[vindowviper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thewriteguy

I agree. There's nothing "wrong" or "weird" about seeking out and collecting the women action figures, even if you are an older man. For one, they are rare and thus already have collect-ability value to them. But the toy makers often do a lousy job of making them. Many of them do not look good... it really appears as if the sculptors have been ordered not to make them look too attractive, whether in terms of sexual appeal or in just a general "cool" appearance.

I am not sure where this reluctance from the toy makers comes from when it comes to making woman action figures. I really do not think that little boys have a problem with them -- I've noticed from younger relatives that they really do want them, because they think they are cool, too (especially if it's a character like Harley or Catwoman). They want them because Batman needs to have Catwoman or Batgirl around to have adventures with, too.

I think the toy makers are either scared of being accused of making sexual toys for little boys, or they themselves (Hasbro and Mattel) are still led by very conservative-minded, repressed old men, who find the idea of "tiny girl dolls" being played with by little boys to be unsettling and improper. Sorry for being blunt but this has been on my mind for several years in regards to the major action figure makers. Remember: Barbie was originally created as a sex doll toy given as a gag at bachelor parties before it was re-marketed as a more "proper" toy for little girls. I bet a lot of old men running Hasbro and Mattel came from that era still.

As far as marketing geared toward young boys, I can understand the perspective of limiting female characters. If my son is invited to a birthday party and he wants to get his male friend an action figure, to play it safe I am going to buy the male action figure. The same goes for Christmas gifts. Unless the female figure is specifically requested, I am more likely to buy the male action figure. While this isn't always the situation, a good number of toys are purchased as gifts, so that mindset definitely carries some weight, regardless of fairness or political correctness. As for me, I enjoy playing with female characters, especially when my daughters want to dress them up in doll clothes and accessorize. Though I will probably play with just about any toy my kids want to play with. They just need to keep their mitts off my fragile Terrordrome when I'm not home.