E
veryone deserves to
feel seen. To be able to
look around them, and
know that they’re not
an anomaly, or alone.
Messages that tell us what is
‘normal’, and what is not, start very
early on. They’re in the films that we
watch, the role models we’re given,
and the toys that we play with.
That is, until now. Diversity is
possibly the biggest conversation of
the past decade, and Toy Like Me is
a rung in the ladder that’s taking us
to a more inclusive world.
Founded in 2015 by journalist
Rebecca Atkinson, Toy Like Me
campaigns for better representation
of disabilities and differences, by
making-over famous children’s toys.
Rebecca has been the mastermind
of several viral campaigns, picking
up celebrity supporters like Steven
Merchant and author of The Gruffalo,
Julia Donaldson, on the way.
So how did it all start, and what
difference is the campaign making to
the lives of disabled children?IN A BARBIE WORLD
A ‘one size fits all’ attitude can lead
to a lot of internalised shame, which
Rebecca has experienced first-hand.
Wearing hearing aids since childhood,
it took her a long time to feel
comfortable with them.
“I never wore my hair up until I
was in my 20s because I didn’t want
people to know my secret,” Rebecca
tells us. “I never saw anyone with
hearing aids in magazines or books,
or on TV, so it felt like something
that should be hidden. If you never
see positive images of people like
you, you can internalise a sense of
shame about who you are.”
When Rebecca founded Toy Like
Me, she wasn’t asking brands to make
toys specifically for disabled children,
but disabled toys for all children.
Her vision is for disability to become
part of a standard experience –breaking down stereotypes about
what disability looks like, and shining
a light on something that, when
excluded from our experiences, so
often becomes a source of shame.G.I. GROW
So, Rebecca began giving famous toys
disabilities, taking photos of them
and sharing them online. The photos
went viral and the story was picked
up by news outlets around the world.
But more importantly, Rebecca
built up a community of people who
shared the same vision. Recognising
this, she started a petition asking
Playmobil to make official versions of
the toys she had adapted.“Playmobil, we’ve made these toys to
give you some ideas! We would love to
see you make them for real,” Rebecca
wrote on the change.org petition.
“You’d make a lot of people happy.
You’d make a lot of kids feel included.
And most importantly, you’d make a
lot of guide dog tails wag!”
And, the petition worked. More
than 50,000 people signed it, leading
Playmobil to begin work on new
products inspired by Toy Like
Me, taking on Rebecca as creative
consultant.
“The Toy Like Me campaign has
been inspiring for us – we’ve listened
to our audience and are delighted
to offer our full support,” read a
statement from Playmobil. “We
receive a lot of positive commentsfrom guardians of deaf and
disabled children, on how well our
toys stimulate their learning and
creativity, so we are thrilled to be able
to champion their representation in
the toy box.”But this overwhelming support for
her campaign came as no surprise
to Rebecca. “I know how powerful
it is to see yourself represented,”
she explains. “And when that never
usually happens, it invokes a strong
ping of recognition. A ‘that’s like me!’
moment which is really powerful and
validating for kids, and adults too.
“I think I was more surprised that
no one had thought of something so
simple before.”LEGO OF ‘NORMAL’
“We initially had a lot of success on
social media with our images being
seen by millions of people all over
the world, but most of these were
adults,” Rebecca explains. “We wanted
to reach the children themselves, so
we evolved as an organisation to host
school workshops and public events
to engage children in learning about
disability through the magic of toys
a n d p l a y.”
The Toy Like Me workshops aim
to teach children in primary schools
about diversity and inclusion. “For
disabled children themselves, seeing
toys which represent diversity can be
very validating, and for non-disabled
children, research has shown that
exposure to disability through toysI never saw
anyone with
hearing aids in
magazines, or on
TV, so it felt like
something that
should be hidden