so. Sylvanian Families. wow. frick. what a throwback. By: Yeda Porcalla
Meng, every toy store would have that glass case display with the great big house with the smol furniture and the different animal families lined up and doing their own do-s. I was hella crazy over going toy store to toy store and seeing how they would display their houses and all. (sadly, I never bought a pack of my own, so I would just get excited over mall displays. #SadLyf HAHAHAHA)
they are absolutely crazyadorable!!!! I got so overwhelmed and nostalgic upon having to search for these photos!! The craze is back on!! I mean, L O O K ! ! ! They’d have the cutest tiny furniture and different accessories and all!! and the clothes o. em!! I remember wanting to own that great big house along with the family van and decorate the entire thing!! I wanted to have a BBQ racoon dad watching over his twin boys by the pool with the mom wearing a cute apron by the kitchen --- you know, that entire picturesque family.
And that is where I’ve realized the faults into this collection’s branding. One of the reasons why I never really bought a Sylvanian family was because they were crazy impractically expensive!! I mean, ur 700 pesos could only buy you a family. That’s 35 cornettos meng!! Thankfully, already clothed and all, some packs generously have an accessory or two along with it but that’s it. And what’s in this set? So it’s your animal family of choice inclusive of a mom, a dad, and 2 kids. Usually a brother and a sister. How ideal, right? Well looking at it all now, it’s quite bothersome how we’ve had this influence of how families are supposed to be like at such a young age. (and as animals too? Yet another unrealistic expectation jk)
But ok. here’s the thing on why it’s all so iffy:
Gender roles pa more??!! Mom in an apron, sister in pink, brother in blue. Same goes for their accessories too. Not that it’s such an uncommon thing to expect from children’s toys but you understand why it’s so wrong. We’re brainwashing colors and expectations into children’s minds through dolls. It’s crazy!!!
Sylvanian families are supposed to portray the picture of an ideal family, and I guess that’s why every family set comes with 2 parents -- a mom and a dad. wow. Idk I just generally hate the lack of representation and diversity in things. Family’s a really sensitive topic for children who can’t have lifestyles as promising as the ones of these. I mean heck, the most diversity a set can get is having triplets. wowee. Sure maybe toy companies might (& sadly) never give in to having LGBT representation but would it kill to have a single parent with maybe like 5 children?
Life isn’t a picnic. lol. I mean, I really don’t want to be that cynical kid who grew up to face the bitterness of life but it’s these sort of things that make life even a greater let down, ykno? I mean, sori kids but there are realities beyond the adorable packagings and cute house decor. It’s just quite sad to have this happy expectations built up for them at such an early age because tbh this is really the kind of picture kids look up to when growing up.
Well, anyways. Rant over. I’m still forever looking forward to finally owning my own collection someday, but hopefully when the time does come, it’s gonna be one more realistically aligned with life. (even if it has to sacrifice the cute)
disclaimer: all photos retrieved from the official Sylvanian Families site