But some think that Barbie has no place in modern times. One West Virginia lawmaker has introduced a bill that would ban the sale of Barbie dolls "and other similar dolls that promote or influence girls to place an undue importance on physical beauty to the detriment of their intellectual and emotional development."
Oh law makers, you can't save the children from everything. For some crazy reason, girls (and boys, heck - even adults) style themselves after popular images. The popularity of the item is what matters, not the item itself. Get rid of Unnaturally Proportioned Barbie and replacing her with Sexy-in-a-Book-Smart-Way Barbie would only work if people liked them. Banning Barbie would probably only make her more attractive. posted by filthy light thief at 11:05 AM on March 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
I thought Sarah Burge was the real life barbie? At least that's what her website says (SFW, mostly pics of her at parties being .. barbielike?)
filthy light thief, i think you have it. Barbie is a reflection of the most popular female ideal, whether we like that or not. In western society, it's always the men who are the observers who have to pursue women, and the women who have to put on the appropriate show to get pursuers.
When I was a kid, I used to dress up like Fidel Castro and run around in the woods pretending to be guerillas or terrorists blowing shit up. Maybe it was a kneejerk reaction to how lame GI Joe was. posted by dunkadunc at 11:20 AM on March 6, 2009
Perhaps the Illinois legislature could pass a law redefining Barbie as a skanky ho? posted by Hovercraft Eel at 11:32 AM on March 6, 2009
As a nanny for a five year old girl, I'd like to go on the record to say that the Barbie Movies are one of the most brilliant marketing ploys for the worst brain-sucking g-dawful movies in the entire known universe. The plots are awful, the stereotypes sickening. At least the animation is fairly decent.
The only, ONLY good thing I have to say about them is that a lot of the background music is classical, which at least exposes young girls to classical music somehow.
The dolls are fine with me, especially if I can make Ken wear a nice dress. The movies - I would like to invoke the great Bill Hicks and say whoever made this crocks of shit should kill themselves. posted by grapefruitmoon at 11:53 AM on March 6, 2009
So what better way to celebrate Barbie's 50th birthday and increase worldwide sales than by giving her her very own flagship store in Shanghai
How about some nipples and genitalia? posted by Burhanistan at 11:53 AM on March 6, 2009
Have you actually seen the Totally Stylin' Tats? They lack ... something. I guess I was hoping for more hardcore biker barbie look, but at least there are no BFF-type tattoos. I'd hate to have parents try to reason their excitable little girl down from the exciting thoughts of Shelly + Cindy Friends Forever tattooed.
"Honey, what if you and Cindy have a fight? Like last week, when she didn't want to lend you her Jonas Brothers CD?"
"But that was last week! And Mom bought that CD for me yesterday. We're best friends forever! We even wrote it in our binders! See?"
"Yes, well, tattoos last longer than binders."
"Yeah, we know, Dad. That's what forever means! Duh!" posted by filthy light thief at 12:14 PM on March 6, 2009
How about some nipples and genitalia?
that reminds me, under filthy light thief's second link I saw this.
Somehow I don't really like the implications. posted by dunkadunc at 12:18 PM on March 6, 2009
I just don't understand this fascination with Barbie and fashion models, both. Barbie is supposed to be all about the clothes. Buy a doll, buy more Barbie clothes. Or make your own! Same thing with fashion models. They're just thin women to be moving, breathing mannequins to display clothing.
Models were originally thin because the designers didn't want to have beautiful women distract from the clothes. The focus used to be on the clothing, the designer. You didn't want a woman with sexy curves stealing the spotlight. It's the same with Barbie. Sexy? No way, she's a homunculus with a big head, and long legs and arms to allow the miniature clothing more detail. Dolls before Barbie were almost certainly mishapen too; whether made from straw or sticks, they definitely were going to be slender underneath their clothes.
Call me when they have bulemic Barbie, but I really imagine that most girls (and boys), without prodding from adults, would describe Barbie as having a flair for fashion, multi-talented (so many professions!) and having many friends before they would call her skinny. I mean, no one identifies Dora the Explorer as being fat, even though her proportions are way wider than a normal kid, right? posted by explosion at 1:02 PM on March 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
Barbie is supposed to be all about the clothes
Heh. My Barbies had a lot more fun than that. posted by goo at 1:28 PM on March 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
I used to make my GI Joe figures (the 80s small plastic version, not the original 12"ers) make port calls with my sister's Barbies. I think it was quite normal, nothing macrophilic going on. posted by Burhanistan at 2:25 PM on March 6, 2009
All I know is, when I accidently turn into the Barbie aisle at any given department store, the monotonous fullisade of hot plastic pink packaging burns my retinas. I can actually feel my soul leaving my body. posted by CynicalKnight at 2:29 PM on March 6, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by sfts2 at 10:46 AM on March 6, 2009