So what's your stand on boys-and-dolls (and i don't mean the kinky, blow-up variety)? I'm fine if they do play with them and fine if they don't.
My daughter, until recently, disliked dolls (she would throw them across the room), while my sons have always taken great delight in dressing and undressing my posse of My Scene and Bratz dolls (constantly making me wonder if they're colour-blind or simply "innovative" in their pairing of colours).
I have male friends who collect figurines, who get mad when I call their toys dolls: "They're action figures, dammit!"
I like dinosaurs, trains, books, water guns and dolls (my favourites are my Babooshka and my Jesus doll).
Why does William want a doll?
ONE of my all-time favourite picture books is William’s Doll by
Charlotte Zolotow, with illustrations by William Pene du Bois. It’s
about a little boy who wants a doll to hug and cradle, feed and take to
the park, put to bed and kiss good night.
His brothers think he’s creepy. “Sissy!” cries his next door neighbour. His dad buys him a basketball and William gets very good at shooting hoops. But he still wants a doll.
His dad then gets him an electric train and he loves that, too! But he still wants a doll ... because you can’t hug and cuddle a train, or take it to the park.
Then his grandma visits and William tells her he wants a doll. “Wonderful,” says grandmother. She buys him a doll that’s exactly like what he’s always longed for: a baby doll in a long white dress and a bonnet, with curly eyelashes and blue eyes that open and close with a clicking sound.
William loves his doll, but his dad is upset. “He’s a boy!” he protests, listing all the “proper” boy toys William has, like a train and a ball. Dad doesn’t understand why William needs or even wants a doll!
And this is my favourite bit: William’s grandmother explains to his dad why her grandson needs a doll: ‘”He needs it,” she said, “to hug and to cradle and to take to the park so that when he’s a father like you, he’ll know how to take care of his baby and feed him and love him and bring him the things he wants, like a doll, so that he can practise being a father.”
This story was written in the 1970s, but the idea of a boy playing with a doll is still something that people have problems with in these, apparently, progressive, enlightened Noughties. (An acquaintance told me that she allows her son to touch her daughter’s dolls but not play with them!)
William’s Doll is about much more than a boy wanting to play with a doll, though. It’s about respecting children’s wishes and aspirations, and not imposing your will, values and beliefs on them. I know, it’s easier said (and read) than done, but, well, I say better read than not, since reading, hopefully, will lead parents to consider the ideas and themes that Zolotow highlights in her story.
I think this picture book is one that both adults and children can gain something from. Adults may find pre-conceived notions challenged and this may lead them to re-think sexual stereotypes. Children learn that their needs should be acknowledged and that their desires, no matter how different and unusual, count.
This picture book is one example of illustrations being of secondary importance to the text, as I think that the story is strong enough to stand alone without any illustrations. William Pene du Bois’ drawings, I feel, simply mirror the text, without adding (intentionally) anything to the narrative.
I say “intentionally” because I feel that du Bois’ depiction of William (in neat shirts and a cravat!) seems to reinforce the stereotype of a (in present day terms) metrosexual male who is more likely to want to play with dolls than a regular T-shirted boy, which is how du Bois depicts William’s brothers.
Unfortunately, some parents may see William’s dress sense (or lack thereof, depending on one’s view) as proof that the last thing they should be encouraging their naughty little boys to do is play with dolls!
So... is that Uruk Hai still wearing its orange ribbon? :D
Posted by: eyeris | Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 05:19