tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post1225013315124839305..comments2024-02-26T00:27:47.712-08:00Comments on Cross-Up: Kantai Collection: A Miserable Little Pile of AttributesVoltechhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01038586008627390463noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6904713839696769313.post-25474784472355119912015-01-23T12:59:56.285-08:002015-01-23T12:59:56.285-08:00I was never a big fan of Barbie, mostly because I ...I was never a big fan of Barbie, mostly because I had a variety of toys I played with. If anything, I was more into Disney since I had more interactive computer games and toys than Barbie stuff. My parents had no issues with me dressing up Barbie and Bratz dolls one moment then playing with Hot Wheels race tracks another moment. I played with whatever I thought was cool, girly or boyish.<br /><br /><br />Looking back on the girly things I had while growing up, none of the toys, games, or movies (or the companies that made such products) "indoctrinated" me into being what society expects a woman to be. Because of this, it's hard for me to comment about the negative or positive shifts in making toys for children due to my supposedly "liberal" standards. I don't care if a boy likes playing with dolls; he might actually have an eye for dressing up nicely and properly, which is far from a terrible skill! If a girl wants to play with race cars because she likes machines or action, she should go for it too.<br /><br /><br />What I have noticed in recent years is how extreme the toy sections are in stores. As a kid, I remember seeing one pink aisle, one blue aisle, and a variety in-between color-wise and toy-wise. Nowadays? I see nothing but extreme pink and extreme blue aisles with no middle ground. I don't know what's going on for sure with American culture, but the mixed signals are confusing me. My guess is that people want to think that girls can do whatever they want, but the so-called "boy" things need to be colored pink for a girl to be interested. Meanwhile, boys need to stay in their blue section with no hope of having anything "girly" (but still practical) to dare sneak a peak in their aisle. It's like we are trying to move forward with one gender while simultaneously missing the big picture: stop indoctrinating us into assigning colors to a gender or sex.<br /><br /><br />But I have nothing against the Barbie brand. I believe that the problems like the engineer book controversy are only small pieces of a bigger societal ideology and standard that needs to be scrutinized. Looking at the source of the disease is more potent than attacking the symptoms, but unfortunately that takes a very, very, very long time to accomplish.Melanie Lighthttp://melanie-light.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com