Professor explores Barbies and G.I. Jpes
Barbies and G.I. Joes preserve old notions of gender, professor says
The pervasive influence of Barbie and G.I. Joe dolls on notions of gender will be presented during Utah State University’s department of English Speaker Series on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in the Haight Alumni Center.
Jeannie Banks Thomas, associate professor of English at USU, will discuss her research and recent book, “Naked Barbies, Warrior Joes, and Other Forms of Visible Gender.” Thomas’ book details the most visible types of gendered forms and their related folklore, including cemetery statues, yard art, Barbie and G.I. Joe dolls.
“I was interested in how much these three forms had in common and how conservative they were,” Thomas said. “They conveyed notions of gender that were literally hundreds of years old. We still have these 19th century constructions of gender, sometimes even older, that we respond to and replicate today. We have embraced them and taken them into our everyday lives.”
Thomas said her interest in the topic was generated by her students. She noticed frequent themes when asking her students about children’s folklore. There was a lot of interest in Barbie, G.I. Joes, yard art and cemetery statuary.
After looking for background research to bring to her students in class, she said she began to notice some common patterns in visual forms of gender.
“With female forms, I talk about the ‘body beautiful’ and with male forms I talk about the ‘body violent,'” Thomas said.
In her book, Thomas writes, “Stock figures of females often fall into one of two camps, sometimes both: The lovely, comforting, motherly figure or the sexualized, erotic woman.
“Men are often limited to certain masculinized realms, including battle or business, rarely associated with the domestic or intimate and marketed as ‘action figures,'” she writes.
Thomas said she feels her work is important because “we’re seeing it or stumbling over it in our everyday lives to some degree.”
“It’s crucial to understanding human behavior,” she said.