Is it 1950 Again? Princess Camp for Girls, Adventure Camp for Boys

In this blog (sadly neglected of late due to book editing ), I normally talk about the impact of male stereotypes on boys–the the warrior, the nerd, the deadbeat dad and so on. But reading this post from Pigtail Pals, I was reminded again of how female stereotypes can affect boys.  Read the post and then I will explain:

http://blog.pigtailpals.com/2010/06/what-the-hell-happened-to-summer-camp/

Clearly, the message sent by the camp ad is not a good one for girls, but what does it tell any boys who see it? Let’s see. Girls like shiny, pretty things. They like to play party host. And they must be very fragile, seeing as they are not allowed any exploring or adventures at their camp.

If it were just an ad for summer camp, maybe we could let it slide. But the same messaging appears in toy ads and in much of the entertainment aimed at boys or a mixed audience.

Toys marketed to girls never allow them to imagine themselves as heroes. Action figures, police and firefighter costumes and rescue vehicles are all marketed to boys, at least by big retailers like Toys R Us and Chapters/Indigo. According to these retailers, pretend play for girls should involve baby dolls, kitchens, cleaning implements and, for those with higher aspirations than “housewife”, princess costumes and tiaras.

On television, female superheroes are catching up to the males to some extent, but in most films the female character is left out of the final rescue.  Sam in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs–a great character–is sidelined by a peanut allergy, leaving Flint to save the day. Ellie in Ice Age 3 goes into labour and cannot help save Sid the Sloth. Fiona in Shrek the Third tries to save her husband but ends up captured, leaving Shrek and Arthur to disarm the evil Prince Charming. Astrid from How To Train Your Dragon, shown as tough and strong at the beginning, quivers with fear on her first dragon ride with Hiccup and snuggles into him to feel safer. In the film’s climactic battle with a monstrous dragon, she (the best dragon hunter in her class) fades to the background,  leaving male lead Hiccup to save his village alone.

Is it any wonder sexual inequality persists when boys as young as four see girls presented as frivolous, delicate creatures, incapable of solving problems or doing anything other than cooking, cleaning and making themselves look pretty?