Okay, so bear with me. I need to get this out there, but I am having trouble articulating my issues with this toy.
I was reading on KevinMD the other day about how physicians in Russia are paid much less than physicians in the US. The thought is that physician is thought of more as a "caretaking" role there, and predominately suited to women. Then, because it is women's work, the compensation is similar to what other "women's" professions are here (teaching, nursing, social work). I can't find what I was reading on KevinMD, but here is another blog post about it:
And there is also a thought that as more women make their way into any profession, that profession seems to lose some of the respect and authority it once held, and medicine is starting to fit that bill.
Someone got my daughter a Doc Mcstuffins playset for Christmas, and I hate that toy. "Doc" was "diagnosing" her animals with "sleepyitis" and writing prescriptions for "lots of love and cuddles." Apparently, that's all girl doctors can do? I would say that I am reading too much into this, but my boys toys are not only super physicist robots, they have the ability to bend time and space through science, and are tough and brilliant. Why is my girl's toy taking a real job that is filled with tough and brilliant women and making it sound vapid and stupid?
To make it worse the kit comes with an otoscope and little fake x-ray. It looks like those things are just accessories to a doctors office rather than actual diagnostic tools. If "Doc" is going to take an x-ray, why doesn't she look at it to see what's wrong like a normal person? If we are using an otoscope, why can't lambie have an ear infection?
I know that I can play with my own daughter this way. What bothers me is the general perception. The dumbing down of science in order to make it appeal to girls. Like what girls like about vaccines isn't learning what an antibody is, but putting on a purple, sparkly band-aid and giving hugs. Doc Mcstuffins is not a positive role model. A positive female role model is one that boys and girls would aspire to be, but happens to be a girl. Not a dumbed down girlie version of a "man's" job. I can't imagine my boys wanting to be Doc Mcstuffins.
BTW, I love WordGirl. My boys love her, my girl loves her. No one feels like it's weird when the boys want to watch her show or imitate her. Why can't there be more girl protagonists like that?
Re: Not a fan of Doc McStuffins
I get where you are coming from, but what actually has always bothered me about Doc is that she is often fixing toys that in real life would be beyond repair. I'm not going to be able to pull out a bucket of beads and use one to replace the start button on my son's favorite electric toy, so I wish they didn't show that as an option.
LOL@socialmediamommy I think it's great that your 2 y/o's enjoy the show. I think it's a cute show. The problem I have with it is that little girls aren't the only ones watching it, and I don't think it does good things for the perception of women in medicine.
For example, in the last two days since that toy has come into our home, my 6 y/o boy has stopped wanting to be a doctor, and started wanting to be a scientist who studies the human body. It may be a coincidence (and in fact I didn't relate this with the Doc Mcstuffins toy until just now), but he has wanted to be a doctor for a couple of years now, and he just changed his mind yesterday.
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I have to agree with @ASmallWonder. Doc makes medicine, fixing things, empathy, etc. relatable for small children. My daughter is always going on about Doc whenever I take her to the dr. She loves her dr. kit and I happy to see she know how the instruments are supposed to be used.
This wasn't necessarily in the OP, but something I picked up along the way, but I have a hard time getting outraged about something being pink and "girly". My daughter loves pink and glitter and I refuse to be disappointed about that or even try to discourage it, and possibly teach her that liking "girly" things is less than or something to be avoided/ashamed of. I think it is great that Doc exhibits that children can be into fixing things and still like pink.
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Holy overthinking, Batman.
I am as Feminist as it comes and I view Doc McStuffins as a positive image. It's a Disney Junior show geared towards preschoolers. All of the shows in that age range are "dumbed down".
I will save my bra burning and Ms. Magazine waving for bigger injustices.
I am willing to bet my house that it has nothing to do with a Doc McStuffins toy.
And the more I think about this mindset, the more upsetting it is. You realize that you are perpetuating that misogynist notion that women demean and devalue a career choice by buying into this bullshit.
Here is the thing. You have the timeline wrong. Girls were interested in medicine first. My medical school class was 50% women 12 years ago. Then medicine gets to be increasingly regulated, with a decrease in pay. Now, in this environment, with more women going into medicine, and it becoming a worse job with a lower social status, doc mcstuffins comes out saying that it's all about giving kisses and taking care of people and not really about science at all. Science is boring and manly. That's for Sid.
My problem isn't that this is a toy for girls or that little girls are watching it. My problem is that this show is hugely popular and becoming part of a collective subconscious about doctoring and what it means now that so many women are doctors.
As if women being doctors must mean that doctoring is pink and girly.
Honestly, I think you are projecting your experiences onto Doc McStuffins.
-The show is about a girl who mimics her mom's prefession- a doctor.
-The girl mimics being a doctor with the mindset of a small child.
-The characters are minority which is very rare.
- She fixes toys that her brother can't fix.
- She shows empathy and caring. Those aren't bad traits.
- She helps children not fear doctors, which can be scary experiences. Our pediatrician has even remarked about how many kids sing the Doc song and aren't scared anymore.
lol...I guess I am in the minority here. Absolutely no one agrees with me
This was my first experience with Doc McStuffins, and it sounds like there are a lot of great things about the show that weren't so apparent in the toy.
This. Yes, the pink glitter thing is annoying, but it annoys me every time I see a pink aisle at the toy store. I think that you may be missing a piece since you haven't seen the show. Her 'girl doctor' mother does all the grown up diagnosing, it isn't a girl/boy thing it is an adult/kid thing. Her mom often tells her an official diagnosis and she puts it in to kid-speak - dehydrated becomes dried-out-itosis.
Is it perfect, not at all. But it is my favorite kid show because no one is being mean/whiny/misbehaving. She is a kind kid, having fun with her imagination, and helps out her friends and brother. Compared to a ton of other messages in kids shows this one is way above most.
@ASmallWonder
I still disagree. The Easy Bake Oven I played with was brown. My Doctor Set was Fisher Price and primary colors. Truly, my toys were not pink and purple dominant. Maybe late 80s was more pink and purple? Also, I was thinking more along the lines of this picture:
I was also making that comment because I have a friend whose son's favorite color is pink. It is really hard for them to find him pink clothing that isn't also glittery and frilly. So maybe I miscommunicated in this thread.
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OP is right about the gender/comp issue, though. And it goes both ways. As more males are becoming nurses, pay for nurses is increasing. In law, there are areas that are considered "pink ghettos," and among in house attorneys, they are slightly less respected and less well-paid. For example, HR attorneys are often paid on a different scale than attorneys in other specialties that are arguably less important to the company. I'm a full 2 grade levels higher than comparable HR attorneys in my organization, because my specialty is very science and engineering based and is therefore considered more masculine. (Which is sort of hilarious because I've gotten to take our group from 2 attorneys to 5, and I've hired 3 women, who are all kicking ass and taking names. The laggard is the guy.)
However, I look around my house and the majority of our toys are gender neutral--arts/crafts, play kitchen, cars, trains, play-doh, balls, blocks, Legos. We as consumers can choose to buy gender-neutral toys.
Other than all the pink and purple, I think Doc McStuffins is ok.
January OAD Siggy Challenge: Creative Snow Sculptures
I mainly had FP toys as a child. They were definitely all primary colors and not gender specific. The toys themselves were gender neutral as well. These toys were late 70s/early 80s.
My mom has 90s toys from my niece and nephew. They are all primary colors as well.
I do agree that the gendered toys (and especially colors) seem to be relatively new. My main issue with gendered toys is when the girl toys lack science and skills and are all Holly Homemaker and Sally Shopping.
My son loves Doc alongside my daughter. I think the 'real' health care (and other) professionals you expose your kids to will have way more impact than any show ever could. My kids also talk about being dehydrated b/c of Doc and even if the diagnosis is 'ouchy knee-itis' or whatever, they're actually learning what "-itis" is and will be able to put it in context in the future, just like the tools others have mentioned, how they're used, what they're used for, etc.
I think we all have our pet peeves related to generalizations and stereotypes related to our own profession & experiences so maybe that is where OPs thoughts are coming from but I think you're overthinking OP! But if you really hate Doc, maybe that dr kit should get broken or lost one day .
lol...yes. I should probably be a bit more educated on things before I start posting long rants.
For whatever reason, the giggling and the cutesy voice coupled with how often I had heard what a great role model she is for girls really just got to me.
It sounds like the show has a lot of redeeming qualities that I didn't realize. If kids are learning how the instruments are used, then it is obviously very different from this toy.
I am glad that the women on this board are smart and cool. It was an interesting discussion, even if the basis was unfounded
So no Caillou for us based on a snap judgment.
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Btw, I do disagree that the Doc toys are dumbed down. In addition to the regular doc kit that has all the normal kid stuff, for Christmas DD got one that's just for eye exams. So she's been holding a thing over her toys' eyes, one eye at a time, checking their vision, giving eye drops, and prescribing glasses for them. I don't see that level of detail in many other kits. I care a ton about women in STEM in part because I am one. My daughter is regularly read books like Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site (a fav), has a magnifying glass to look at bugs, watches Team Umizoomi for math skills,and adores being a play doctor. I will spray paint it all pink if pink keeps her interested in STEM.