Pay attention to the Marvel superhero Target commercial and you’ll notice the big four Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk) taking down Ultron armed with the trademark ruby red shopping cart, all to endorse the latest Avengers movie, Age of Ultron. As you’re watching this commercial, what do you notice is missing? Well, you may immediately ask yourself where is Hawkeye? The better question, though, might be, “Where is Black Widow, and why isn’t she in the commercial or toy lineup?” There aren’t many female heroines on movie screens and television, so for the ladies kicking and shooting into action, why aren’t there action figures?
There’s been much buzz around this controversial matter. A disgruntled father from California, John Marcotte, even made a video recently speaking out on how disappointed his two daughters were when a trip to Walmart for a “superheroine” produced empty results. To disprove this notion that mass marketing companies are lacking in heroine action figures, I took a trip to the nearest Target. The results are in the photos above. While strolling down the action figure aisle, I only came across one female action figure of a Marvel character, Spider-Woman. But where is Mystique (recently portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence) who kicked butt in last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past? Or Katniss Everdeen (Also portrayed by Lawrence) who went into action, bow and arrow drawn, in last year’s Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt. 1 and this year’s Mockingjay Pt. 2? Where are these leading ladies?
“I think it bothers me that there aren’t more female action roles depicted in mainstream and pop culture that can facilitate the production of more female action figures,” Janay Anderson, 24, responded when asked if it was bothersome she could not find a female action figure for her younger cousin, Serenity. Her observation is solid, the lack of heroines on the screen attributes to the lack of heroine toy presence. Unless you’re a collector and search online, you’re not likely to find female hero toys conveniently in the “$10 aisle.” Anderson goes to say “The lack of toys are more reflective of how society and that industry in particular views the roles of women.” The industry markets like we’re still in the 1960’s; girls are interested in Barbie and Easy Bake Ovens while boys are interested in Hot Wheels and Batman/Superman. But it’s 2015 and a new type of generation is afoot. Girls are aware that there just isn’t a Batman or Superman, there is a Batgirl and Supergirl.
There is also the matter of the lack of female minorities in the toy industry. That, again, is due to the lack of women of color on the big and little screens. With the next X-Men movie due in May (X-Men: Apacolypse), one can only hope Alexandra Shipp’s Storm will get her own action figure.
But why is this so important to make a big fuss? Why not just let young girls make edible cakes in their Easy Bake’s and dress up with Barbie’s while the boys race with their cars and save the damsel and the day? What is that teaching our little girls? That their place is in the kitchen and not the work force? Instead why not give them the hope that they can be the next Hilary Clinton, up as a candidate for presidency, or ruling the R&B world like Beyoncé? Companies like Walmart, Target, and Toys R Us aren’t aware that the female heroines young girls look up to give them hope that they can accomplish the feats their favorite character has. You have the mutant Storm who was revered has a goddess in her home of Kenya because of her power. She is currently the leader of her team of all female X-Men. Also, take Katniss Everdeen who stood up to a tyrant because she knew the practices of her capital (sending children in an arena to battle for their lives) were immoral. She too is revered as a beacon of hope and justice. Characters such as these two help young girls realize that they have the potential to be the next influential figure. It may seem so simple as to not produce these toys, but it leaves a bigger impression than realized. Marcotte put it best “there should be a superhero aisle for both girls and boys, who’s to say if female action figures won’t sale. We really won’t know until we try.”
