At first glance, ponies might seem to be innocent toys — pastel-coloured figures of friendship, imagination and fantasy. Behind shiny manes and expressive eyes, though, it is an universe of gender stereotypes, social conditioning and cultural contradictions. In this Tour 2, we aim to unpack the hidden meanings encoded in the universe, guiding you through an exploration of not just how gender is reflected in toys, but of how it is constructed and performed in them.
We start by looking at hair play and posture, following the ways that everyday design decisions — long, brushable manes, slanting heads, fine hooves — are teaching girls to be feminine. From there, we move on to more deeper aspect: sexualization of toys and what it means. How do girls respond to idealized, hyper feminized figures? And what does it mean when adult men erotize ponies from a universe that initially designed to be watched by girls only?
Also, A little heads-up for this tour: ponies and horses are often mentioned interchangeably, although they do have some differences between them, because they are in fact the same species.