Message Received: The Effects of Negative Gender Stereotypes on Young Girls

Two years ago, Lego released a line of legos titled “Lego Friends.” These sets of Legos, aimed at young girls, featuring female Lego figures in frilly pink dresses who could play or party at locations such as the beach, the catwalk, and the beauty salon. The Friends line remains one of the most popular categories in the Lego store, and the Lego company’s profits have risen more than nine percent since its release. The commercial success of these toys represents a problem in the messages our society sends girls.

Every Sunday, I volunteer in a religious education classroom; I work with the three-year-old classroom. This week, as we were reading books on the rug while we waited for everyone to arrive, I noticed that several children arguing over one story. As I rushed over to intervene, I realized that all three children involved in the conflict were little girls, attired in fancy dresses and hair ribbons. Meanwhile, the book that was so highly in demand as to cause a fight was a bright pink hardcover titled “Beautiful Barbie” that was centered around Barbie’s fashion choices. That such a book was present in an educational setting shocked me, but that these little girls are programmed to want the sparkly pink book about how pretty Barbie is was absolutely horrifying.

I grew up with a sister and two brothers, and I remember all of us playing with the Polly Pocket dolls and then moving on to the video games. While my sister and I cared for baby dolls, my brothers nursed their own dolls and stuffed animals. But in many families, this would not have been the case- in some families, there would be a divide between the “boy toys” and the “girl toys.” What is upsetting to me is what is included in the “girl toys” category and what messages it’s sending.

A child is shaped by the environment he or she is exposed to. If a little girl only read books about someone who is special because they are pretty, she will grow up to believe that the only way for her to be special is to be pretty. If the only female Legos she sees do nothing but party and fix their hair, she will assume that there is nothing else for her to aspire to. When Forbes, an internationally acclaimed business magazine, interviewed a large group of children about what they wished to be when they grew up, the boys gave a variety of answers, from superhero to doctor or lawyer. The girls, however, mostly answered that they wanted to be a princess or a model. “Beautiful Barbie” is happy because she is a stereotypically perfect model, so little girls decide that they too want to be a beautiful model. While boys are often complimented on their intelligence, girls tend to receive compliments on their looks and clothing, ultimately discouraging them from pursuing careers in academia or similar paths and instead pushing them towards unhealthy body image or obsession with their looks.

The Lego company recently released a new Lego set, called the “Research Institute.” This set features female Lego figurines working in a lab, and it is the first Lego set to portray women with careers or pastimes other than “having fun” or modeling. Although the female characters are still wearing exorbitant amounts of make-up, the new toy is definitely a step in the right direction. Even more encouraging than its release is the fact that it sold out at all retail stores very quickly, meaning that many young girls are now being exposed to another option, a way to be special beyond just being pretty.

But these positive-message toys are still too few and far between. Lego took two steps forwards with the “Research Institute” set, but the release was followed immediately followed by another new Lego “Friends” set, this one centered around bikini-clad female Lego figures having a pool party. The future of America and of the world depends on the children, so the messages that those children are receiving are directly relevant to the messages that will be prevalent in our society tomorrow.