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| picture via funny-potato.com |
When I was a kid all of my birthday invites would have a note added from my mother asking for "please no guns or soldiers". Later, my sisters invites got the "no Barbies" treatment. As a teacher at a progressive school with a radically liberal curriculum and philosophy I was part of the decision to ban not only certain toys, but violent play altogether. This may sound extreme, but there is a well thought out rationale for banning some toys and encouraging the use of others. While wooden blocks and similar old fashioned toys foster the use of imagination, commercial toys often come with a detailed story line from the accompanying marketing in the form of television shows and movies. Children makes sense of the world around them by including things they need to process into their play schemas. When commercial toys such as star wars or avatar are introduced into play you will hear children saying things to their peers like "that's not how to play with that!". The death of creative and imaginative play. Now, as the new step father of an eight year old daughter and with a son on the way, I've been re-examining the issue of banned toys with fresh eyes. The latest battle field has been the thirty or so Barbies plus accessories that my mother in law bought for my daughter. My wife is offended by them from a feminist perspective and I can certainly understand her specific concerns about Barbie. She is always white and blond because the various flavors of ethnic diversity dolls are all given alternate names and she is heterosexual in a kind of Kathy Griffin way. Barbie accessorizes with expensive cars and purses and cell phones. I know that children can create play schemas around Barbie dolls that don't center on consumerism and sex, but I also don't think that the toy is a blank slate that scaffolds a better understanding of the world. Having grown up in a household of banned sugars and toys, I also am aware that this creates cravings and mystique. I wanted G.I. Joe and skittles then with the same intensity that I loath them now. So for now, I am supportive of my wife's decision to evict Barbie out of respect for our partnership, and contemplate whether G.I. Joe will be welcome for dinner.
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