Rubber Ducks and Their Significance in Contemporary American Culture

Abstract

‘‘Duck mania started in 1970 when Ernie sang ‘Rubber Duckie’ on Sesame Street.’’ This statement, part of a 2004 press release issued by the Ettore company on its Web site, http://www. ettore.com, for its new shower squeegee which featured a yellow handle shaped like a duck, provides useful historical information about the current popularity of a simple toy: the small, squeezable, yellow rubber duck. In the 35 years since the song ‘‘Rubber Duckie’’ was released, this toy has gained remarkable visibility and popularity in contemporary American culture. Primarily associated with children’s bathtime, rubber ducks have simultaneously emerged from the tub into a variety of new settings. The toy has assumed a number of specific functions: a symbol for infants, childhood, bathing, and bathrooms; a tool to teach developmental and cognitive skills to infants; a design on toddler’s clothing; a theme for baby showers and birthday parties; and a frequent image and character in children’s books. Adults have discovered many creative uses for rubber ducks including artwork, protest actions, parody, sports connections, retail business names, and fundraising with duck races. Plain yellow ducks have been joined by ones outfitted as cowboys, pirates and medieval knights, imprinted ones bearing a child’s name or message (e.g., I ! you) and ducks with celebrity or historical faces. Why are rubber ducks so popular at this time in the lives of both children and adults? The prevalence of the toy on so many levels raises numerous important questions concerning its cultural significance. This article seeks to explore rubber duck popularity by examining its causes and dimensions and argues that the so-called ‘‘fun morality’’ child-rearing philosophy, which emerged in the 1960s, has contributed substantially to the duck’s popularity. The philosophy influenced not only parents, but also provoked educators and organizations, such as the Children’s Television Workshop which produced Sesame Street, to inject ‘‘fun’’ into learning. Linking the duck with fun eventually influenced many areas of adult culture, including retailing, sports, and the workplace. The article thus additionally argues that rubber ducks illuminate the interaction between children’s culture and the larger adult popular culture. 1