If you’ve been following my blog, you already know that I almost purchased a Barack Obama chia pet. So I would like to redeem myself by featuring the most politically correct toy ever manufactured by Medline products. If these pictures look a little fuzzy to you, just click on them and you can check them out more clearly.
Forget G.I. Joe. Forget Nick Fury. Forget all those other macho, testosterone-riddled, violence-prone army sergeants we idolized as kids. Meet Scip – the “Combat Nurse.” According to the box, Scip is tough enough to endure the “chaotic offloading of wounded comrades and back-to-back lifesaving surgeries.” He is also rugged enough to have his “stamina challenged every day with long hours and tense shifts.”
If you’re confused, don’t worry. The back of the box explains how you’re supposed to fit Scip’s character into your pre-existing paradigm. Scip works in the center of the war zone, “prepping the patient and operating room for a diverse range of surgeries… he works seamlessly with his team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and infection preventionists to keep the wounded alive and improve surgical care.”
The side of the box, not pictured, shows the other action figures within the Medline Collection. Of course the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and other prestigious medical professionals are all appropriately female, and some are even African-American as well. Please check your prejudices and gender stereotypes at the door…
Will this series of politically correct, non-violent action figures save the troubled Medline Corporation? The company executives are currently facing criminal charges for intentionally defrauding the government by falsifying Medicare claims. The most recent estimate is that the company has swindled taxpayers out of $140 million dollars… but if these toys are big sellers they may be able to reimburse the government, pay a massive fine, and keep out of jail.
So what’s the verdict? Is Scip powerful enough to knock down gender barriers before they have a chance to form within impressionable children? Is Scip heroic enough to save our children from society’s sustained attempts at socialization and inculcation? I don't know... but I could do without the "crocs" and the lipstick.
For me, the issue was settled definitively when a politically correct friend of mine bought her two boys a large play kitchen. It was really cool… it had a large stove, refrigerator, microwave, everything. Her daughter was given a mechanical robot. That too, was cool. You could take it apart with tools, change internal gear ratios, program it to perform tasks, everything. She was determined that her children, at least, would grow up free of gender stereotypes.
So what happened? By the time she got home from work, the boys had carried the play kitchen into the woods. They had thrown a camouflage blanket over the top, and were using it as an army fort to play “war.” The little girl promptly named the robot “Machine Baby.” She wrapped it in a blanket and was rocking it in a crib. Given our strong genetic proclivities, I have to wonder if Scip will succeed in making nursing a macho occupation. Hope springs eternal…
Jackhammer
In my humble opinion, people should be allowed to break away from gender stereo-types if they want to, but not pushed to.
ReplyDeleteFor example, my wife feels that it is important for the MAN to be the leader and decision maker and she should be supportive. I (of course) want her to be happy, so I do my best to lead us, and before any decision of consequence, I carefully consult with her... ...and make whatever decision she wants me to.
Isn't Medline a supplier of disposable medical products like IVs?
ReplyDeleteThat nurse thing is pretty weird, I didn't realize it was male when I first looked at the enlarged photo (I think the "crocs" are supposed to clean booties like one wears in surgery). Another weird thing is the military connection, what's that all about? Have we been at war so long that it's our frame of reference now? I know some male nurses but none of them are in the military.
This toy demonstrates that our society is probably mortaly wounded and most likely won't make it out of the ICU>
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ReplyDeleteThe last time I tried to cross the gender line was in 1985 when I let my 4 year old boy wear his costume of choice, Strawberry Shortcake, on Halloween in a blue collar neighborhood in a suburb of Detroit. I learned then that my liberal attitude should never again involve my child who became an object of ridicule of seemingly insecure fathers in the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteRick, you're lucky. My wife doesn't listen to anything I say.
ReplyDeleteLeroy, Medine does make a wide range of medical products, including IVs. They have many contracts to supply for the military.
Jenny, I know what you mean. I was victimized by my mother's liberal attitude in the same way and became the subject of ridicule on many occassions!