Hasbro says they didn’t go into this with any preconceptions and the Rebelle line is a result of researching what girls want. LEGO went down the same road but we’ve seen everything from pens to keyboards being marketed with the same fundamentally sexist approach. This sort of intrinsically lazy product placement, which draws a fanciful and egregious line between boys and girls, seems to be becoming more prevalent and does everyone a great disservice. Just as, the only real difference with the girls’ line is the ‘girly’ colour scheme and the addition of a function-less bow-accessory to tap into The Hunger Games. There’s nothing intrinsically boy-like in the toys themselves, just in the way they’ve been marketed. But that ignores the fact that the original Nerf line has been marketed solidly at boys since the beginning. Well you might say, that’s obvious – if they were selling to girls, Hasbro wouldn’t have come up with the Rebelle line. But what sort of message does this send? The first message is that normal Nerf guns are not for girls. I understand how this must look from a marketing perspective – the whole other half of the human race sitting untapped. ![]() I understand that Hasbro is a company focused on profits first. But this isn’t an isolated bit of exploitative marketing, it’s a place-marker for the sort of sexist stereotyping which is exactly why we’re seeing so few girls choosing maths, science or technical subjects. Your inability to play with Nerf guns is now over thanks to the Nerf Rebelle line of girly-coloured guns. It’s a sad day when something like this is not only contemplated, but created and successful. The whole Rebelle line is expected to hit shelves in the fall - so little brothers beware.Girls of the World don’t worry any more. The other model currently slated for cradle compatibility is the Heartbreaker Bow ($20), which sticks with a more traditional bow and arrow design and has a dash more wickedness to the design than some of the other blasters. The rotating barrel Crossbow ($25) has a pump-action and a rail for installing the cradle, a feature that's not on some of the smaller models like the pocketable, single-shot Sneak Attackers. The blasters themselves are pretty standard NERF fare and all some basic variation on a crossbow design. Those virtual personas can be completely customized, allowing girls to fully embrace their secret agent fantasies.Of course, you can also document your foam-arrow battles and share them. (And don't worry Google fans, an Android version of the app along with a universal mount are also in the works.) Rather than focus on solo games and individual competition, the Rebelle Mission Central app encourages kids to form squads and compete not just for supremacy over their friends but also for in-game perks, like accessories for their avatars. The attachment lets you drop in an iPhone (4, 4S or 5) and fire up the free companion app. While the blasters still operate without the optional Mission Central App cradle ($15), it's once you get the whole kit together that things really start to fall into place. Rebelle ditches the lasers for NERF arrows and slaps a supposedly female-friendly coat of purple and pink paint on the whole thing. We're not saying the ladies couldn't get down, but the alien-blasting AR solo games weren't exactly designed with little girls in mind. ![]() But, let's be honest, that thing was pure testosterone. Look, we loved what Hasbro did with Lazer Tag last year.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |