Some Girls Like Superheroes, Some Like Princesses

This video was uploaded in May of this year but has recently been getting a lot more attention because of the holidays. This is Riley. She's maybe four years old, and she understands that there is a serious problem with gender stereotypes. Listen to her as she rants against toy makers and their desire to push princesses on girls and superheroes on boys.





Growing up, I liked Disney, Barbie, Jem, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, and Care Bears, but what I really loved was She-Ra, GI Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, Voltron, Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman, X-Men, and countless other action-filled shows and toys. I grew up feeling like a freak because I was constantly told it was wrong for girls to like this stuff. I remember my grandparents refusing to buy me a GI Joe, even though they were buying one for my brother, until I conned my way into getting a female GI Joe. I loved Scarlett but that's not the point. Why couldn't I play with the male Joes? What was so wrong about it?

It took a really long time before I was finally comfortable admitting just how much I really loved all of these things, but even today, I still feel a little awkward about it. I know there is nothing wrong with loving what I love, and I'm certainly not ashamed of it, but there are these residual feelings that I have which come from being told time and time again that there was something wrong with liking toys that were supposedly for boys only. It's stupid. We want to teach our kids to grow up to be true to themselves and not to be ashamed of what they like. We want them to grow up strong and confident and willing to take chances. We want them to break gender stereotypes so the best of the best, regardless of sex, can rise to the top and make this world a better place.

This type of stereotyping begins when we're very little, and if a little girl, who probably isn't able to read or write, can understand how wrong this is, then why can't toy marketers?