Apparently, a Seattle toymaker has seen fit to make a plastic action figure modeled on the executive director of the Washington Center for the Book, Nancy Pearl:
The Seattle Times: Toymaker finds librarian who’s a real doll.
It seems they had a choice between giving the figure a shushing action or an “ejectable hair bun.” By selecting the former, there is no doubt they made the wrong choice.
Let’s look at it from two angles. First, the fun factor. What could be more entertaining than ejecting body parts! Nobody associates shushing with fun, certainly not the kids at any library I’ve ever used.
On the other hand, there is the stereotyped librarian image. Bad enough the action figure is dressed in a frumpy blue outfit, bespectacled and all (not to mention the obvious gender element, but I won’t go there). Add the shushing action and she’s pretty much the archetypal librarian that belies numerous jokes and misconceptions.
An ejectable hair bun was the perfect opportunity to make a symbolic gesture in defiance of that stereotype: “Cast off your hair buns, ladies, and do it with gusto!”
Here’s an excerpt from the article in defense of their decision:
“The ejectable hair bun had many technical hurdles to overcome and we thought doing two clichés was over the top,” he said. “So, we went with the shushing action. It gives the figure a certain dignity.”
A certain dignity? Or a definite blandness?
Pearl predicts that the shushing motion — triggered by a button on the doll’s back — will determine “which librarians have a sense of humor.” She likes to believe that today’s librarians are secure enough in their work that they won’t take offense at the old cliché.
Hmmm, I have a sense of humor (weak though it may be). The ejectable hair bun would have been much funnier and less cliché. I’m certainly not offended, just disappointed.
Courtesy of librarian.net.
