Pixar unravels toxic masculinity in the workplace in new animated short

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

While society continues to stumble when making strides for equality in the workplace, Pixar has taken it upon themselves to develop a new animated short that paints a not-so-pretty picture of the way female employees are seen (and treated) within their chosen professions. Meet Purl, an affable, energetic, and innovative new hire at "B.R.O. Capital" – a male dominated corporation that specializes in providing a safe work environment for dudes who delight in telling raunchy jokes, gorging themselves on after-hours chicken wings, and dismissing the talents of those who don't adhere to their narrow-minded ways of doing business. When Purl arrives on the scene, her compatriots of the super-corp sausagefest treat her as if she's a non-entity. In time, Purl – who appears in the short as an anthropomorphic ball of pink yarn – tries to fit in by knitting herself a new look and abandoning her "softer" personality traits. Deep down, Purl knows that she's not acting like herself, but it isn't until a yellow ball of yarn by the name of Lacey arrives that she reverts back to her good-natured self. Before long, the environment and energy of B.R.O. Capital changes dramatically for the better, thanks in-part to Purl acting as a bridge between the two genders.

You can watch PURL in full below:

If you're wondering about how PURL came to be, it's actually a part of Pixar's SparkShorts series, a collection of films that are meant to empower the voices and talents of creators from different backgrounds. Created by Pixar filmmaker Kristen Lester, PURL is based on Lester's own past work experiences.

"My first job, I was like the only woman in the room," Lester comments in a special behind-the-scenes video about the short. "In order to do the thing that I loved, I sort of became one of the guys." Lester then added,"and then I came to Pixar, and I started to work on teams with women for the first time and that made me realize how much of the female aspect of myself I had buried and left behind.”

It goes without saying that gender equality has a long way to go before the scales will begin to feel even remotely balanced in the workplace. Thankfully, groups that strive to create change within the workplace are being established all across the globe, and they're making advancements towards equality with every passing day. We've got a long way to go indeed, though I'm sure that projects like PURL will serve as a creative way to get the message out to those who are willing to listen. For those who are not, perhaps Purl and her newly-enlightened compatriots (both male and female) can knit y'all some muzzles.