Kitchen for boys and black dolls gain space in the world of toys

The white woman with straight blond hair sits next to the black woman with dark curly hair. The difference between them leads the blonde to be bothered by the presence of the black woman to the point of telling her that her hair can “give her diseases”.

The act of racism, recently recorded in the São Paulo Metro, could perhaps have been avoided if, from a young age, the blonde woman had played with black dolls. And she took for granted not only her dark skin and curly hair, but also people different from her – with vitiligo, without hair, without a limb, overweight or with Down syndrome.

“Children begin to discover life in society through toys. It is important that they represent the diversity of our daily lives, and thus contribute to a more inclusive education and to a less prejudiced world”, says pedagogue Maria Ângela Barbato Carneiro, PhD in Communication Sciences from USP (University of São Paulo) and professor at PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo), where she coordinates the Brincar Culture and Research Center.

The toy industry, which in Brazil earned around R$ 8.4 billion last year, has been trying to do its homework. A movement that started about five years ago has been bringing to store shelves more black dolls, with physical disabilities (such as wheelchair users) and more colorful options, less stereotyped in blue and pink, such as red kitchens for boys and girls to play.

According to Paula Ferolla, an analyst at the research firm Euromonitor, more and more parents and educators, especially Generation Y (born between 1982 and 1994), understand the importance of children’s choice and leave them free to play, without imposing standards.

“Diversity gains an even broader perspective, being able to positively influence the education of children”, he says.

“How will a man understand that it is natural for him to clean the house and take care of his children, if when he was little he learned that this was a girl thing?”, asks pedagogue Maria Ângela.

“They didn’t want him to play house and dolls. Prejudice is in adults’ heads and they are the ones who transmit it to children.”

The movement to support greater diversity is beginning to be reflected in sales. At Armarinhos Fernando, one of the most traditional and popular toy stores in São Paulo, with 16 stores in Greater São Paulo and Sorocaba (SP), black dolls already represent 15% of sales in the category.​

In the Ri Happy group, leader in toy retail, with around 300 Ri Happy and PB Kids stores in the country, black dolls account for 20% of the category, while colored toys (not blue or pink) reached 60% of sales in the last year. Controlled by the Carlyle fund, the company does not reveal revenue, but the latest data released, for 2019, point to net revenue of R$ 1.4 billion.

“Parents have been changing, they are more open to what is different”, says the commercial director of the Ri Happy group, Sandra Haddad. In the last three years, she has observed a greater demand for colorful toys, in red, green or yellow, in the “make believe” category, which includes grocery stores and kitchens, for example.

“Many boys started playing more in the kitchen because of the success of the MasterChef program”, says Sandra, referring to the cooking reality show. According to her, both boys and girls love toy cars, buses and even garbage trucks. “But it’s the parents who often put limits on their children’s choices when it comes to play.”​

Still, Sandra sees a growing demand from boys for dolls, which is being met by the industry. In 2019, for example, Candide launched LOL Boys – from the same line as the famous 8-centimeter LOL dolls, packaged in a plastic ball with various “surprises” inserted, such as clothes and accessories, which have become a fever among girls.

In October of last year, it was Candide’s turn to present a larger version of the doll. “We launched the LOL OMG Guys skater and it sold out in a month”, says Bruno Verea, the company’s marketing director in Brazil, noting that the expectation was to sell out in two months.

For him, the inclusion of skateboarding in the Olympic Games drew more children’s attention to the sport.

The executive also notes a greater interest from the girls in Spider-Man. “He IS a young character in theaters, who appeals to both audiences,” he says.

Candide has been increasing the Our Generation line, of dolls that imitate life in society. Recent releases are wheelchair versions, with crutches, with prosthetic leg and blind with guide dog. “We are also careful to make our portfolio diversified in terms of ethnicity, with black, Asian and red-haired dolls, for example”, says Verea.

In the Brazilian Cotiplás, the novelty presented in March during the main fair of the toy sector, Abrin, in São Paulo, was the line of dolls with Down syndrome, which should arrive in stores this month, in male, female, white versions. and black. About 15% of the sales price, suggested at R$ 129, will be destined to Apae (Association of Parents and Friends of the Exceptional), which helped in the development of the products.

“Today, children with Down syndrome share the same school space with other children without the syndrome. It is important to naturalize this coexistence with those who are different from you, through toys”, says the founder and director of Cotiplás, Carlos Bazzo.

According to him, about 30% of the dolls sold by Cotiplás are black.

“We are careful not only to change the color of the white doll, but to develop the entire phenotype of the black doll, which involves finding the right skin tone, hair, lips and nose”, says Bazzo, who has a black designer to develop the work. “Today we have a more realistic black doll than the first one we made, back in the 1990s.”

The businessman is now working on a hairless doll project to represent children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

According to Euromonitor, the categories that stood out in sales last year are “neutral”, which cater to both boys and girls, such as board games and puzzles, construction, mini-vehicles and scientific and educational games.

Célia Bastos, commercial director of the research firm NPD, agrees with the trend. “Toys involving the family and outdoor activities were the most sought after in 2021”, she says, who points to a 21% growth in global toy sales last year, compared to 2020. In Brazil, the high was 11% , according to NPD.

In the pandemic, the online purchase of toys soared, says Fabrício Dantas, CEO of Neotrust, which monitors Brazilian e-commerce: “It advanced 67%, to 6 million orders, generating a turnover of R$ 1.09 billion”, he says. . “In 2021, however, there was a timid growth, to R$ 1.14 billion, possibly motivated by the reopening of physical stores.”

For this year, the Abrinq (Brazilian Association of Toy Manufacturers) projects a growth of 6% in the invoicing of the industry, to R$ 8.9 billion.