The Feminist Gift Guide: For Every Feminist on Your List!
By Emily Scott
Image via GoldieBlox
GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine
For: The baby feminist in your life!
Price: $29.99
Most of us have at least one little girl to buy for this year, whether it’s your daughter, niece, cousin, or a family friend. But if you walk down the aisles of any major store looking for a gift for her, you will notice just how royally messed up children’s marketing is. The toys designated with a “Girls” sign include, almost exclusively, baby dolls, kitchen play sets, and princess dresses. But those designated “Boys” are, sometimes, just as bad: muscular action figures, cars and trucks to crash into each other, superhero costumes.
While the first toys tell kids that being feminine, motherly, and pretty is the only way to be a girl, the second group of toys tells kids that being tough, violent, and hyper-masculine is the only way to be a boy. If your little feminist likes building and engineering, you could get her a set from the “boys” section. But what if she doesn’t like superheroes or monster trucks? These toys often send the message that you can’t like both. If you are using your brain to build things, then you must be a boy, or at least tomboy-ish. Femininity has no place here.
But luckily, GoldieBlox is changing all of that. GoldieBlox building sets are made to drive creativity and ingenuity while also leaving space for femininity. Each box contains everything you need to make a simple machine, a story to go along with it, and instructions for alternate building you can do with it. With this movie machine set, your baby feminist can create her own animations, giving her a headstart on two male-dominated fields – engineering and filmmaking! The little girl on your list will love creating with this gift. Plus, it will plant the seed that she can do whatever she wants, even if she also likes pink!
She’ll Love It If: She asked to be Amelia Earhart for Halloween; she has exhausted the capabilities of her Legos; her favorite part of playing Frozen is that she gets to have Elsa’s powers
Buy It Here: GoldieBlox, Amazon