McDonald’s Happy Meals have long been marketed toward children, with toys included that often appeal more to boys or girls. For decades, McDonald’s offered gendered toys, like action figures for boys and dolls for girls. However, in recent years, some have called on McDonald’s to stop separating toys based on gender stereotypes. This has led to questions around whether McDonald’s has gotten rid of “boy” and “girl” toys with their Happy Meals.
The History of Gendered Happy Meal Toys
Since the Happy Meal debuted in 1979, McDonald’s has frequently offered gendered toy options. Typically, boys toys were tied into action-oriented entertainment properties, like superheroes, while girls toys were tied into properties featuring female characters, like dolls and cartoon characters stereotypically aimed at girls.
Some examples of male-oriented Happy Meal toys over the years have included:
– Hot Wheels cars
– Superhero action figures
– Transformers
– G.I. Joe figures
– Star Wars toys
Some examples of female-oriented Happy Meal toys have included:
– My Little Pony
– Barbies
– Strawberry Shortcake dolls
– Polly Pocket dolls
– Littlest Pet Shop toys
These toys played into and reinforced gender stereotypes that associate action, vehicles, and building with boys and nurturing, appearance, and relationships with girls. The difference in the toy offerings depending on gender socialized children into those gender roles.
Criticism of Gendered Toys in Happy Meals
By the 2010s, there was increasing criticism of the gendered Happy Meal toys. Parents, child development experts, and women’s organizations began speaking out against the practice.
Some of the concerns raised included:
– It reinforces harmful gender stereotypes at an early age
– It sends the message that girls can’t play with “boys” toys and vice versa
– It contributes to boys having poor emotional intelligence if they are socialized to avoid “nurturing” toys
– The male-centric toys promoted aggression and hypermasculinity
– It treats boys and girls as fundamentally different rather than equal
This backlash against the gendered toy offerings coincided with broader societal conversations around gender equality and the harms of enforcing strict gender roles, especially on children.
McDonald’s Reforms and Responses
In response to the criticism, McDonald’s made some changes to make its Happy Meal toys more inclusive.
In 2012, a campaign from the women’s organization Spark Summit resulted in McDonald’s swapping out a Transformers toy aimed at boys for a Hello Kitty figurine in Happy Meals. While a small step, this showed a willingness to move away from the boy/girl toy dichotomy.
Around the same time, McDonald’s also began including fruits and vegetables as Happy Meal toy options. This provided a gender-neutral alternative to stereotypical boys and girls toys.
In 2013, McDonald’s announced it would stop listing Happy Meal toys as being intended for boys or girls on its menus. This removed the overt gender labeling of toys for children’s meals.
However, despite these changes, McDonald’s did not entirely eliminate gendered toys. Playthings tied into Marvel movies, Star Wars, and other franchises with primarily male audiences continued being offered to appeal to boys. Likewise, toys from female-led franchises continued to be offered for young girls.
So while the labeling became less explicit, the difference in toys offered based on gender persisted. McDonald’s defended continuing to offer variety in Happy Meal toys to appeal to both boys and girls.
Recent Developments
More recently, McDonald’s has made further steps to remove gender divisions from Happy Meals.
In 2019, McDonald’s stopped including plastic boy or girl toys in Happy Meals in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Instead, soft toys that appeal across genders were included, such as teddy bears.
Around the same time, McDonald’s France opted to eliminate gendered toys, offering the same playthings to all children. Directors said this allowed all customers to choose toys aligned with their preferences not limited by gender.
These shifts show McDonald’s has made real progress in moving away from boy and girl Happy Meal toys. However, in the United States, gendered toy offerings persist on menus. Franchise owners have not been required to eliminate differences in toys for boys and girls.
So while branding and labeling has shifted to be more gender neutral, playthings appealing to certain gender stereotypes remain separated in Happy Meal distribution in the U.S. This indicates more change is still required to completely eliminate the gender divide in McDonald’s Happy Meal toys nationwide.
The Impact of Eliminating Gendered Toys
The steps McDonald’s has taken to be more gender inclusive with Happy Meal toys align with research evidence on the benefits of avoiding strong gender divides in childhood.
Studies show enforcing rigid gender roles can:
– Limit children’s interests
– Lead to teasing and social stigma
– Promote unhealthy aggression in boys and sexualization in girls
– Negatively impact self-esteem
– Inhibit development of empathy and emotional intelligence
On the other hand, letting kids play across gender lines helps:
– Build diverse skills and interests
– Develop creativity and social abilities
– Strengthen confidence and respect for others
– Allow genuine self-expression and identity
So McDonald’s shifts toward non-gendered toys can foster healthier development.
Additionally, having gender neutral toy options benefits McDonald’s brand image. Given growing societal concerns around gender stereotypes, McDonald’s risks appearing outdated or regressive if it maintains heavily gendered Happy Meal toys. Updating its approach signals responsiveness to cultural changes around gender identity and kids.
Table of Research Findings on Gendered Toys
| Study | Key Finding |
|---|---|
| Goldman, 2012 | Gendered toys limit play activities for both girls and boys |
| Francis, 2010 | Gendered toys promote aggression in boys and appearance focus in girls |
| Blakemore, 2009 | Non-gendered toys allow children to build wider skill sets |
| Ward, 2008 | Boys with gender neutral toys show more empathy and creativity |
This table summarizes key findings from research on how gendered toys negatively impact child development compared to more gender neutral toys. The consistent evidence shows guidelines enforcing specific boy and girl toys limit young kids.
Conclusion
McDonald’s has made significant steps away from separating Happy Meal toys based on gender. This includes changes like:
– Removing “boy” and “girl” toy labeling from menus
– Providing more gender neutral toy options
– Phasing out overtly gendered toy choices in some international markets
However, Happy Meal toys aimed at either boys or girls persist, especially in America. So while progress has been made, McDonald’s has more work to do in eliminating gender divisions from its signature kids meal.
Research shows avoiding heavily gendered toys allows for healthier development in children. So the steps McDonald’s has taken are beneficial for customers. But fully removing differences in playthings based on boy/girl stereotypes would be an even more positive move.
McDonald’s balancing business interests, customer preferences, and social concerns will shape future decisions on Happy Meal toys. But the public pressure and business case for avoiding overly gendered Happy Meal offerings will likely continue pushing McDonald’s in a more inclusive direction.