Inside Toy Land

Inside Toyland is a gem — a well-written examination of politics, inequality, racism and working conditions in the context of the toy store. In order to gain a firsthand look at the intricacies of retail work, Williams conducted her research by participant observation. She worked at two toy stores. Both stores are a part of national chains and at the time of her research employed about 70 workers. Despite the fact that both stores sell similar merchandise, and include large inventories of electronics, games, puzzles, traditional lines of dolls and action figures targeting boys (G.I. Joes) and girls (Barbies), most of which is produced off-shore, largely in China, there are very significant differences between them. The image of Diamond Toys that Williams paints reminds me of the toy store featured in the movie, Home Alone 2, where one's imagination may be set free. Often referred to as a tourist destination, Diamond Toys is located in an upscale urban shopping district and its mainly white customer base was primarily middle or upper class. The majority of the staff in this unionized store is white. By contrast, ten miles away in a redevelopment zone, referred to as a "bad neighborhood" by the workers, stands Toy Warehouse, a non-unionized store mirroring a number of other big-box retail outlets (Home Depot, Staples, Petsmart). Within the region, this store is profiled as having the worst problem with "shrink" or theft and the worst customer satisfaction rating. Its customer base is mixed, representing "every racial/ethnic group and every social class." Williams was one of four white women on the staff.

In Inside Toyland, Williams does not simply provide a narrow analysis of the labour process and working conditions — the makeup of the McJobs — within the retail sector. This book builds the analysis of retail work from the reshaping of working conditions and workplace culture within the new age of retail and consumer culture. This is the era of the giant