Barbie and beyond

If we want a totality of growth, nurture sensitivity, and empathy in boys, and encourage an action-oriented approach in girls we need to look at the toys we give them as they serve as their passive companions.

If you had to buy a birthday gift for a four-year-old kid, what would be your first question?  For most people, it would be “Is it for a boy or a girl?” Also, most people would think of ‘boys’ toys’ (cars, trucks, action figures) and ‘girls’ toys’ (dolls, kitchen sets, dolls’ houses). Are you ‘most people’?

So, what is behind these tendencies? I explore here both socio-cultural and biological factors that contribute to girls’ preferences for dolls and their affinity for pink.

Toys, dolls, and girls

Toys come naturally to children because imagination comes naturally to them.  Even if you don’t give them a toy, they play-act.  Children play being mummy, daddy, and teacher, imitating what they see in the adult world. When they are given a toy, the power of imagination finds a channel. Studies show that the kind of toys children play with impacts their behavior in different ways. Some toys have a powerful influence on children’s thinking, interaction with peers, and creative expression, while others do not. So, the kind of toys parents and teachers choose for the children will influence their minds and in turn their development and behavior. A point that all adults taking care of children, from  parents, educators, curricula designers, marketers, to governments need to be acutely aware of.

When girls are given dolls to play with, they naturally act the part of mothers, sisters, and other feminine roles. Early on a girl child identifies with a nurturer and home-makers role with her toy culinary sets and doll’s houses. Dolls can serve as an outlet for emotional expression, allowing girls to project their feelings onto an inanimate object by talking and whispering to them as if they were living. This role-playing can help girls process emotions, build empathy, and develop social skills, making doll play a valuable tool for emotional development.

Little girls are often complimented by being called ‘dolls’, the notion of the feminine as petite, sweet, delicate, homely, and protected. Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House led to a debate way back in 1879 raising issues of women’s roles in families. Dolls subconsciously implant the notion of the ideal body type and skin color in young girls, and this has been a subject of heated discussion.

Dolls allow girls to project their feelings onto an inanimate object. This role-playing can help them process emotions, build empathy, and develop social skills. Boys are not trained to develop empathy and nurturing in the way girls are and may need an extra boost when they become men.

In dolls, Barbie has become more than a doll painting the minds of generations in pink dreams. Lately, she’s walked out of the celluloid screen into the human world and minds, the way Harry Potter did some years ago. Of course, Barbie has been around since 1959. From her first-ever career as a fashion model in her stylish black-and-white striped swimsuit, she has had over two hundred careers, and has avatars with different skin colors and ethnicities!

Boys, interestingly, are almost never given dolls as gifts, they are given action toys, superhero figures, cars, planes, and guns, reinforcing from an early age that their role in society is to ‘act’ and ‘do’. Boys’ minds are not trained to develop empathy and nurturing in the way girls are through dolls and, of course, a host of other means. So, one shouldn’t be surprised if the ability to care and nurture needs an extra boost to be developed when they become men if this is not done naturally through childhood. Toys serve as passive learning tools. Children learn subconsciously without being told or taught what they are expected to do and how to behave. They become tools for reinforcing societal thinking at that point in time by reinforcing certain social and cultural behaviors.

Biological factors

Some studies suggest that there might be biological factors contributing to the preference for dolls among girls. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that females have an innate tendency towards nurturing behavior which may explain their attraction to dolls as a means of practicing and developing caregiving skills. The female is a natural birth giver and nurturer, and there is a natural tendency to care in most females. However, there is individual behavior, and some girls don’t want dolls, so there is no way to prove the universality of this.

If we want a totality of growth, nurture sensitivity, and empathy in boys and encourage an action-oriented approach in girls we need to look at the toys we give them, as they serve as their passive companions. To encourage growth beyond gender stereotypes we will need to take a look at gender-neutral toys, as well as a variety of exposure in the world of toys.

Research suggests that pink can have calming and soothing properties. The color of the heart chakra, it is linked to feelings of kindness, empathy, and love – the yin force. But the association of pink for girls and blue for boys is more recent and a cultural and marketing tool. 

Pink for girls?

My neighbor was putting up pink balloons outside his door, and when I asked him why, he happily said, ‘Twin babies have come!” I didn’t need to ask him if they were girls or boys or both. The pink talked. The color pink is a favorite among children though it is often associated with girls and dolls. When I was setting up a school, we had a red slide initially. Later we decided to install two more slides and this time I asked the kindergarten children which color they would like. Most girls said pink, and so did many of the boys.

Research suggests that pink can have calming and soothing properties, making it a comforting choice for children’s spaces. Pink is regarded as the color of the heart chakra and is linked to feelings of kindness, empathy, and love, the yin force in the human being.

Why do we generally associate pink with girls and blue with boys? If you go to buy clothes or a gift set for babies in any departmental store, you’ll find pink for girls and blue for boys. Why and where does this come from? Interestingly, historically it was the reverse. The preference for pink among girls is a relatively modern phenomenon. In the early 20th century, pink was considered a more masculine color, while blue was associated with femininity. The shift towards the modern association of pink with girls can be attributed to changing cultural norms and marketing trends over time. This association is more seen in Western Europe and the Americas and is not widespread in traditional cultures.

If you travel to the interiors of the Indian states of Rajasthan, Punjab, or Tamil Nadu, you find people wearing vibrant colors, especially during festivals. Children are seen more in red and other bright colors, but in large departmental stores in the same regions where branded factory-made products are available, the pink for girls and blue for boys color code rules the roost. 

Market and industry influences

Whether it is toys, colors, or other things like clothes, marketing has a lot to do with what is popular during a particular phase in time. Handmade toys carry the stamp of the place and culture where they were made. However, with industrialization, toys among other things are subject to the same market forces where things are produced in bulk and have to be sold in large numbers across countries. Along with products, trends, and mindsets get carried.

So long as there are children there will be toys in whatever form or material.  Behind the making of these toys is the intrepid human mind. We need to decide whether we want children to look to stereotypical gender roles or look beyond them. Toys will change according to the times and mindsets. Barbie has.

Lead visual created with AI by Harvinder Kaur; Pink and blue babies photo courtesy bergerpaints.com