Hasbro is on a real 80s / G1 kick on Facebook this year, anyone noticed?

[LadyMoondancer]

Boys get base, castle, weapons, slime, vehicles.

Girls get dollhouses, house stuff, pools, ice cream stands, castles, cars, clothes, color changing stuff, pets, food, fountains, stores, schools, furniture, and so on and so forth.

Wow, that's an interesting point!  You're right, "boys toys" really don't get a lot of accessories related to anything except maybe war.  (Thinking of G.I. Joe and all its assault vehicles here.)  Yeah, they really don't get a lot of "the fun stuff."  They never get to relax.  Poor toys.

[Ragamuffin]

Boys get base, castle, weapons, slime, vehicles.

Girls get dollhouses, house stuff, pools, ice cream stands, castles, cars, clothes, color changing stuff, pets, food, fountains, stores, schools, furniture, and so on and so forth.

Wow, that's an interesting point!  You're right, "boys toys" really don't get a lot of accessories related to anything except maybe war.  (Thinking of G.I. Joe and all its assault vehicles here.)  Yeah, they really don't get a lot of "the fun stuff."  They never get to relax.  Poor toys.

Tbh, I was thinking about making this comment on the "poop toy fad" thread, boy toys are. Pretty...................bad imo. I feel like its not just "not my taste" kind of thing, a lot of things aren't my taste. Things like Ninja Turtles, Transformers, super heroes? Cool. I'm not interested but it's not insulting. But you see so many commercials for things like "Whoah! Radical!! Here's a rude truck that transforms into a dinosaur!!! He comes with 40 different burp and fart sound effects!!!" like ???????? How many farting transforming truck toys do you need

[LadyMoondancer]

Here's the weird part (which I sort of touched on in the 'gross toys' thread) . . . I was at a toy store in the mall and glanced over "the Grossery Gang".  (A parody of Shopkins.  They're food--BUT GROSS!)  And in addition to blind bags, they have . . . playsets.  Like, a straight out shopping market playset.  (BUT GROSS!  Because it's dirty!)

Which is sort of interesting, because it's like . . . it started as a parody of Shopkins, but now it's actually promoting the exact same kind of play as Shopkins (play pretend with these small food-people figures), just reskinned as 'gross' to make it acceptable to little boys who shy away from 'girly' things.

Spoiler

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

They can call this "horrid hot dogs" all they want, but really it's just a hot dog stand playset, LOL.

[Ragamuffin]

It assumes that all girls tend to act/like certain things, and that the rest of the toys that don't emphasize a nuturing aspect are for boys. Studies show that boys who play with nurture/care driven toys often become more involved fathers, likely due to this practiced scenario in early youth.

^^^^ Exactly. I don't see how it's wrong if a boy wants to get a dollhouse or something. Being a good father? Nah........boys MUST like............Tools And Cars.......Mold And Fungus.......The Yuck...

Since G5 is planned to be more gender-neutral, I wonder how it's gonna be marketed? How will it be designed? Even if they go the more neutral route I can't image a dude going down the toy aisle with his son to pick him up a Pinkie Pie figure. Hasbro even made a "ponies with swords going to war" line and I guess it flopped since it was ALWAYS on clearance and lasted one (1) year. Because it's branded as "My Little Pony" it's for girls, so boys are physically incapable of playing with it.

This is a bit off-topic though, yeah?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

In Canada, McDonald's did away with the girl/boy toy by switching to, "Toy or Book?"  The little paperback books are from Canadian authors and are mini-versions of picture/storybooks so it's not just a cheap gimmick, you can actually read and enjoy them. 

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Here's the weird part (which I sort of touched on in the 'gross toys' thread) . . . I was at a toy store in the mall and glanced over "the Grossery Gang".  (A parody of Shopkins.  They're food--BUT GROSS!)  And in addition to blind bags, they have . . . playsets.  Like, a straight out shopping market playset.  (BUT GROSS!  Because it's dirty!)

Which is sort of interesting, because it's like . . . it started as a parody of Shopkins, but now it's actually promoting the exact same kind of play as Shopkins (play pretend with these small food-people figures), just reskinned as 'gross' to make it acceptable to little boys who shy away from 'girly' things.

Spoiler

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

They can call this "horrid hot dogs" all they want, but really it's just a hot dog stand playset, LOL.

Not quite. Grossery Gang isn't a Shopkins parody, both Shopkins and Grossery Gang are made by Moose Toys. And Grossery Gang is the followup to their previous line Trash Pack, which they made before Shopkins. Shopkins was essentially created to be Trash Pack but aimed at girls.

[Taffeta]

Just the idea of gender sterotyping toys has always been a source of stress for us that don't fall under the heteronormative.

Stereotyping in general is damaging to everybody.

I still don't see MLP as a 'girly toy', at least not G1. It's a label Hasbro wanted to put on it, through their advertising, and it's one other people put on it for that reason. But toys are what you make them. The problem of stereotyping in toys is only an issue when it spreads to parental disapproval. At which point there's a problem in the parent more than the marketing. I knew boys at school who had ponies or played with them, and I also knew boys who were punished for liking arty or drama or music stuff. I knew boys who did ballet and I knew boys who played football. And the boys who took our ponires and threw them on the roof usually ended up running from us screaming as we chased them with the unicorns to teach them a lesson.

Thinking back, calling something a girl toy or a boy toy didn't make me play with it or otherwise. My parents let me play with what toys I wanted, not what they thought appropriate for my gender, so I think that I was lucky. It also makes me think that a lot of the problem is what the parent wants, not what the stores are doing, as they react to parental expectations to obtain parental money. Hence so many annoying pink shades on baby doll and 'girl' toy concepts, and green and khaki in 'monster truck boy toy' stuff.

I would;ve been the kid who had her ponies riding around in the monster truck, but I digress

I remember recently there was a project in the UK on TV where they tried to degender the children in terms of their assumptions and they improved the confidence of girls and the empathy of boys by removing the gender traits or associations from things - for example, what jobs for what gender, what boys and girls can do, etc. THey also did a test with babies dressed as girls and boys and in every case the care provider (not knowing the kids' true genders) chose toys for the kid based on what they were wearing and what they were told the child was called, they didn't stop to see what the kid themselves chose.

Not saying that gendering toys in stores is ever right, but I think it's feeding into an existing culture, it's not creating it. The stores want money. This is a way to ensure getting it. It's social values that need to be shifted, by letting kids choose what they want to play with without judgement. Frankly, I think that has nothing to do with whether a child is heteronormative or not. I think it affects every child, whether they identify with a particular gender or none at all. We all should have the right growing up to feed and develop our imaginations according to our own selves and personalities, irrespective of our gender identity.

[Leave a Whisper]

Here's the weird part (which I sort of touched on in the 'gross toys' thread) . . . I was at a toy store in the mall and glanced over "the Grossery Gang".  (A parody of Shopkins.  They're food--BUT GROSS!)  And in addition to blind bags, they have . . . playsets.  Like, a straight out shopping market playset.  (BUT GROSS!  Because it's dirty!)

Which is sort of interesting, because it's like . . . it started as a parody of Shopkins, but now it's actually promoting the exact same kind of play as Shopkins (play pretend with these small food-people figures), just reskinned as 'gross' to make it acceptable to little boys who shy away from 'girly' things.

Spoiler

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

They can call this "horrid hot dogs" all they want, but really it's just a hot dog stand playset, LOL.

Not quite. Grossery Gang isn't a Shopkins parody, both Shopkins and Grossery Gang are made by Moose Toys. And Grossery Gang is the followup to their previous line Trash Pack, which they made before Shopkins. Shopkins was essentially created to be Trash Pack but aimed at girls.

Hmm. Didn't know that.

[Taffeta]

Thank you so much for that insight, Taffeta. It really helped pick me up a bit.

You're welcome. Unfortunately too many people in this world spend too much time judging people for not being the same as them. I think it sucks you went through those things, and hopefully as we go forward attitudes will begin to change so toys can be less gendered as well.

I have been very blessed with my parents. I also understand stereotyping. I have an autism diagnosis. You would be surprised at the things people consider "acceptable" to say, think, or do relating to that. I genuinely believe, though, that the majority of people are not prejudiced or judgemental. Just a lot of people don't understand or engage enough with difference to realise when something is hurtful or offensive. I think that will change the more we talk about things that the few genuinely prejudiced people want to stifle, and then we'll all be a lot happier

Going back to the original theme, it is interesting how G4 has been so adopted by boys. I sort of think that the reason is because it's particularly girly. That might sound strange but it happens in other fandoms as well. I don't know if it's a protective instinct or what it is, but with the gender stereotypes, it's made the whole thing more hostile than it needs to be. So then, Hasbro come in with G1 stuff, which (for me) was fairly gender neutral in terms of the actual toy presentation...and that's almost an affront on what they identify as MLP.

It's true that there are horrific ads for G1 (lol), but what always struck me as the identifying factor for MLP as a child was a rainbow and a field. As an adult I've learned that's because the cards from my early childhood are mostly not pink - they are a field/grassy/waterfall/whatever scene with a blue sky. G2 cards are almost entirely blue. It's only since G3 and G4 that the stereotypical pink/girly connection has been forced into MLP in all the packaging.

[LadyMoondancer]

It can definitely come from the parents, but it doesn't always . . . There was a case in 2015 where an eight year old girl was teased and bullied at school because . . . she wore an R2D2 jacket.  The other girls told her "Star Wars is for boys."  They teased her and told her she was going to turn into a boy, because she liked Star Wars.  The girl, Layla, started telling her mom she didn't want to wear the jacket anymore . . . The story does have a happy ending because her mom reached out to other Star Wars fans, including female fans, and they rallied around and supported the little girl.  But in this case the parents were totally supportive, but it was Layla's peers who were the problem.    And I doubt if the parents of the other girls told them "Star Wars is for BOYS only" either. (Like, maybe one kid would have a jerk of a parent who said that, but MULTIPLE girls in one grade?) I think the girls were just going off the cues they'd internalized:  not swathed in pink? Must not be for girls.

(I mean, there's nothing wrong with pink and lace and frills either, but why can't pink be something that is also for boys?  What can't frills be something that is also for boys?  Look at the fashions of the past for god's sake, fashionable men used to be practically drowning in frills and lace.)

That's interesting about the Trash Pack, I had no idea!

[Leave a Whisper]

Kids can be cruel little monsters.

[Loa]

Guys, back on topic please. Every topic dosen't have to be a debate!

[Ragamuffin]

This is also happening on their IG! And they had lots of G1 stuff at the SDCC booth this year, apparently? Pins and buttons! I wish they offered those online later, I would love some more G1 buttons and things!! I hope they keep it up!

It is kind of odd. I mean, it's lovely, but odd. Is it just designed to snare in a generation they assume now has disposable income to buy it, or is it something else? 35 is a really awkward anniversary to celebrate with SO MUCH stuff...they didn't go to half these lengths with 25 (albeit this time they farmed out the most of this stuff to other companies under licence, so maybe that's it). I am absolutely not complaining about more G1 stuff, but I can't help but wonder why now?

80s/retro nostalgia maybe? But how many people are going out and buying the 35th anniversary and retro stuff who AREN'T collectors? How successful is "nostalgia" marketing? Like stuff like Nintendo can work because it appeals to everyone, and anyone can hook up their NES mini and enjoy Mario on it. But MLP? Toys are for kids, pastels are for kids, what are you going to do with a toy? And kids, why should they buy the ugly fat hippo ponies when they can buy the obviously superior deerlike mane6 toys?

The recent mainstream-ization of unicorns could play into it (companies love plastering unicorns or unicorn horns on EVERYTHING recently), but I don't think it's enough to do much for MLP imo.

[LadyMoondancer]

I think most of the retros get sold to people who aren't collectors.  Nostalgia is a huge factor . . . "Oh, I remember having a toy just like that!"  I was looking at Russ Trolls listings on eBay today and was hit with a "omg, I had a baby Troll just like that one!" moment.  And I hated Trolls, lol!  But seeing it brought back memories of being a kid.  I was in Target again today and they were cleared out of all the retros except one Sunlight, one Parasol, and one Blossom . . . This was after having pretty much two full sets earlier in the week!  They can't all be going to collectors, there aren't that many of us in Seattle, LOL.

Older kids may want toys that "match" the show they watch.  But MLP's lowest age range is reeeeally low (if you look at Amazon reviews, you'll see a lot of "my 2 year old loved this!" reviews for MLP FIM toys).  The younger kids are going to want any pony-shaped toy.  I took some ponies to a small Transformers convention and sold a MIB retro Snuzzle, some G3s, and some G4s . . . The kids never questioned (or even seemed to notice) that some were in different styles.  They just wanted ponies, all the ponies, any ponies. 

On a similar note, I was in an airport a few months ago and there was a four year old toting around a well-loved G3 Rainbow Flash.

[Taffeta]

I think that it doesn't matter much who buys them. If the manufacturer has profit then they keep making. But my impression from the staff in John Lewis is they have sold many. I am sure there are not that many ponypeople in this small town to account for all of the restocks. Also with Entertainer closed on Sundays there is a greater chance of kids finding toys in other places. In Epsom tge retros were shelved at kid eye height, not adult collector height. I think they are actually trying to win over parents and kids at the same time...and we collectors are just one section of that...

I haven't seen any ebay scalpers listing to sell in my area so I can only assume sales are kids, collectors and nostalgic.