Gendered Legos? Can I Vomit Now?

Somehow I thought things would be looking up for reducing the number of gendered toys after the video of a little girl ranting in a Target went viral around Christmas. Then just today I found out, to my horror but not shock, that Lego is making a new collection for girls called “Lego Friends.” GAH! It appears to be some kind of Bratz-Lego hybrid complete with a site that has horrible animation reminiscent of a Barbie movie.

Of course, these new female Legos have curves and busts and love to hang out at the hair salon and cafe in their horrible little town of Heart Lake City.

HEART LAKE CITY?!?!?!?!?!?! It’s like Salt Lake City except with more ponies. Read more »

Fox News “Expert” Critiques Controversial J. Crew Ad

Sometimes I wonder how human beings can be smart enough to, let’s say, graduate from Brown University and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine but be so stupid as to write the following paragraph:

Well, how about the fact that encouraging the choosing of gender identity, rather than suggesting our children become comfortable with the ones that they got at birth, can throw our species into real psychological turmoil—not to mention crowding operating rooms with procedures to grotesquely amputate body parts? Why not make race the next frontier? What would be so wrong with people deciding to tattoo themselves dark brown and claim African-American heritage? Why not bleach the skin of others so they can playact as Caucasians?

This frightening and absurd statement came from Dr. Keith Ablow’s Fox News article “J. Crew Plants the Seeds for Gender Identity.” The J. Crew ad in question pictures company president Jenna Lyons painting her son’s toenails pink because (gasp) it is his favorite color. Read more »

Toying With Gender

The Mad World blog over at Bitch Magazine had a very interesting, yet equally disturbing, post about toy marketing and how gender roles are pushed on both boys and girls. I know if I have a daughter we will be building space ships with Legos and playing Metal Gear Solid. It makes me so mad to see these commercials limiting girls to taking care of urinating dolls and having epic shopping and makeup adventures.

The Enigma of Gender Roles in Japan and the Takarazuka Revue

In my opinion, despite all the media that it exports to America and the whole world, Japan’s cultural personality is very hidden and confusing to even the well educated. I guess it is hard to really apply our sociological imagination, or our ability to connect the dots between group and individual actions and motivations, to a different culture like Japan.

The greatest difference that always seems at the forefront in my thought is American individualism versus Japan’s sense of duty, collectivism, and strict norms on public behavior. Another is the competitiveness and inflexibility of their educational system. There is also the perception of widespread xenophobia and racism in Japan, which may annoy or infuriate a Japanophile and make the idea of relocating very troubling.

Though these differences are great, I believe that one of the greatest areas of misunderstanding deals with the personality traits of Japanese women in a country seemingly defined by strict patriarchy and media portrayals of women that seem incredibly shallow compared to even Hollywood standards.  The stereotypes, ranging from the hyper super cute anime character to the shy, “better seen not heard” student, worker, or wife,  contrast  greatly against the dynamic roles often played by and lived by men in movies, business, and politics.

One recent example I discovered, which both entertains and illustrates just how much I don’t know about this area, is the Takarazuka Revue. The Takarazuka Revue is a theater company composed of an all female cast which was started in 1913 as a sort of response to there being no women in Kabuki (traditional Japanese all-male theater). Since its inception, the Takarazuka Revue has become a huge hit and draws millions of fans. Read more »

Gender and Athletics

It seems the whole Caster Semenya athlete sex/gender controversy is about to come to a head. It has been reported that the results of “gender tests” have been revealed by news reports, but the International Association of Athletics Federation will not release them officially (Hughes). Many people seemed to think that it was just stereotypes gone awry; one blogger even mentioned it had something to with euro- ethnocentric standards of beauty stating, “The issue seems to directly question race, beauty and who gets to set the standards. White and western is more female and more beautiful, black and African is less so” (Andrews). This is in contrast to quotes I read from some of Semenya’s competitors, that were to the affect “Just look, she is a man.” Read more »