Melissa and Doug UPDATE

Hey pals,

Remember when I posted my email that went unanswered from Melissa and Doug? You probably do because it was two hours ago.

I tweeted it as well and this happened:

I sent them my number and they called me within the hour. Diane, the Chief Creative Director of Marketing sincerely apologized that they never responded to my email. She went on to say that they take issues of gender equality in the toys they develop VERY SERIOUSLY. And, drumroll please-just this morning she was looking over the artwork for the re-design of the very product I was complaining about. She said my timing was "pretty uncanny."

In my fantasy where I am a Feminist Superhero- I just got them to design a new doll.

Either way, I'm super impressed with Melissa and Doug right now. Also feeling pretty good about myself, maybe I need to take on the NRA next?

Hey Melissa and Doug, did you miss my email?

Awhile back I sent an email to the Melissa and Doug toy company regarding their Magnetic Dress Up Dolls. There are a plethora of choices to be had- there are Princesses, Fairies, and lots of girls that just like to try on clothes all day because that's super fun! Then there is also Joey. Joey gets to dress up as a firefighter, a police officer, a construction worker, a knight and a pirate- many of these get ups are actual paid professions. Would you care to guess if a female equivalent exists? Nope! At least not one that I could find scouring my local toy store, google and their website. I don't know your thoughts on this topic, but I think it's pretty FUCKED. They did not respond to my email, so I figured I'd post it right here on my blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter too. Maybe they won't miss it this time! I was really nice in the email, kept my feminist rage in check, like a good girl should. 

Hello,

I have 3- year- old twins. I bought your magnetic dress up figures Joey and Julia. I bought Julia as she was the least princess-ey one I could find (I'm not anti-princess, but also don't want to shove it down my daughters throat and I liked that it was sports themed)...

Here is the convo today as I played with the dolls with my kids:

Sophie- No mommy, she can't wear the police outfit, that's for boys.

Me: Girls can be police officers too.

Sophie- No, only boys can.

And so on with all the outfits. Granted she's three and pretty inflexible about A MILLION OTHER THINGS.

But I'm bummed that your boy dress up doll gets to dress up in actual professions while all the girls I looked up on your site are either princesses, fairies, or just trying on different cute outfits. 

Is there a doll in your collection that I don't know about that more closely resembles Joey?

I see you guys as a pretty forward thinking, progressive company, but it feels like this is another case where the lesson is, the boys have the fun/adventure/danger (pirate! superhero! and actual jobs- police, firefighter) while girls try on clothes and get saved by the boys.

Maybe you could consider a dress up doll who can be a superhero and a doctor and a zoo keeper and etc, etc....

I think my daughter would love it.

Thanks for your time,

Kristine Kimmel