In the pursuit for truth in the complex arena of gender, power and technology we often must take a close look at some aspects of our lives that on the surface seem innocent. This is necessary to separate the often-fused gender and technology and expose just how prevalent gendered technology is in American society. In this discussion our focus turns to the magical world of the McDonald's Happy Meals, whose gendered toys have indoctrinated youth in the ways of gender differences for the past 30 years. Through our exploration of Happy Meal toys we will show how the virus that is gender stereotypes is not limited to the adult world in its infection.

Before attacking the Happy Meal Toys in terms of our discussion on gender it is important to provide a brief history of McDonald's and their famous Happy Meals. The legacy of the golden arches begins in 1954 when salesman, Raymond Albert Kroc, mortgaged his home and invested his entire life savings to become the exclusive distributor of a milkshake machine called the Multimixer. His investment was based on hearing of a small hamburger stand in San Bernardino California that ran 8 Multimixers. The stand was run by Dick and Mac McDonald and was the original McDonald's restaurant. Kroc convinced the McDonalds to open several other restaurants of the same name each with their own Multimixers, a deal that would be beneficial for both parties. In 1955 a second McDonald's was opened in Des Plaines, Illinois. By 1963, McDonald's had become a chain of restaurants and their main spokesperson, Ronald McDonald, was created. Today the Ronald McDonald character is second only to Santa Claus in terms of worldwide recognition. The invention of the Ronald McDonald icon represented the beginning of a masterful advertising campaign whose main target is children everywhere (website).

This campaign continued in 1970 when McDonaldland characters were created. These characters were The Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese, Grimace, and Officer Big Mac. An interesting note is that Birdie, the only female character, was not created until later. Fast-forward to 1973, the McDonald's chain is now large enough to be trading on Wall Street, and has invented the most recognizable burger on the planet, the Big Mac. In 1977, the first kid's meals are tested in McDonald's restaurants. In St. Louis the "Fun-to-Go" meal is tested while in Kansas, the first Happy Meal is tested. The Happy Meal concept ultimately won over the Fun-to-Go meals and the first Happy Meal promotion called the "Circus Wagon" is implemented in Kansas City in 1978. The toy featured in the Circus Wagon meal was a toy box with a rounded top that resembled a lunch box. Over the years one of the most popular Happy Meal toy campaigns have been the Barbie/Hot Wheels Happy Meals. The Barbie/Hot Wheels campaign began in the late 80s and continued throughout the 90s (website). These Happy Meals are of particular interest to our discussion because the represent a poster child in terms of our discussion on gender.

It is no secret that many of the pairs of toys that have been included in McDonald's Happy Meals have been intended for gender-specific distribution. This fact has been further exemplified by the manner in which McDonald's employees tend to inquire which toy a given customer would prefer; toys like "Hot Wheels" are included in a "boy's" Happy Meal while toys like "Barbie" figurines are included in what are referred to as a "girl's" Happy Meal. Customers are not asked if they would like a "Hot Wheels" or a "Barbie" Happy Meal, but rather if they would like a "boy's" or "girl's" Happy Meal. While such distinctions may appear to be trivial, it is worth noting that they can be consistently drawn.

A parent, angry at the aforementioned practice of McDonald's employees and at what appeared to be gendered Happy Meals, proceeded to create a website dedicated to the matter. Visitors to the site are encouraged to document their own experiences with this issue in the hopes that a major complaint may be brought to the McDonald's corporation. The most significant piece of information on the site, however, is a quote from a McDonald's Home Office Customer Satisfaction Representative. When asked about the apparent gender issue of the toys, the representative said that "none of the toys are meant to be gender-restricted", and McDonald's "employees have been specifically trained to ask customers which of the two toys offered that week they would like, and not whether they would like a 'girl' or a 'boy' toy"(website). According to the experiences of the website's creator, though, McDonald's employees repeatedly and consistently used gender distinctions. The question of the truth of the representative's statement aside, it is apparent that such distinctions are commonplace.

Some may claim that gender-based distinctions are harmful to the psyche of children in that they attach an unnecessary meaning to a particular child's choice of toy. A proponent of this position may feel that such weighted decisions are unfairly placed on children, leaving them very little room to simply choose what they actually want. It is as if the choice had already been made for them and any deviation from this would be seen as an abnormality. Thus, children would be forced to conform to the gender norm specified by some third party, McDonald's and the toy producers in this case. We, however, do not feel that such a position has much credence. It appears to me that the difficulty is being created, as opposed to being recognized, by what we consider over-sensitive parents, not McDonald's.

Although literature points to gender in toys, we think that Happy Meals and other forms of children's toys are generally gender neutral. They tend to follow the latest trends in popular movies or television shows. Currently McDonald's is offering "Hello Kitty" and "Transformers Armada" toys. They also have their Barbie and Hot Wheel Happy Meals. We believe that this is due to popular demand. Transformers Armada is one of the popular children's shows right now and McDonald's wants to capitalize on this, but they also have to be mindful of the female population, as they too buy Happy Meals. Thus, in the interest of capitalism, McDonald's offers both toys based on the apparent gender of the children. While this is good marketing, it does not consider gender roles, merely gender looks.

We, as a group, do not fault McDonald's or other fast food chains for their marketing ideas. They are interested in making money and a great way to do that is to play on the popularity of a certain idea - maybe a gender norm or two. We are merely focusing on how the employees determine to whom they give the gender specific toys and the reasoning thereof. By showing how and why McDonald's handles gender issues, we encourage people to make their own, educated, decisions about Happy Meals.

Suggested Readings:
"McDonald's History". McDonald's. www.mcdonalds.com/corporate/info/history/index.html

"Should McDonald's Stop Asking Customers Whether They Want a "Boy" or "Girl" Happy Meal®?". www.myparentime.com/mcd2.shtml