GB2466781A

GB2466781A - Religious identity dolls

Info

Publication number: GB2466781A
Application number: GB0900074A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jenine Sharabi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-01-06
Filing date: 2009-01-06
Publication date: 2010-07-07
Also published as: GB0900074D0

Abstract

Disclosed is a doll for educating children about religious identity and to encourage them to break free of any visual associations and stereotypes that they may have previously been taught. There are both male and female dolls. Both dolls are blue and are non-ethnically identifiable. Each doll comes with a set of garments from the six dominant religions. These garments can be found at the bottom of a draw-string carrier sack in a jumbled mixture with no suggestion of what each are meant to represent in order for the child to make their own unaffected decisions about how to dress their doll. The doll may be stored in the sack such that the doll's head sticks out of the top of the sack and the doll's arms poke out of holes in either side of the sack (see figure 6). The dolls are educational but their aesthetically pleasing appearance also provides a fun and playful experience for children.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Religious Identity Dolls v \ \\ \ \ \ \ From a very young age we start identifying familiar signs and symbols and soon build rel-ative expectations of them. This is a natural instinct and how our minds work. The danger of this is that we start to have preconceptions about things we shouldn't, for example peo-ple. We preconceive expectations about someone from the moment we see them, merely depending on the way they look. Today, the most current and widely discussed issue that this affects is religion. Material objects, such as clothing, label religious identities. When a man with a beard and prayer cap walks down the street we look at him as a Muslim man and not as an individual but as a part of a religious sect or community. The associations we make about him may rely solely on this and often, as the case is today, these associa- tions are not positive. Society and the media label religious identities e.g. Muslims as ter-rorists. How can we diverge from this tendency to label people? How can we tend to this matter from an early stage in life? How can children be taught to see that symbols do not always provide us with a fair representation of what we think they stand for? How can we get them to see beyond stereotypes and to understand the inadequacy of such general-izations? The best way to communicate with children is through creative play. There is currently no toy in the market that addresses or tackles such an issue. There are some dolls that are manufactured in acknowledgement of the existence of religious identities but they confirm stereotypes rather than challenge them.

;uvAY c: NVENTV)N The present invention is a set of dolls created to educate children about religious identity and to encourage them to break free of any visual associations and stereotypes that they may have previously been taught. Children are encouraged to learn and gain a new way of seeing through fun and playful experience. c

The dolls are made of materials that are easily accessible, ergonomic, tactile and safe for young children. The fabrics used are all soft, washable, colourful and tactile. The body colour for both dolls is blue. Blue is the preferable colour chosen because they are specif- ically non-ethnically categorized dolls. However, other appropriately non-ethnically asso-ciated colours are negotiable. Each doll is constructed from a doll pattern that is made of different panels and then stitched together. Both dolls are stuffed with polyester fiberfill or cotton. Each doll has a head, two ears, two arms, two hands, a torso, two legs and two feet. Each doll is stitched at the top of the arms, elbows, tops of the legs and knees to create joints. The proportions of the doll resemble human proportions. There is both a female and male doll. Both are wearing removable undergarments relative to their gender.

Figure 3 shows the male doll wearing a pair of underpants, figure 1 shows the female wearing a pair of underpants and bra. These are made of soft white fabric and their detail-ing is preferably stitched in white thread. The detailing, which includes all facial features,

DESCRIPTION

is also relative to its gender. This is individually stitched, painted or printed in a variety of colours.

Figure 2 and 4 show that each doll comes with a set of garments from the 6 dominant religions around the world. (Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism and Buddhism). These are all made of soft washable fabrics such as cotton, felt, wool, rayon, nylon, acrylic or a blend. All of these fabrics are child friendly, easy to interact with and can be assembled on the doll comfortably. The colour of each item of clothing is relative to the religion they represent. Each piece of clothing is specially tailored to fit the doll they accompany. The fastenings on each item of clothing are made of metal or plastic snaps, Velcro or zips, are child friendly and easy to use.

Figure 6 shows each doll and set of clothing is contained in a drawstring sack. The sack is made of soft fabric. Preferably a neutral colour but may come in any colour. The sack has a small pouch made from the same fabric as the rest of the sack. This is at the front of the sack and contains both children and parental guides. The sack is designed as a carrier bag for both the doll and its accompanying clothing. When the doll is placed in the sack the opening at the top allows the dolls head to stick out and be seen. The two holes on either side of the pouch in the front allow the dolls two arms to also poke out. When pulled tight, the drawstrings act as handles that allow the sack to be comfortably held in the owner's hand or to be placed over their shoulders and worn.

The clothing is presented to the child in a jumbled mixture at the bottom of this sack.

There is no suggestion of what is meant to go together, therefore the child is encouraged to mix and match the garments and through this process create new costumes. The dressed doll effectively becomes so mismatched that their identity is not recognizable.

[Figure 5] A child will be sure to recognize some of the items of clothing and will already have an inclination about what they represent. However, by taking the clothing out of con-text and presenting them in this approachable format the child is given the freedom to be selective and are taught about the importance of making decisions without being con-strained by social limitations. Through interaction with these dolls children are encouraged to acknowledge the religious associative symbols they come across everyday and to acknowledge how misleading they can be.