The age of ultra female superheroes!

While fighting sexism in the real world remains a work in progress, a range of new toys for children is attempting to breach the ‘male superhero’ bastion

Walk into any toyshop in the world and go to the ‘girls section’ — chances are that you’ll be greeted by row upon row of big-breasted dolls with bee-stung lips, doe-eyes, and minimal clothing. On the other hand, superheroes with toy guns will be found predominantly in the ‘boys section’. With this kind of stereotyping seen even in kids’ toys, the idea of a superhero has also become restricted to the male gender.

Male superheroes like Iron Man, Batman, Thor and Captain America have only negligible competition in popularity from female superheroes. The female superheroes we can name are Storm, Black Widow, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman and, the list begins to run dry. To break this stereotyping, a new range of dolls by DC Comics, designed by Mattel will arrive in stores early 2016. A battery of multimedia franchises including animated television shows, books and a tie-in with Lego will accompany the toys.

Amrita Samant, founder of the photography line focusing on baby and maternity themes called ‘Mommy Shots by Amrita’, says that gender neutrality should begin at home. “It’s no surprise that stereotyping of gender begins from the toys aisle for kids. Gender is marked clearly, by colour. The ‘girls section’ usually looks like the aftermath of a huge pink explosion. The boys section is filled with weapon-wielding action figures from movies and television. Gender neutrality should begin at home. It’s great to see that more parents are letting their kids explore their innate personalities instead of putting them into pink and blue boxes from early days. Parents are now choosing gender-neutral shades and ideas for their kids, which is a fantastic start.”

Krithi Jayakumar, an activist and a lawyer, believes that toys must be gender neutral too. “The intention behind Mattel’s line of women superhero action figures is appreciable. But it does not automatically mean that it translates into gender neutral messaging. Women superhero action figures need to be much more than the plastic objectification of the female body. Wonder Woman is more than her swimsuit and her bust size. Be that as it may, I believe that toys should be agender, and that goes for these action figures/dolls as well. Care must be taken in the upbringing of one’s children to ensure a gender-neutral perception of these toys as well. Merely giving such toys to children is not enough,”she opines.

While Marvel Comics have already introduced the all-new Thor, who is a female, fans are now asking for an Iron Woman as well. Preethi Ravikumar, a contemporary dancer from Chennai says, “My favourite superhero is Iron Man, because of his charming arrogance. He is a billionaire genius and also has all sorts of gadgets. I want to see an Iron Woman as well.” She further adds, “I think it is a great move by Mattel because it is easy to implant the idea of gender neutrality in children’s mindsets. These days, parents are very open about their children’s preferences. I have a huge Hot Wheels car collection that can give many boys a run for their money.”

Model Pradaini Surve completely agrees and says, “Anything created for kids, even in terms of cartoons or entertainment, is very significant. Superheroes make them feel positive and powerful, and help them learn to do good to others. So, why just male superheroes Why not popularise female superheroes too ” she asks.