Barbie ad stars a boy for the first time. The end of gendered toys?
Throughout her history, Barbie has been stand-in for arguments over all manner of real-world issues women and girls face. Healthy body image, career obstacles, growing acceptance of tattoos 鈥� the baggage of all of those debates and more has zipped around with her in that mini pink Corvette for several decades.
But even so, she鈥檚 never really been just for girls, something parent company Mattel is embracing as ideas about gender identity and appropriate play become more and more fluid.
Mattel released a video ad earlier this month for its starring a boy who鈥檚 just as enthusiastic about the doll as his female co-stars. 聽鈥淢oschino Barbie, she鈥檚 so fierce!鈥� he crows, arranging accessories on the Barbie and screening calls on her tiny cell phone. It鈥檚 the first time that a boy has been featured front and center in a Barbie ad in the doll鈥檚 56-year run.
The Moschino Barbie line of dolls and accessories, which mimics the outfits of the fashion house by the same name, is among the brand鈥檚 limited edition, collectible offerings, retailing at $150 each (Barbies sold as toys start as low as $8.00). The initial batch of 700 dolls, offered up on the high-end retail site Net-a-Porter, sold out in under an hour and are now showing up on the secondary market for $400 to $800.
Barbie is no stranger to controversy, and she鈥檚 in 2014, Mattel caught flak from many corners for the doll appearing on the cover of that year鈥檚 Sports Illustrated 鈥淪wimsuit Issue,鈥� which critics argued perpetuated unrealistic beauty standards. That same year, the release of 鈥淓ntrepreneur Barbie,鈥� decked out in a stylish pink dress and accessorized with a cell phone and briefcase, for emphasizing fashion and perfect hair over the specifics of starting a business and, detractors argued, reenforcing limiting stereotypes of femininity while ignoring real obstacles facing women in corporate culture.
The Maschino Barbie ad, however, has received warm support, particularly from Barbie鈥檚 grown male fans. 鈥淭his almost made me cry!鈥� reads the top comment on the ad on 聽"I used to play with my sister's Barbies and felt such shame afterward. I'm so glad we can just let kids be kids. Thank you for this! Boys like dolls too!鈥�
In addition to offering a much-needed dose of goodwill for Barbie, who is seldom seen as a pioneer of progressive gender norms, the ad is a reflection of a toy market in flux. Barbie sales have been in a slump for Mattel for the past four years, falling 16 percent in 2014, The company still claims Barbie is the most popular doll of all time, but she has faced stiff competition over the years from newcomers (Mattel, too, recently lost licensing rights to the popular Disney Princess line of dolls, including Anna and Elsa from the megahit film 鈥淔rozen鈥�).
At the same time, many toymakers, retailers, and parents are moving away from marketing toys as gender specific. Earlier this year, Target stopped labeling its toy aisles with 鈥渂oy鈥� and 鈥済irl鈥� sections, in favor of the term 鈥渒ids.鈥� In 2012, Hasbro changed the packaging for its to be more gender-neutral in response to a popular online campaign. Other stores, including Wal-Mart, Toys 鈥淩鈥� Us, and 聽Harrod鈥檚 in the United Kingdom have reorganized their toy sections to de-emphasize a gender divide.
Such reforms haven鈥檛 been met entirely without criticism. Target鈥檚 signage announcement in August drew the ire of many customers, conservative critics, and pundits arguing that a lack of clear gender markers might be 鈥渃onfusing鈥� to children.
Barbie, meanwhile, isn鈥檛 actively marketing to little boys just yet. The Moschino Barbie is a collectors item aimed at adults, not a mass market toy. But if the toy most quintessentially linked with girls and women (for better or worse), is broadening its horizons, it鈥檚 not difficult to imagine more toy brands doing the same.聽
