The DC SuperHero Girls line is aimed at 6-year-olds and the look great. Mattel designer Christine Kim says the action figures are were designed by women for girls, not by men for boys.
From Bloomberg:
To show what a huge difference that makes, Kim picks up examples of the top-heavy Wonder Women and Batgirl action figures found on shelves today. "Beautiful, but really sexualized," Kim says. "There's a very direct emphasis on a womanly part."
Mattel learned some interesting things when conducting research for the toys: When boys play with action figures, they want to kill the villains, but girls want "the bad guys to be redeemed and turned into friends." Also, the girls the talked to said they did not want skinny "girly" action figures, so Kim "instructed her team to use gymnasts, dancers, and basketball players as primers for sculpting more muscular versions of the dolls and action figures."
We all know the game Operation in which the player must conduct surgery on a curious character named Cavity Sam. As the commercial goes, “It takes a very steady hand.” But as sci-tech historian Allison Marsh writes in IEEE Spectrum, Operation evolved from a very different electrified game called Death Valley that was invented in […]
Casio G-Shock and Transformers are releasing a Nemesis Prime action figure that contains a G-Shock wristwatch in its chest. More than meets the eye, the Optimus Prime also transforms into a fancy pedestal for the watch when it’s not on your wrist. The ¥30,000 JPY (US$275) set will only be available in Japan. G-SHOCK DW-5600TF19-SET […]
During the early 20th century, Kutol Products was the world’s biggest manufacturer of wallpaper cleaning products. But once coal heating in homes was replaced with oil, gas, and electricity, dirty wallpaper became less of a problem and Kutol was in trouble. So in 1956, they pivoted. From Smithsonian: Joseph McVicker was trying to turn around […]
Do you have any Star Wars fans on your list? Given the reach and output of its new corporate masters these days, it might be easier to ask if there’s anyone out there who isn’t a Star Wars fan. So let’s narrow it down further: Do you know a Star Wars fan who likes to […]
There’s much ado about coffee brewing methods these days, but most of us – at least on the busy weekdays – just want our morning joe to be consistent, easy, and most of all, fast. If that sounds like anyone on your Christmas list, they’re going to get a lot of mileage out of the […]
Online shopping is going to be through the roof this month, and you’d better believe that hackers know it. If you’re going to invest in a virtual private network, now is the time. Especially when Windscribe VPN is offering its own holiday discount. At their current price point, it’s well worth jumping on the paid […]
