The emergence of the McDonald’s Adult happy meal has brought up numerous comments on the appearance of the toys. While the toys represent the original beloved characters, though unpleasant, this commentary echoes a much larger debate on the push of gender bias in McDonald’s toys. 

Undoubtedly, those of us who lived off McDonald’s as children remember the workers asking about the gender of the kids or making assumptions about the performance of the gender they saw. Little girls had malibu barbies and ponies, while boys received trucks and Star Wars memorabilia.

 In the lens of Gender studies, this is a prime example of how women’s subordinate role is sustained through American culture. More specifically, if women are associated with danger, uncontrollable bodies, and emotions, then the images we publicize must justify that a silent, submissive, and beautiful woman is what we must model ourselves after.

For example, Barbie, the hallmark toy for girls, represents no intersectionality of race and gender, has an abnormal accentuation of the ideal body, and overly feminizes the few non-traditional professions she has with glitter and pink sparkles. The perspective of Gender Studies pulls into question all the ways corporations instilled femininity and masculinity in our childhoods.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the captain said in a low voice that was slow and a little tired. “you have five minutes to withdraw.”
The redoubled hooting and shouting drowned out the bugle call that announced the start of the count. No one moved.
Five minutes have passed,” the captain said in the same tone. “One more minute and we’ll open fire.”

The above is a passage from the famous Spanish-language novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. In the aftermath of this, there was a massacre that killed three thousand people. If we do not know any period background or cultural background of the author (Garcia Marquez), we will find this episode very sudden and difficult to understand.

But when we learn something about what happened in the development of Colombia, we understand the author’s meaning. In the 1920s, after World War I, Colombia’s economy began to boom and grow. In 1928, the banana growers and pickers went on strike until the end of the year. More than 20,000 workers demanded improvements in their working conditions and economic situation. The managers of the company saw the ripe bananas rotting in the ground unpicked and finally turned to the Colombian government, leading to the massacre in the central square of Cienaga.

In this way, Marquez reflects the time in a way that we cannot know simply through formalism.

Gender studies: an examination into the ways in which literature reproduces and subverts cultural norms surrounding gender roles. 

Since we discussed Sleeping Beauty and the Airplane in class, alongside our discussion of gender and queer studies, I couldn’t stop thinking about what a strange story it was. It both objectified a woman and gave her agency that was nonexistent in the original fairy tale. In that vein, I became interested in media that both subvert and reassert gender norms. 

In my search for a reflection of this phenomenon in contemporary media, I came across this 1940s advertisement. 

The iconic image of Rosie the Riveter is the first thing you see. If you look closer, you may notice that she’s not the same Rosie shown below.

First, you might see her makeup looks a little more prominent than usual. Then, you’ll likely notice her wedding ring, or her painted fingernails. She’s a feminized Rosie. 

Of course, you’ll notice the big blue letters: “Get the POWER.” Rise up, take charge, assume the place in the world you deserve that you’ve always been denied… as a cleaner. “The power to clean anything.” 

This advertisement uses an iconic subversion of traditional gender roles to argue that women should be content in those traditional gender roles. The most prominent features of the ad are the instantly recognizable Rosie the Riveter figure and the statement “Get the POWER.” We associate these features on sight with the subversion of traditional gender roles for women as docile, domestic caretakers. It’s only once we have made this mental association that we notice the traditional expectations seeping through in the details. This display of unconventional and conventional side by side is an attempt to encourage women viewers to associate traditional feminine gender roles with empowerment and agency.  

Examining this advertisement through a gender studies lens shows us that the “breaking” of traditional gender norms can ultimately serve as a tool to reinforce those same norms.