L.O.L Surprise! By MGA Entertainment won toy of the year award 2020 despite the controversy regarding the appearance of inappropriate underwear when dipped in cold water, a feature found with certain series’ of the doll. This appears to be a dangerous juxtaposition, a large influential power over a vulnerable audience with questionable ethical standing. The element of surprise undermining a parents ability censor when needed and a misconstrued message of female empowerment. A dangerous mix for a generation of young girls to grow up with.
The ability to influence the direction of social change seems to me to be something that this generation of Western girls could, if grounded with the right ethical values, make waves in progressing gender equality with the mass accessibility to media platforms and influencer potential from very young ages. Following the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development, UN Women launched the UN Women Media Compact, inviting media partners to disrupt stereotypes and bias in their reporting as well as increase the number of women in the media including leadership and decision-making roles. This is a step forward, however, in order to reach younger
audiences, it seems the Media Compact needs to widen its scope to help encompass these values and provide ethically sound guidance to production companies, social media platforms, marketing strategists as well as toy manufacturers. There needs to be a universal message of equality. Without it, we risk a generation growing up with the vulnerability of empowerment without the ethical grounding. Therefore, unable identify discrimination and exploitation if it is presented under the umbrella of empowerment.
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