"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
29 Oct 2019
Toy soldiers were introduced in the 1930s and they have remained more or less the same till now. All toy soldiers are male and this didn’t go down well with a six-year-old girl who questioned her mother about it.
Vivian Lord is a six-year-old girl from Arkansas whose complaint about the absence of female toy soldiers in combat roles spurred widespread media coverage. She had been to an arcade and as she was redeeming her tickets for toy soldiers, she noticed that all were male.
When she questioned her mother Brittany Lord about it, she suggested that Vivian can write a letter directly to the toy company. Vivian wrote, “Why do you not make girl army men, my friend’s mom is in the army too!”. Her mother posted the letter to three toy companies.
The letter reached Jeff Imel, owner of BMC toys who said that this is not the first time he has received such a letter. A retired US Navy fleet master chief had also written to Imel that his three granddaughters are young and he wanted them to expose them to toy soldiers and there were no female toy soldiers.
Jeff Imel confessed that he had made a mistake by ignoring such complaints citing that making a new toy altogether will incur huge costs. Following the wide media coverage, Imel commissioned sketches and made a preliminary model. He assured that full packs will be available by next October.
So now we know whom to thank when female toy soldiers in combat roles will be introduced next year.
