Upon shopping for my nine year old sister, I came across some interesting items that really got me thinking about the way our society is set up. I was on the Target website searching for toys. The toys section of the website had many subcategories, the first two being ‘Girls’ Toys’ and ‘Boys’ Toys’. So, I clicked on the link to the girls section; here I found even more categories to narrow my search. The categories were: Dolls and Accessories, Stuffed Animals and Toys, Pink Toys, etc. The toys were even organized by “Favorite Characters”; the top favorite character for girls was Barbie. Out of curiosity, I went back and clicked on the ‘Boys’ Toys’ link. The subcategories in this section were: Tech Toys, Riding Toys, Vehicles, etc, and the top favorite character for boys was Transformers. The fact that the toys section can so easily be broken down into toys for girls and toys for boys and each section has such obvious differences shows how our society is divided by gender, or should I say how gender divides our society. In his book, Identities and Inequalities, Newman explains that, “…Toys and games remain solidly segregated along gender lines. Decades of research indicate that "girls' toys" still revolve around themes of domesticity, fashion, and motherhood and "boys' toys" emphasize action and adventure” (112). On my search for the greatest gift for my sister, I discovered a new line of dolls, The Only Hearts Club. Although The Only Hearts Club dolls are gender specific, they send a message to girls that is counter-hegemonic.
In today’s society it is almost impossible to get away from gender stereotyping. The Only Hearts Club dolls are marketed solely for girls; their slogan is, “Real cool girls… just like you” (The Only Hearts Club). The company also states that, “The Only Hearts Club is a content-based brand of real dolls for real girls” (The Only Hearts Club). The Club consists of eight dolls, and they all come with cute and cuddly puppies. Soft, cute, and cuddly toys are always associated with girls. The dolls are also associated with horses and ponies. Furthermore, there are many different outfits for the dolls, from sleepwear to swimwear. Dressing the dolls and playing with their puppies are stereotypical activities for girls to enjoy. It is obvious that these dolls are only for girls and it would be weird for boys to play with them, especially since there is not even one doll that is a boy. Despite the fact that these dolls play a role in the hegemonic ideal of gender (dolls are only for girls), they incorporate counter-hegemonic ideals of femininity.
Since our first moments of speech, hegemonic ideas of how girls are supposed to look, act, feel and think are instilled in us, but The Only Hearts Club is trying to break away from these dominant beliefs. Newman states that, “What it means to be male or female, how you’re supposed to look, and the things you’re expected to do by virtue of being labeled male or female are entirely dependent of the societal, historical, and even the familial context in which you live” (53). Media and pop culture also influence the gender specific rules that we are taught. Because Barbie and Bratz dolls have become so popularized, they have set many of the standards that young girls follow. These specific dolls wore too much makeup and inappropriate clothing for the age group of girls that the dolls targeted. Jean Kilbourne, author of The More You Subtract, The More You Add: Cutting Girls Down to Size, pointed out that, “very little girls are offered makeup and toys like Special Night Barbie, which shows them how to dress up for a night out” (260). So girls were attracted to skimpy clothing and cosmetics at younger 
ages. The Only Hearts Club dolls, on the other hand, wear fashionable age-appropriate clothing. They also do not have any makeup on. Unlike Barbie, whose body relates more with that of a grown woman, and Bratz, whose bodies are disproportionate, the bodies of the Only Hearts Club dolls are more realistic to look like the girls who play with them. Young girls will now be able to physically relate to the toys they play with.
Not only can girls physically relate to the Only Hearts Club dolls, but they also can relate to them emotionally. All of the eight dolls have different personality traits and interests; these interests include: adorable pets, horses, singing, dancing, sports, hiking, sailing, cooking, arts and crafts, skating, and gymnastics. The surprising aspect about these activities is that some of them are typically related to boys. For instance, sports, from basketball to soccer, and outdoor activities, from hiking to sailing, are “normally” associated with boys. Gender appropriate behaviors are expose
d to children at a young age; “For girls and women in the United States, it means things like not burping in public, sitting “ladylike,” paying attention to appearance, wearing makeup and jewelry. For boys and men, it usually means things like being assertive, not overtly displaying certain emotions, and not nurturing others, especially other adults”, Newman explains in his book (54). Now, however, girls are encouraged to take part in activities targeted mainly for boys as well. Furthermore, these dolls are great alternatives to Barbie and Bratz dolls, whose only interests are in fashion, makeup, and becoming divas. The Only Hearts Club dolls send a much needed positive message to young girls.
Another aspect of these dolls that should be applauded is their diversity. The dolls are, as stated by the manufacturer, “a diverse group of bright, cute and energetic young girls - Taylor Angelique, Karina Grace, Olivia Hope, Briana Joy, Lily Rose, Anna Sophia, Ka
yla Rae and Hannah Faith” (The Only Hearts Club). There are four Caucasian-American dolls, two African-American dolls, one Hispanic-American doll and one Asian-American doll. Although the majority of the dolls is Caucasian (the dominant race in America’s society), they do not all have blonde hair and blue eyes. There is the brunette and the red head, as well, and one doll with blonde hair has brown eyes. The Hispanic-American doll has brown hair and brown eyes, and her skin is a shade tanner than the Caucasian-American dolls. There is even diversity among the two African-American dolls. One of them is darker than the other with darker hair as well, and one has curly hair while the other has straight hair. Finally, the Asian-American has black hair and black eyes. This group of dolls is trying to show young girls that they are beautiful no matter what skin color or hairstyle they have. Newman says, “We can choose to rely on skin color or genital configuration as the primary means by which we make “us-them” distinctions. Or we can choose to downplay these traits and treat them with the same nonchalance that we treat eye color, hair color, or the shape of a nose or chin” (69). The Only Hearts Club is trying to make different ethnicities mainstream in order to trivialize the distinctions be
tween them.
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Works Cited
Kilbourne, Jean. "The More You Subtract, the More You Add." Gender, Race, and Class in the Media Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2003. 260.
Newman, D. M. Identities and Inequalities. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. 53-112.
The Only Hearts Club. 23 July 2008
Photos (Top to Bottom):
http://www.onlyheartsclub.com/index.html
http://www.onlyheartsclub.com/pages/meet.html
Last Four: http://www.onlyheartsclub.com/pages/meet_girls.html
