Mom-Designed Action Figures for Boys Highlight Brains Over Brawn
Much has been said lately about the sexist messaging of toys geared for girls. But the ones marketed to boys leave something to be desired, too — at least according to Laura Hale, a California mother of four who’s using her entrepreneurial skills to launch a series of action figures that stresses kindness and creativity over brute force.
“The imaginary-play component is key, but I wanted to create something that wasn’t a superhero,” Hale, of Menlo Park, tells Yahoo Shine. She’s currently raising funds through Kickstarter for a collection of “retro” action figures she's named Generation Grit. “I actually love superheroes and find them inspiring,” she explains. But she had an epiphany years ago, while reading “Harry Potter” to her now-13-year-old son and attempting to discuss with him how the young wizard would get himself out of a tough situation.
“He said to me, ‘Mom, he’ll be fine! He has a wand!’” Hale recalls. “And I thought, oh, if I’m only showing him characters with special powers, then he’s not seeing his ability to move through his struggles, too.”
Enter Mac Mason, the introductory character in the Generation Grit series she's created as a protoype. The 10-inch, khaki-wearing figure is an adventurous 14-year-old boy from 1943 who loves secret codes, camping, and baseball. He comes with accessories including a trunk, a bedroll and a radio — as well as a book, “The Adventures of Mac Mason,” with stories of friendship and mystery, meant to inspire play for kids ages 8 to 12. Think American Girl dolls, minus the girls. The doll is slated to be available for sale later this year.
“I feel like, for girls, there are just more options,” says Hale, whose three daughters are 7, 10, and 11 and play with a range of characters, from American Girl dolls to Barbie. While Hale does see a growing movement of empowering alternatives for the girls' market, she believes there’s a lack on the other side. “Missing are male characters for boys who show their strength through traits like empathy, kindness, resourcefulness, curiosity, and grit — instead of only muscles,” she notes on the Kickstarter page, which has brought in nearly $30,000 of its $75,000 goal since its June 3 launch.
A Harvard grad with a background in finance, Hale says she “pounded the pavement” to find creative talents — toymakers, sculptors, writers — to partner with, who could help her breathe life into her vision. Next up in the series, if it takes off, will be an African American boy from the early 20th century who is an ardent inventor. The character stems from Hale’s idea that pretend play, for boys, has much room for creative inspiration.
“There are so many great new toys that encourage girls to reach for the stars,” she says. “But when it comes to boys, we often feel we don’t need to build them up.” So instead, we often rely on masculine messages that could be harmful. “Like, ‘You can’t fail,’” Hale says. “Failure is seen as a weakness. But it’s necessary, because it’s how you learn.”
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