The Simpsons on Sexism

It is an undeniable fact that gender roles are introduced into children's lives from birth. People talk about how "she'll grow up to be a great mom." or "he's probably gonna play (insert sport here)." Parents who let their sons play with Polly Pockets or their daughters play with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures are ridiculed. When I was little I didn't question that girls played with "girl toys" and boys played with "boy toys." But the older I got I realized that there wasn't even a reason to assign genders to toys. If I wanted to play with a lightsaber I would play with a lightsaber! Although I didn't even learn that sexism was a thing until I was twelve, this episode of The Simpsons opened my eight-year-old eyes. This 2004 episode  titled "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" speaks volumes about the sexist ideas that are fed to young girls through the toys they play with. Below I added a piece of the script from my favorite part of the episode. The dialogue I included takes places right after Lisa goes to the Malibu Stacy factory to complain about the blatantly sexist doll.

"Don't you have anything relevant to say?"

Lisa: It's awful being a kid. No one listens to you.

Grandpa: It's rotten being old. No one listens to you.

Homer: I'm a white male, age 18 to 49. Everyone listens to me -- no matter how dumb my suggestions are.

(Homer holds up a can reading "Nuts and Gum, Together At Last")