Even though toys are still heavily segregated into gendered stereotypes and biases, the toys that either gender actually play with are surprisingly mixed. Observational experiments conducted by British educationalist Becky Francis (2010), have shown that, while the vast majority picked toys catered towards their own gender, girls and boys also pick toys that are marketed towards the opposite gender. For example, one girl picked Spiderman as her favourite toy, while one of the boys preferred the figurines from Little People over any other toy (p. 329). Furthermore, Francis (2010) notes that girls are much more likely to be interested in toys catered to boys than vice versa.
The internet directly affects the rise of social autonomy (Castells, 2014), and thus allows for more individual choice in toy preferences; an anyone-can-like-anything mindset. One way this can be exemplified is through the internet phenomenon of the “Bronies”, an all-male fanbase for the new season of the heavily girl-catered, fantasy-horse series My Little Pony . The show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP:FiM) was launched in 2010 and the online community of male fans actively embraced the colourful world of magical horses that had only garnered female attention before the season’s airing. Through online platforms, the Bronies found camaraderie, had discussion, and celebrated of their shared passion, challenging societal norms and gender stereotypes (Watercutter, 2011).
The quick rise in popularity of MLP:FiM in the advent of the Bronies, however, raises the question why it took young men liking the concept, which has been around since the 1980s (Hix, 2012), to gain world-wide recognition? One long-time female fan states this succinctly: “We’ve been here forever, and nobody seemed to care. But now that there are all these guys in their 20s that are crazy about it, it’s suddenly important and it means something.” (Hix, 2012) and so, while a great number of male fans have started liking pink magical ponies and have been able to build a community thanks to the internet, bridging the gender-divide of toys and other entertainment media, the societal norms still shine through on the internet.
Castells, M. (2014). Introduction. OpenMind; Madrid: BBVA. https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/the-impact-of-the-internet-on-society-a-global-perspective/
Francis, B. (2010). Gender, toys and learning. Oxford Review of Education, 36(3), 325–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054981003732278
Hix, L. (2012). My Little Pony Smackdown: Girls vs. Bronies. Collectors Weekly. https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/my-little-pony-smackdown-girls-vs-bronies/
IMDb. (n.d.). My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. In IMDb. Internet Movie Database. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1751105/episodes/?season=1
Watercutter, A. (2011, June 9). My Little Pony Corrals Unlikely Fanboys Known as “Bronies.” WIRED; WIRED. https://www.wired.com/2011/06/bronies-my-little-ponys/
ChannelFrederator. (2018). The Evolution of My Little Pony | Channel Frederator [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Wc9S7CWl5R4