“Read Your Toys”: How Action Figures are Today’s Neglected Texts

• Kids & Parenting

An array of recent Twitter hashtags have indicated certain failures of the toy industry.  #wheresrey and #wheresblackwidow both reference prominent, female characters that were marginalized in action figure form. While current outrage over sexism in toy production is both valid and important, the truth is that this is only the most recent chapter in a long history of action figures and toys failing to embody social justice.

By applying theory laid down by Aristotle, Simone De Beauvoir, and other theorists, as well as the influence of U.S. foreign policy, we will study action figures under new lenses and “read” these toys, much in the way we read books, movies, TV shows, and other popular media.  Break into action figure subtext and access the messages they contain with this unique class from Jonathan Alexandratos, editor of Articulating the Action Figure (the first collection of academic essays based solely on action figures) and professor at