Disneyland just challenged gender norms with one awesome mannequin
When you visit Disneyland, you expect crazy crowds and lines that even FastPasses can’t really do much about and a fun time with family and friends. Also,yes, of course, you expect to be sold stuff at the Happiest Place on Earth, and you expect all that stuff to be pretty gender-conform-y. Mickey ears for dudes, Minnie ears for the ladies, there are truckloads of Disney princess merch for little girls whereas little boys get hit with a lot of Pixar gear- Buzz and Woody, all the cars of Radiator Springs, etc. Disneyland tends to play by all the rules found in the Gender Stereotypes Handbook, which is why we were so surprised and delighted to discover that one mannequin may be serving as a sign that the theme park is slowly but surely changing its ways.
As The New Civil Rights Movement reports, recently annual passholder Jarret Hastings was walking through California Adventure, when he spotted, in one of the boutiques, a little boy mannequin stationed on the “girls” side of the window decked out in a Minnie hat and shirt and carrying a Minnie purse.
“I think that it’s great that the Disney company can put something like this on display in the parks,” Hastings told The New Civil Rights Movement. “Not every guest may notice that it’s a boy mannequin with traditionally feminine attire but it goes to show that Disney is a supportive organization that welcomes everyone.”
When we say “little boy mannequin,” we should clarify, it’s appears to be the mannequin traditionally used to represent boys at Disneyland. Were this mannequin magically turned into a real, live child, we have no idea what gender this mannequin would identify with. Which is exactly what is so fantastic about this mannequin. It’s a welcome change for the children who pass by the window to buy whatever they really want inside—what they identify with, not what they’re prescribed. (And for anyone who thinks children aren’t perceptive to the problem of gender-conforming displays, consider these two awesome kids who recently wrote a letter to Disney about stereotypes that need to change.)
We applaud Disneyland for representing gender nonconformism with this little mannequin and hope the park and the company proceeds forward in this awesomely inclusive direction. There is still so much work to do, but this little display is a step in the right direction.
Related:
Three incredible minutes of girls demolishing gender-based stereotypes
Gender neutral baby names are officially winning in 2015
Featured image via Disneyland.com
