Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: 84 Years, Only 10 Girl Balloons

by Roxann MtJoy · 2010-11-24 07:14:00 UTC
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Did you know that in the 84 years that Macy's has been sponsoring New York's annual Thanksgiving Day Parade only a measly ten balloons have been girl characters? That is out of 129 total balloons. I don't know about you, but gender inequity isn't how I'd like to start off my holiday.

While some may think of holiday parades as nothing to be concerned over, Lynette Long, Ph.D., president of Equality Visible Everywhere (EVE), argues that it is not. "Every year millions of young girls eagerly attend Macy’s and other parades, only to look up and see nothing but male characters float by," Long notes. That isn't good for either boys or girls.

Unfortunately, the Thanksgiving parade is only one in a long list of examples of young girls not seeing themselves reflected in the media aimed at them. Among the most popular G-rated films, when it comes to speaking characters, there is an unacceptable 3:1 ratio in favor of males. On top of that, many of the female characters that do speak even in children's media are hyper-sexualized.

It is time that Macy's stepped up and recognized the wonderful array of fun, exciting girl characters out there. Hardy Girls Healthy Women have some great suggestions, including Hermione Granger, Lisa Simpson, and Pippi Longstocking. They've asked Macy's to commit to increasing their number of girl balloons over the next two years, with the ultimate goal of having half of all characters in each Thanksgiving parade be girls by the year 2012. Sign this petition to tell Macy's that you support Hardy Girls Healthy Women's initiative and want to see more girl balloons in future parades.

Photo credit: Hans J E

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Roxann MtJoy is a freelance writer who previously worked as a case manager at a domestic violence shelter. She is currently attending graduate school for theater in Mount Vernon, N.Y.

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Tell Macy’s you want more girl and women character balloons in their Thanksgiving Day parade!
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