A six-year-old girl has challenged three toy companies over a lack of female military figures, and she is our new hero.
Vivian Lord wrote to JA-RU Toys, J-Lloyd International, and Tim-Mee Toys after she won some army figurines at an arcade, and wondered whether there were female toys to play with.
“Why do you not make girl army men? My friend's mom is in the army too!" her letter read. “Please can you make army girls that look like women? I would play with them every day and my friends would too!"
“Vivian approached me about this while we were on vacation last month. She won some army men at an arcade while visiting Orange Beach, Alabama," Vivian's mother, Brittany Lord, told PA. “She was really enjoying playing with them and lining them up, and we were thrilled. Then, she came to me and very matter of fact asked 'Why are there no army girl soldiers?' I admit I had never thought of that! We found army men in a pink color but that did not settle well with her… We asked if she would be interested in writing a letter and she jumped at the idea!"
Lord said she had received an email response from one company, saying that there was an initiative to have some army women made.
"(Vivian) asks almost daily if she is going to get some girl army soldiers to play with soon," she said. "She has always been concerned with justice and equality so her attention to this doesn't surprise me one bit. I'm just proud of my daughter for wanting to make a change. Children are so observant and we should teach them that their voices truly matter. After all, we can learn so much from them."