A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Liberated through teddy bears: resistance, resourcefulness, and resilience in toy play during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Heljakka Katriina
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Publication year: 2021
Journal: International Journal of Play
Journal name in source: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLAY
Journal acronym: INT J PLAY
Volume: 10
Issue: 4
First page : 387
Last page: 404
Number of pages: 18
ISSN: 2159-4937
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2021.2005402
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/68617098
As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Finnish citizens started to display teddy bears in their windows. As this activity gained media interest and popularity, it grew into a transgenerational form of toy play, where children and adults participated as displayers and spectators in this visual-material play pattern, made available to a broader audience through sharing on social media. A previous phase of the study articulated and analyzed the phenomenon as an act that facilitates mental well-being through imagination, participation, and playing for the common good (Heljakka, 2020). By theorizing and framing the phenomenon as pandemic toy play, the researcher suggested the importance of resistance, resourcefulness, and playful resilience in times of forced self-isolation and social distancing. This article builds on the earlier phase of the study by focusing on the previously identified themes and investigates the occurrence of these themes in adult toy play during a pandemic.
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |  |
