Where Do We Go From Here?

Action figures are on their way to better representation for girls with the dawn of IAmElemental and the DC Superhero Girls, but we still have some issues with gendered stereotypes. Action figures can become "physical manifestations of one's or others', personal identities, values, and characteristics, such that we become the objects we own" according to Gil Diesendruck and Reut Perez in their paper "Toys Are Me: Children's Extension of Self to Objects." They further explain that "the belief of objects as extensions of self derives from a basic need for concrete certainty about the self."

This paper explains why girls associate with "girl toys" more than "boy toys". And they might have those ideas thrust on them from an early age so by the time they pick their own toys, they go to a gender specific toy rather than a gender neutral one. Wendy Varney, author of "Of Men and Machines: Images of Masculinity in Boys' Toys" explains that

The most significant shift toward a new level of gender demarcation, and one which extended way beyond the United States to other Western countries and later to many Third World countries as well, occurred in the post-World War II period with the launching of the Barbie doll in 1959 and GI Jone in 1964. These toys were opposite images of each other. Each depicted a caricature, albeit serious, of its side of the gender divide which was now hugely evident in the postwar period as women were coaxed in the domestic sphere, which was taking on a new importance in the consumer boom, and men were urged to reclaim the workforce which women had inhabited during the war years.

Varney goes on to explain that Barbie had friends, GI Joe had enemies. The dicotomious differences were vast enough to encourage girls to have Barbies and boys to have GI Joes. But now, we live in a vastly different society than that of the post-World War II world. We live in a fast-paced technological world where boys and girls are encouraged to inhabit non-traditional gender roles. Shouldn't their toys reflect that?

With the dawn of female superhero led films maybe this will change. Star Wars has recently announced their "Adventure Line" for the women of Star Wars, but they look like dolls, much like the recently announced Wonder Woman figures. Genderless marketing combined with boys' shaped figures or figures like IAmElemental are crucial to the future of action figures. But for now, we have to be content that Rey, IAmElemental, and Disney are enough to see us through to the next phase of action figures.