As a child of the nineties, I have such a soft spot for the toys of my youth. Furbies were somehow cute and creepy at the same time, Skip-Its were practically the only way my mom could get me to exercise, and I'm pretty sure I thought my Lite Brite drawings had one up on Van Gogh's Starry Night.  I've gotten over most of my obsessions because, you know, I grew up or something. But every now and then, those old standbys get an update and ... Read More

More than 30,000 people have signed an online petition on Change.org stating they don't support toy manufacturer LEGO's newest campaign, a line of toys called Friends made just for girls (an already gag-inducing phrase when it comes to marketing). Critics are calling it sexist because the line makes a break from LEGO's usual build-it-yourself aesthetic. Friends features pre-assembled sets that follow gender norms like a hair salon, ... Read More

I remember begging my mom for an Easy Bake Oven. Well, actually, I begged her for the Creepy Crawlers playset and an Easy Bake Oven, but she said I could have only one. Since I was too young to explicate a formal critique of gender dichotomies in children's toy advertising, and brownies seemed way more useful to me than bugs, I went for the Easy Bake. Only one photo exists of me using my new toy--in it, I’m frowning at the little ... Read More