TEDDY BEAR

The name Teddy Bear comes from former United States President, Theodore
Roosevelt, whose nickname was ʻTeddyʼ. The name originated from an incident on a bear-
hunting trip in Mississippi, in November 1902. While there, the local officials that were
hosting him took him on a bear hunting expedition. The expedition was a bust; they didn’t
come across any bears.
To help the situation, one of the officials captured a bear cub and brought it to the
President so that he could shoot it. President Roosevelt refused to hurt the bear. He didn’t feel
that it was right to shoot an animal in captivity. The incident inspired Clifford Berryman to
draw the cartoon “Drawing the line at the Mississippi”. It shows President Roosevelt refusing
to shoot a bear cub. Inspired by the cartoon of the bear, Morris Michtom created “Teddy’s
bear.”The Michtoms went on to make their fortune with the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company
and President Roosevelt had found a highly effective political mascot.
Consequently “Teddy’s Bear” became a popular icon for pop culture of that time; the
name was eventually changed to Teddy Bear. The Teddy Bear toy became so popular that it
was no longer just for children, but also ladies would carry them around town. The Teddy
Bear was such a popular image that Theodore Roosevelt used the image in his re-election
campaign which was successful in bringing him into a second term in office.
The Teddy Bear quickly got a reputation as a childhood toy that made
us feel safe and secure. Children would take their Teddy Bears everywhere they went, but the
most predominant place was to bed, because most kids were often scared of the dark and were
told by their parents that the Teddy Bear would keep them safe. The press and media also
picked up and promoted the idea. Back then, safety was a great chain as the country was at
war and so many things were happening in the world that made everyone a bit nervous.
Teddy’s bear is historically significant for the light it sheds on American culture and
society during a period in which Victorian notions of womanhood, manhood, and childhood,
were changing. As New Women entered the public sphere as workers, reformers, and
professionals, they contributed to the erosion of the Victorian gender ideology that had
prescribed private roles for women and public roles for men.

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 The opportunities that the new social and sexual order afforded women, however,
generated cultural anxieties about male identity, as suggested by the bawdy vaudeville joke
about Theodore Roosevelt, whose identity had been shaped by this crisis in masculinity.
Roosevelt drew upon a discourse about civilization to justify imperialist domination by virile
white American men over racially inferior dark ones, often gendered as female.
Their widespread popularity can be explained in part by the emergence of new
emotional standards. In order to prepare boys for success in the corporate order the Victorian
boyhood ideal of courage yielded to a more useful concept of cooperation and consensus. For
girls, newly emerging ideals about a more androgynous girlhood led them to embrace Teddy
bears and to neglect their china dolls.
At the same time that new girlhood ideals incorporated more masculine characteristics,
the increased emotional value of animals led to Teddy’s transformation from ferocious to
feminine: Teddy’s bear would be a pal, providing emotional security in a rapidly changing
world. Theodore Roosevelt, himself a conservationist, helped to generate new notions about
nature through the expansion of the national forests and wetlands. As a passionate
outdoorsman, Roosevelt sought to control, manage, and protect what was left of the American
wilderness.

Four Psychological Powers of Teddy Bears:

• Teddy bears are the symbol of child-like innocence. They remind of us of being
nurtured and cared for by others. Teddy bears are a symbol of the care free moments
of childhood.

• Teddy bears remind us of a special person who loved us and brought us a teddy bear,
they are a love symbol Teddy bears are used by police officers and fire fighters to
bring comfort to families who are experiencing difficulties. They are a universal
symbol of caring.

• Teddy bears are also used as gift to remember special occasions. Therefore, teddy
bears are treasured for the memory that they represent. Pleasant memories color our
world with happy thoughts and bring comfort in difficult times.

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 • The fourth powerful psychological impact is the power of the soft touch. A huggable,
warm teddy bear brings the comfort of touch. Touch is a powerful need among human
beings. Holding something soft gives us immense psychological comfort.

The worldʼs first Teddy Bear Museum was set up in Petersfield, Hampshire, England,
in 1984. In 1990, a similar foundation was set up in Naples, Florida, United States. This
interest in founding museums shows how important Teddy Bear is for all humankind.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bellis, Mary. History of the Teddy Bear, New York, 2006.

Clay, Marianne. The History of the Teddy Bear , 2007.