Editor’s note: Erica Carranza, Ph.D., is VP of consumer psychology at Boston-based market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey. This is an edited version of a post that originally appeared under the title, “Was a gender-neutral doll the right move for Mattel?”
Did I ever tell you about my dissertation? Wait, don’t go! I promise it’s interesting.
It was 2002. My advisor and I had been studying gender stereotypes, which we found were still depressingly pervasive. Then, for my dissertation, I examined reactions to men and women who broke the mold. I thought that people would dislike stereotypically masculine (e.g., ambitious) women and feminine (e.g., sensitive) men, but try to hide it – so I measured their emotional reactions using facial EMG.
Facial EMG involves placing pairs of electrodes over muscles that contract when we frown or smile, as shown on the Mona Lisa. (My apologies to any art history majors out there.) People can’t mask the immediate, involuntary emotional reactions that register in their faces. Most of that muscular activity is too fast and too subtle to be captured by human or computer/AI-based facial coding, but EMG captures it well. If you expect people to actively lie about their feelings, facial EMG is the way to go.
What did I find in analyzing literally millions of milliseconds of facial activity? Feminine men elicited warm smiles from women – but were laughed at by other men. And masculine women were universally reviled. Lots of eyebrow furrowing. People didn’t even try to hide it.
Add this to the many other forces that encourage adherence to gender norms – like the manly men and womanly women portrayed in everything from blockbuster movies to local ads – and it’s no shock that kids learn gender roles early. Kids are perceptive. They see stereotypical male and female characters held-up as ideals in toys and on TV, and can easily infer what’s expected of them.
In this way, gender stereotypes are both pervasive and constraining, like invisible straightjackets we wear everyday – we don’t have to let them confine us, but the pressure is always there.
That leads me to Mattel and Creatable World, its new gender-neutral doll. According to their official tagline, it’s “designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in – giving kids the freedom to create their own customizable characters again and again.”
Here is a major toymaker refusing to communicate an expectation that “boys will be boys” and “girls will be girls.” This is huge. Especially when we consider the crucial role of play for kids in imagining possibilities, exploring interests, connecting with others and discovering oneself.
So did Mattel do the right thing from a moral perspective?
In my opinion, yes. When kids don’t feel the need to live-up to masculine and feminine ideals, they get to be who they are without pressure or fear of reprisal. They can be smart, compassionate, strong, expressive, ambitious, fashionable, funny – or all of the above. It’s up to them!
But Mattel is a publicly traded company looking for healthy profits. Particularly nowadays, when so many things – online and off – compete for kids’ time and attention. So it’s also worth asking:
Was a gender-neutral doll the right move from a brand perspective?
Again, I’d say yes. It’s exactly the right move. Why? Because of the crucial role identity benefits play in driving brand appeal.
At CMB, we’ve identified four key psychological benefits brands need to deliver in order to drive appeal:
- functional benefits (checking-off goals or to-dos; saving time; saving money);
- social benefits (sense of community; conversation; social connection);
- emotional benefits (positive feelings; enhanced joy; reduced pain); and
- identity benefits (pride and self-esteem; self-expression; a positive self-image).
We’re still knee-deep in the analysis of our research on this topic, but so far this much is clear: Identity benefits are particularly important.
That holds true across brands and industries – even “rational” industries like financial services. But it’s especially true for brands in the entertainment space, like Mattel. With Creatable World, Mattel is helping kids explore, express and embrace their unique identities with a doll that offers more possibilities and imposes fewer constraints. This will pay off in kids’ interest and engagement.
Yes, many parents may be against it. But I have two things to say about that based on what we’ve seen across multiple studies:
- Kids tend to drive toy purchase trends. They see, they like, they ask and ask and ask … and parents want their kids to be happy, so kids often get what they want – even when their parents feel ambivalent about it.
- Most parents aren’t morally opposed to their kids playing with toys associated with the opposite gender. It’s that they’re afraid of other kids’ reactions. As a parent, I can relate. There are times I’ve steered my boys away from things that I thought might lead to the spirit-crushing, innocence-busting experience of being ridiculed by peers. But when parents see evidence of shifting norms and acceptance among kids, their fears will diminish – and the fact the Mattel has released a gender-neutral doll is evidence in itself. After all, Mattel knows kids, and they put a lot of money on the line. So, if my boys want a Creatable World doll, it’s theirs. Because what I really want is for them to be able to choose their paths – and feel valued for the amazing, unique individuals they are without having to squeeze themselves into a narrow vision of what it means to be a man.
If change is on our doorstep, I’m ready to welcome it in – and I’m likely not the only parent who feels this way.