At one point the hero is accosted by an angry mob, all of whom just make gutteral, animal-like sounds. In a beleagured voice he tells us he just doesn't know "if it's all worth fighting for. Who knows?" Oh, the white man's burden, indeed!

Thanks once again, Patrick C.!

GlamGuns Website Combines Cutesy Cartoon Characters with Military Equipment

All the above images come from Glamguns.com.

Of course, if you try to buy any of these items you'll end up at the Amazon page for this book:

A Theory of Parody: The Teachings of Twentieth-Century Art Forms, by Linda Hutcheon.

Thanks for the link, Breck C.!

Lego Has Disappointed Me

Elizabeth Z. sent us a note to point out that Lego currently has only one female character in the castle line, the princess. Here she is, as pictured on the Lego website, as a damsel in distress in the cage under the dragon's left wing:


In her description, the website nicely balances the coy and the tomboy:

"The King’s only daughter is beautiful and brave, but a little headstrong. When the Evil Wizard captured her, she tried to escape so many times that he had to lock her in the Skeleton Tower. Now she waits for a hero to come to her rescue… if she doesn’t get away herself first!"

Elizabeth notes:

"Maybe this year is just short on women? Nah, the Wikipedia entry calls out the years there were 2 whole women in the line. There aren't many. And in the discussion I ran across on this topic, the men justified the lack because a) mostly boys buy Lego anyway and b) you know, it wouldn't be realistic to have more women. Medieval fighters were mostly men. 'Cause yeah, it's absolutely realistic to have more skeleton fighters and dragons than women."

Thanks so much, Elizabeth!


Also in companies I hate to bash: I love my Roomba, but....

The Neutral And The Marked: A Primer For Your Kids

These images came to us from Dianne who saw this on BoingBoing and dug deeper to find all these great examples!

Illustrating the way in which whiteness is taken-for-granted and others are always, well, other, Plan Toys sells these doll sets labelled "Ethnic Family," "AsianFamily," and, "Doll Family."



They also sell a "farmer" and a "farmer's wife." Dianne notes: "Women don't farm, apparently, they just marry men who do."

They also sell this generic "Native American set" of which they write:

"Children can create imaginary stories with the Indian figures, camp, teepee and authentic accessories. They can learn about the traditional American tribe and their lifestye."

Notice how American Indian tribal difference is erased with the phrase "the traditional American tribe." Diane pointed out that the set actually combines teepees and totem poles which were traditions of tribes in the plains and on the west coast respectively.In the "How to Play" section, it says:

"Children can imagine and tell stories about Red Indians, helping to stimulate their imagination and expanding their horizon."

Yes they really do say "Red Indians."

Diane notices that, just like the doll family is obviously white, "here again, apparently the default child is white, who can 'imagine... stories about Red Indians.'"

Ironically, the company claims that they are "socially & environmentally responsible" and promote "good values."

Thanks so much Diane!


Also in the neutral and the marked: men are people and women are women and from pale to pumped with racial stereotypes.

Sexualization Of Girls: A Trifecta

10-Year-Old Girl Models Bikini

As reported in The Daily Mail, this 10-year-old girl worked the catwalk among adult models. Said the fashion designer of her swimsuit line:

"I think the women who like my stuff... exude sexuality."

Trainer Pole For A Stripper-In-Training

This play stripper pole was being sold in the toys and games section of British store Tesco. Notice the girlish font and language (peekaboo) and the cartoon figure. It was removed after complaints. It is still for sale, but not in the toys/games section, and is marketed as an adult novelty item.



Found over at Feministing.

Lower Back Temporary Tattoos

Not old enough to get a tattoo, your little girl can still get her very own "tramp stamp" (as they are called). This Toys 'R Us vending machine is stocked with temporary tattoos for the lower back.



Thanks to Heather O. for the link.

Also in sexualizing little girls: sexualizing infants, horribly misguided anti-statutory rape PSAs, and a disgusting T.

.

Barbie's Pregnant Friend

This is a doll Mattel put out as part of the Barbie line a few years ago. Her name is Midge. Apparently she is Barbie's long-time friend. If you notice, Midge is pregnant. Her belly opened up and there was a baby inside. The line Midge is part of is called Happy Family.


This is Alan, Midge's husband, and Ryan, their son. Midge and Alan were married in 1991, according to Mattel.


This is the whole Happy Family line--Alan and Ryan, Midge and baby, and grandparents.

The pregnant Midge doll was quickly pulled from the market because of protests that Midge might be interpreted as a single mother. Mattel argued that Midge and Alan had been married for years, but conservative groups argued that since she was sold separately, girls could get the wrong message and think she wasn't married.

Disney Princess TV

I saw this TV on sale at Circuit City once. I use this picture when I talk about gendering products and how we inscribe ideas of gender onto the physical world.

Oh, and this is targeted at pre- and early teen girls.

Hasbro Teachers Girls to Be Good Housewives

Here is a video for Hasbro's Rose Petal Cottage. Could be good for discussing gender socialization:



Great find, Sherryl K.!

The Ideal Man

This nice Barbie and Ken from 1961 might be useful for demonstrating just how much the ideal masculine body has changed.


Look at those skinny legs!

Race And Biology

This website created by the American Anthropological Association is a great way to explore the social construction of race. There's an awesome timeline that traces political and scientific trends where you can click on any part of it and get more information. It's a great resource.

It also includes this great 7 minute video called "A Girl Like Me":



I'd actually love to get some feedback on this video. I really like it, but last time I showed it (in a social psychology portion of a Race and Ethnicity course), the class had a hard time recovering. It was depressing and I wasn't very successful in DOING something SOCIOLOGICAL with it. Any ideas?

boys and girls toy commercials

Posted on the SWS list:


Girl's commericals for the Rose Petal Cottage are here and here.


Boy's commercials for Tonka trucks are here, here, and here (click "watch video"). Gwen also posted one here.

Also, check out the Tonka "play tips" for moms and dads here and the "parenting tips for parents of boys" here.

2007 Tonka Truck Ad: "Built for Boyhood"

The 2007-2008 campaign for Tonka trucks is "built for boyhood." You can see the ad at the Hasbro website. Click on the "watch video" tab. Notice all the messages about boys: they're just "built different," they get dirty, and they cause messes.

More Commercialization of Racist Hip-Hop Stereotypes

This candy is on sale at a Circle K around the corner from me. They're candy gold-and-diamond teeth you can wear. Ick.