News Articles and Segments

Advertising for children’s toys has been under fire in the UK with the UK even banning certain gender stereotypes in the media. This is because the ideals permeated through the messaging can be harmful to children’s development of gender. The news segment linked below is from Good Morning America is a review of why the law is going in place and the reasons for it.

The article The Pink Aisle written by Debbie Sterling, is a short piece about the creation of her toy, GoldieBlox. Sterling promotes the toy as a way to encourage young girls in STEM. While she’s a known name in discussions of the pink aisle, I wouldn’t say this article is especially informative about the phenomenon as a whole. The article reads more promotional than analytical.

Gender representation in Video Games is a Wikipedia page that documents how women have historically been portrayed in video games. Wikipedia, while not always the most credible source, can be a very accessible one. The article traces the trajectory of gender representation in games, from its early days to where it stands now.

Female characters are being rebranded more frequently according to Science direct. This article is a historical overview of the changing trends in female characters in video games.

The Smurfette principle is the idea that in much of kids television there is a multitude of boy characters with one token girl, for example Smurfette. The New York Times coined the term in an article in 1991 titled Hers; The Smurfette Principle. This article is well circulated and coined a term used often in critiques of women in media.