In all seriousness, the emergence of this new doll sadly doesn’t shock and is just the latest example of how the girls’ toy market is becoming progressively more seedy. Mattel is currently at loggerheads with rival toy manufacturer MGA whose hugely popular Bratz franchise has been outselling Barbie for some years now: the ‘Black Canary Barbie’ is clearly a retaliation. In a very amusing article in The New Yorker, entitled “Little Hotties”, Margaret Talbot notes that Barbie is now well into middle age and pitches her against the new uprising: the glamourous, youthful Bratz. It sounds like child’s play, but the implications of it are cause for concern. These new dolls are part a growing consumer culture whereby children are increasingly being sold to and their parents bypassed. Its worrying enough that this could happen in the first place but when you delve into the question of what they’re being sold, the waters are murky indeed.
Unlike Barbie, at least the Bratz dolls are actually upwardly mobile. Unfortunately that’s where any reference to reality ends. They have distinctly large heads (echoing the ‘lollipop’ trend that is currently sweeping the celebrity circuit), and over exaggerated cartoon-like features daubed in garish make-up (even Bratz Babies are heavily made up and wear their dummies as jewelled adornments - scary). They claim to be a ‘fashion doll’ like Barbie, and the dolls do come in a vast array of different manifestations: goth, ghetto-fabulous, evening formal. You name it – the Bratz have worn it. The common thread that links each of the ‘collections’ is the sexualized nature of these toys. Skirts are short, tops are cropped, heels are platformed. This hasn’t gone unnoticed in the American media. TV psychologist Dr Phil said they “look like hookers”, while the American Psychological Association (APA) established the Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007), stating: “Bratz dolls come dressed in sexualized clothing such as miniskirts, fishnet stockings, and feather boas. Although these dolls may present no more sexualisation of girls or women than is seen in MTV videos, it is worrisome when dolls designed specifically for 4-8 year-olds are associated with an objectified adult sexuality.”
Unlike Barbie, at least the Bratz dolls are actually upwardly mobile. Unfortunately that’s where any reference to reality ends. They have distinctly large heads (echoing the ‘lollipop’ trend that is currently sweeping the celebrity circuit), and over exaggerated cartoon-like features daubed in garish make-up (even Bratz Babies are heavily made up and wear their dummies as jewelled adornments - scary). They claim to be a ‘fashion doll’ like Barbie, and the dolls do come in a vast array of different manifestations: goth, ghetto-fabulous, evening formal. You name it – the Bratz have worn it. The common thread that links each of the ‘collections’ is the sexualized nature of these toys. Skirts are short, tops are cropped, heels are platformed. This hasn’t gone unnoticed in the American media. TV psychologist Dr Phil said they “look like hookers”, while the American Psychological Association (APA) established the Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007), stating: “Bratz dolls come dressed in sexualized clothing such as miniskirts, fishnet stockings, and feather boas. Although these dolls may present no more sexualisation of girls or women than is seen in MTV videos, it is worrisome when dolls designed specifically for 4-8 year-olds are associated with an objectified adult sexuality.”
I'm not for one second suggesting that the little girls that play with these dolls are fully aware of the comment they are making about female sexuality and body image, I think selling this image of womanhood to young girls in any form is extremely irresponsible. While kids might be oblivious to the ‘sassiness’ of these play-things (as Talbot rightly points out this is simply a euphemism for ‘sexiness’), adults aren’t. I found it distinctly odd (and somewhat disturbing) when a male friend of mine joked that he was planning to see Bratz: The Movie for a bit of eye candy (however much he insisted he was joking). And this is the problem – marketing adult notions of sexuality and gender to children is plain wrong. They may not understand it, but they will grow up accepting these representations as normal. Passing the buck by reasoning that they are too young to understand these notions is downright cowardly.
3 comments:
I completely agree.
Black Canary is a Badass.
Barbie is a whore.
What happened to the scrolling blog updates? I liked them. Not complaining, just asking.
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