Promoting Gender Equality and Merit-Based Leadership Through Play: an Action Figure Collection
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Promoting gender equality and merit-based leadership through play: An action figure collection A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Design In the department of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning Mario Rodrigo Cruz Rosas B.S. Industrial Design Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México June 2002 Committee Chair: Steve Doehler Committee Advisor: Juan Antonio Islas Munoz ABSTRACT Gender division of toys has been demonstrated to be more than a simple descriptive categorization of toys characteristics. When gender roles generated by societies are used to tell boys and girls what behaviors and actions are appropriate for them to have, gender division becomes prescriptive and restrictive. In some contexts, the gender binary system prescribes different appropriate behaviors for men and women that are based on traditional stereotypes which view men as assertive and women as submissive, in other words: men as powerful and women as powerless. In many scenarios power is given by society or taken by force by men simply because of their gender. To help boys avoid these traditional stereotypes, the purpose of this project is to examine the many communication channels that action figures have to send messages to children about gender, age, race and nationality so that through play they can experience different ideas about diversity, gender equality, merit based leadership and teamwork, so that through semi-guided dramatic play they can question and flexibilize any preconceptions they might have about these societal labels. The solution proposed by this project could not only be used already as an effective tool to begin challenging gender norms through play but also as a research tool for further inquiries into the matter. i All Right Reserved by Mario Rodrigo Cruz Rosas © 2018 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First I would like to thank my committee chair, Steve Doehler, for his guidance throughout this project, without which, this work might have digressed endlessly in the realm of design methodology. Thanks to his advice and practical understanding of design I was able to stay focused and on track, which for the time allotted to finish this project, was vitally important. For my friend, colleague and mentor, Juan Antonio Islas, I have nothing but gratitude. Without his invaluable help and encouragement, none of this would have ever happened. I will always be in debt with him. I also wish to thank all of my teachers at DAAP for their professionalism and dedication. Special thanks go to Craig Vogel, Michael Zender, Matt Wizinsky, Michael Roller, Samantha Krukowski and Tony Kawanari for their contagious passion for design and research. If I ever become half as good a teacher as any of them I would have accomplished much. To all of my classmates, I could not have asked for a better group of people to share this experience with; especially to all of my fellow “Cincycans”, I have no way to thank them enough because they truly provided me with a family far away from home. I also wish to thank my parents that have always given me the vital impulse to keep on going forward, and to my sister Monica for being there as a constant source of inspiration and guidance. Finally, I wish to thank my wise and strong wife, Andrea, for her understanding patience and loving support. I could not have done any of this without her. This project is dedicated to her. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF APENDICES .................................................................................................................................... viii PREFACE ....................................................................................................................................................... ix 1.- INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 2.- BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Historical background: Why pink for girls and blue for boys? ............................................................ 5 2.2.- Identifying a problem: Gendered division of toys ............................................................................ 9 2.3 Understanding a problem: Children’s use of gender stereotypes .................................................... 13 2.4 Understanding a problem: Parents’ beliefs and practices regarding gender ................................... 15 2.5.- The importance of play ................................................................................................................... 17 2.5.1 Pretend, Make-believe play ....................................................................................................... 18 2.5.2 Pretend play to challenge gender norms. .................................................................................. 19 2.5.3 Gender schemes. ....................................................................................................................... 20 2.5.4 Deciding which playing option to use to challenge gender norms ............................................ 21 3.- INITIAL RESEARCH PHASE ...................................................................................................................... 23 3.1 Understanding Context: Toys ........................................................................................................... 23 3.2 Analogous products .......................................................................................................................... 24 3.3 Content analysis ................................................................................................................................ 26 3.3.1 Male/Female ratio or MFR ......................................................................................................... 27 3.3.2 Level of active participation of female characters ..................................................................... 28 3.3.3 Relationship between male and female characters .................................................................. 29 3.3.4 Theme ........................................................................................................................................ 30 3.4 Visual analysis ................................................................................................................................... 31 3.4.1Character’s physical features ...................................................................................................... 31 3.4.2 Sculpting style ............................................................................................................................ 31 3.4.4 Action figure outfits ................................................................................................................... 34 3.5 Content and Visual analysis findings ................................................................................................. 35 iv 4.- CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................................................... 39 4.1 First hypothesis ................................................................................................................................. 39 4.2 Second hypothesis ............................................................................................................................ 39 4.3 Finding a playing theme .................................................................................................................... 39 4.4 Visual analysis of Animal Planet and Playmobil wildlife toys. .......................................................... 41 5.- IDEATION ............................................................................................................................................... 45 5.1 Character development .................................................................................................................... 45 5.2 The syntax of action figures .............................................................................................................. 45 5.3 Elements of design ............................................................................................................................ 46 5.3.1 Gender ....................................................................................................................................... 46 5.3.2 Ethnicity ..................................................................................................................................... 46 5.3.3 Age ............................................................................................................................................