On what obviously sells.

In the Spring 2007 issue of Bitch, one of my favorite brainy feminist publications, writer Jesse Rutherford describes an interesting phenomenon related to the evolution of a popular toy. Remember "My Little Pony," those oh-so-covetable early-1980s tony ponies that smelled like shower curtains and had oh-so-brushable manes and tails?

If you compare photos of those ponies from then and now, there's quite a difference. You see, the first ponies -- actually called "My Pretty Pony" in 1981, in their first incarnations -- looked like this:



... whereas later versions have qualities such as shorter front legs (which push the rump upward in a mammalian mating display, a trick I have used on Mr. Kell on more than one occasion), "accentuated buttocks" (stamped with decorations that reflect something about each pony's very own personality), wildly flouncy hair, loud colors, "bedroom eyes," and, in some cases, "parted lips." Whoa.





The comparison between new and old is certainly striking: the new ponies exhibit some rather "sexy(tm)" human characteristics. Rutherford makes the case that these toys have become, well, suggestive in appearance, "training [girls] in sexual display before they are capable of understanding the meaning of the signals they send."

I'm not sure whether I agree with the degree of this claim, and I don't intend to delve into what sexual imagery or knowledge is "obvious" or "right or wrong" or "appropriate for children" in this post. There is clearly much valuable discussion to be had about gender politics, child-raising, and feminism, but I'll leave it to much more eloquent voices and forums than mine.

Rutherford's case does point out a capitalist trend I find pretty disturbing, though, particularly here in the US: "sexy" imagery, whether or not it's labeled as such, sells, no matter what the product itself actually is. And I believe that social trends among little kids help shape their ideas on what is considered desirable, in terms of responding to advertising and the urge to collect. They might not have the discerning eye to see why those ponies (or other toys) are so inviting or exciting, let alone enunciate it, but wow, if they don't get to possess one (or a few), they sure might feel like they're missing out on something.

A recent post from Tom Paine over at Polyamorously Perverse holds some interesting food for thought: he speaks of the distinction between "sexual" and "sexy" and touches on the power dynamics of each. My own feeling, as I paraphrased in a comment there, is that "sexy" involves a somewhat trademarked set of factors in this culture -- a way to look, a way to behave, a way to dress. It's a very visual, surfactant standard, which can be disempowering, both in terms of gender politics and of economics.

With regard to the come-hither ponies, and among other toys that include mature or possibly-sexually-influenced imagery (on the girly-toy side, consider Bratz, Barbie, the female Transformers with high heels and big ol' robot-boobies, you name it), this is what disturbs me most about it: there's little variation or room for individual expression. So much of the stuff we're supposed to (trained to?) want, from the earliest ages, carries the same visual stamps of what is Desirable. Socially, it's powerful, especially among the young who want to belong and "fit in" at certain ages. And when we grow up, if we're involved with mainstream culture at all, we're surrounded by surfactant, silly evidence of the same concept: if we, ourselves, are to be Desired, we are expected to emulate the outward details of a particular template that renders us predictable, nonthreatening, and "safe."

It's interesting that so much stuff is even packaged with feel-good messages that claim to support expressing individuality, but miss the irony of buying a prepackaged object to do so: we can buy cars or cell phones or iPod skins in whatever colors we want. Just as we can buy our daughters a My Little Pony that's specifically interested in princess play, ice cream, or making scarves. ("Pretty pony figure has an elegant CUTIE MARK design that trails down her leg! Pony figure comes with brush. What a unique pony to add to your collection!")

To be honest, I suspect that it's more a factor of "Buy several!" than "Express yourself!" -- but then again, I'm clearly a bit of a cynic, and I never was terribly concerned with following styles or trends. At any rate, may we all think for ourselves, and make our own decisions on what is desirable, whether it's applied to "stuff" we collect at any age or to our own sexuality as we mature.