— An expert on toys and play, explaining how toy manufacturers are successfully marketing a wider range of toys to girls, part of what she calls “a cultural shift…away from the ‘patient princess’ role.”
An example of this trend is Hasbro’s line of bows and launchers inspired by the heroine of “The Hunger Games” and based on two years of research involving 1200 girls. The president of Hasbro, John Frascotti, pointed out that the boys’ aisles in toy stores offer a larger variety, from action figures to construction sets, whereas up to now, girls haven’t been offered the same opportunities to play actively. “I think girls see no barrier to what’s available to them today – whether in toys or sports or really across all aspects of our culture.”
By responding to the “evolving market,” sales of Hasbro’s line of girl gear increased 26% to reach $1 billion in revenue.
One of the young girls interviewed said, “I think everyone wants to be someone strong and powerful and can be anything they want to be.”
Another article on the same trend cited research showing that girls who aren’t exposed to construction play at a young age tend to back away from math and science by the time they reach middle school.