The American Girl Doll franchise has been around since the 1980s. And since the 1980s, the company has expanded to films, books, and personalized stores. Their focus on the diverse stories from various parts of American history has caused their popularity to remain at a constant high. Relating to young girls alike with their adorable female characters, it may have come as a surprise to some when American Girl Doll debuted its very first boy doll!
Doll Logan Everett is a drummer in a band for his friend and other American girl doll, Tenney Grant. He, like the rest of the dolls, comes with his own signature outfit. But, it looks like with him not being a lead character, he will not come with his own book or any additional accessories. Or at least, not yet.
As someone who grew up with American Girl Dolls, I could not be happier with American Girl's decision to appeal to a larger audience. I would have been ecstatic to own a boy doll that was not just a baby! Apparently, the company plans to release more diverse characters in the upcoming years. An interview with USA Today and American Girl spokeswoman Stephanie Spanos indicates this plan. She says "a boy character has been a top request from our fans for decades. We're hopeful Logan will appeal to both girls and boys...For boys, we know Logan can speak directly to them and give them something unique and special to call their own."
While the doll has sparked up relatively good publicity and praise, it brings up the question on whether toys are being gendered and what this will mean for not only young children but for the toy industry itself. Also, is this emergence of "girl toys" for boys and "boy toys" for girls a little too late?
Many researchers say toys should not be limiting to a child's development, but in a lot of cases, they are. We see it everywhere, in the stores and in advertising, how toys are separated into the categories of masculinity and femininity. Girls play with toys that revolve around domestic skill and appearance while boys play with toys that revolve around violence and adventure. The boy toy aisle is blue and the girl toy aisle is pink.
While this is not the case for every single toy, the divide is evident and builds a stronger stereotype for women to be feminine and men to be masculine. Children who learn of this separation at a young age are more likely to follow it or assume others should, too. Distributors of toys play an especially vital role in this psychological development. This is why a public outcry for stores to sell and advertise gender-neutral products has gained more attention in recent media. For example, Walmart and Toys R Us as a result of this have agreed to refrain from gender marketing while Target has decided to remove gender labels from their merchandise.
According to Judith Elaine Blakemore, a professor of psychology at Indiana University, whose research specializes in the development of gender roles, she says "if you want to develop children's physical, cognitive, academic, musical, and artistic skills, toys that are not strongly gender-typed are more likely to do this. " This should not only make us eager to participate in diminishing gender roles but wiser in doing so.
Even still, it is just the beginning stages and even though some companies worry about a loss in profit, I think it will prove to be cost-effective to advertise toward all children instead of two variations. The most important part is to recognize how the future generation will see the world based on the toys they play with. Logan, the first boy doll in a world of girls who is throwing out labels, may just be a step in the right direction.
