Well, as an old bloke, ["pale, male and stale" is the appropriate satirical phrase, I believe] judging by the page title at least, I'm putting my size 14s on somewhat dangerous political ground here - but here goes!!! My feminist credentials are beyond question, so don't worry your pretty little head about that!!! |
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WARNING! If you try to follow up on this article by Googling "girls" and/or "models" you may get more than you bargain for!!! |
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Every manufacturer wants as big a market as possible for their product. |
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Excluding girls would exclude 51% of the potential market - not a good idea… |
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…but not all boys want to play with a toy that is “for girls”! |
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Don't shoot the messenger, I'm simply reporting well documented childhood opinions I've heard expressed, more than once, over the decades - you know well enough that you've heard them as well! |
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Having two daughters may have helped, of course, but, superficially at least, Victorian born C.B. Plimpton, BAYKO's inventor, wouldn't seem to have been an obvious candidate for feminist of the year - or was he… |
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…the evidence certainly shows that he was prepared to challenge the stereotypes and push back the sexist frontiers, at least a little, and certainly seems to have targeted the BAYKO market in an inclusive way. |
Don't let's get too carried away with the thought that the world of BAYKO was totally gender blind, it wasn't, but lets give both Plimpton and, ultimately, MECCANO some credit. |
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I struggled for some way of quantifying the gender balance… |
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…it must be the mathematician in me. |
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By way of an example, a brief analysis of the 148 'MECCANO Magazine' adverts I have shows the following : - |
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41% of MM adverts include an image of a girl, if only on a set box label. |
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15% of the rest mention that the product will suit girls. |
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36% mention neither gender. |
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That's well over half of the adverts in what, let's remember, wasn't exactly a feminist publication. |
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By way of balance, it should be said that very many of the images used in the adverts were aimed at boys… |
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…but, I think we can be sure that adverts in 'GIRL' comic weren't… |
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In the last year or so [1963 / 1964] of BAYKO's association with 'MECCANO Magazine', there was a series of articles about the worlds first and finest plastic construction toy, under the authorship of “Architect”. |
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One of these articles, from November, 1963, was built around a model from “Christine LeConte of Grange on the Wirral Peninsular, who is only nine years of age.” |
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Thanks to Paul Monforth and his cousin's daughter Heather, for pointing this out. |
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Hats off to C.B. and his successors - the boys definitely outnumbered them, but girls were always fully included in BAYKO - and still are… |
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…even if my ex-wife did refer to herself as a “BAYKO Widow”! |
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But the proof of the proverbial pudding, as they say, is in the eating: - |
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The BAYKO Club already has several lady members - Jackie Britton is one of our original members - and, of course, more are always welcome. |
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I, and most other BAYKO Club members, also know several other ladies who actively pursue our excellent hobby. |
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More significantly, I've had countless conversations with ladies at exhibitions [don't tell Diana!] which started, “Oh, I had a BAYKO set when I was a girl and I just loved it!”. |
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Similarly, I have had several conversations with people who were so enthralled with building all the models in the manuals, then, more importantly, models of their own design, and eventually went on to become architects - and a good 40%, I would say, were women. |
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It would be nice to see more and more ladies [or should that be girls‽] re-living the BAYKO-enriched days of childhood! |
Firstly, the proof of the pudding, as they say - should you believe any were actually necessary - a couple of examples of girls who have played, very successfully, with BAYKO. |
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A nostalgic family discussion on toys, triggered by a new grandchild, led to Pat Fereday sending the first image [right]. It shows her, in 1955, in a super photo taken by her dad. |
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As you can clearly see, she was concentrating, very studiously, as she built one of the first of her many BAYKO models… |
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…what a truly fabulous photo… |
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…click anywhere on the image to see a larger version. |
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The next photo [below] brings us bang up to date. |
Sets #1 to #5 Manual, 1934 |
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“These sets teach children to develop skill with their hands and with their brains, and, above all, to form the habit of thinking out problems for themselves, because they make these problems a fascinating game.”
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Sets #1 to #6 Manual, 1935 to 1937 |
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“Bayko sets awaken a common interest in young and old alike.” |
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Sets #20 to #23 Manual, 1938 to 1941 | ||
“USEFUL HINTS FOR BAYKO BUILDERS.” |
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Sets #1 to #6 Manual, 1939 to 1942 | ||
“…these Sets are ideal for children incapacitated by sickness or disease.” |
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Sets #0 to #2 Manual, 1946 | ||
“…these Sets are ideal for children incapacitated by sickness or disease.”
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Sets #0 to #3 Manual, 1949 | ||
“A BAYKO SET IS THE IDEAL GIFT FOR ANY BOY AND GIRL.” |
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Sets #0 to #3 Manual, 1950s |
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“ 'PERFECT' CHILD'S PLAY ” “…these Sets are ideal for children incapacitated by sickness or disease.” |
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Set #3X Manual, 1950s | ||
“ 'PERFECT' CHILD'S PLAY ” |
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Set #0 to #4 Manual, 1950s | ||
“ 'PERFECT' CHILD'S PLAY ” “…these Sets are ideal for children incapacitated by sickness or disease.” |
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MECCANO Era Manual, August, 1960 |
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“The master building system for boys and girls.” |
BAYKO Cinema Advert - Unisex |
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This information is a relatively recent arrival, but after a short delay, my brain [or what passes for one!] has finally caught up, and realised that a reference to it really should be included in this section as well. |
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These two images show the front [left] and rear [right] views of a glass slide which was used by an Australian toyshop, “Cyril F. Noisette, of 352 St. Georges Road, North Fitzroy”, in Melbourne, for Cinema advertising, presumably in the same city. |
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The evidence that Australia, Bruce and Sheila stereotypes notwithstanding, was an equal opportunity advertising market, is transparent. [Sorry, I knew you'd see through that one!] |
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The children's images are clearly based on the images from the 1950s standard set label, which point towards Plimpton's probable involvement in the design. |
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I have to say that I'm a fan of the slogan they have included in the slide : - |
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“ENGLAND'S LATEST EDUCATIONAL TOY” |
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If you'd like to find out a little more about BAYKO cinema advertising… |
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I should, perhaps, offer a little balance. More BAYKO advertising was targeted towards the 'spear side' [the opposite of the 'distaff side', apparently] though these were in publications like 'MECCANO Magazine' and 'BOYS OWN', with just one advert, in 'GIRL' comic to [fail to] redress the balance. Adverts in other comics and newspaper tended to be scrupulously neutral. |
Below here are links to related info : - |
Click on any of the links below for related information.
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