Posted December 1st, 2012, in Barbie, Creepy Marketing, Why I Wrote CAMD | 35 Comments
Move over Monster High, there’s a new semi-nude, spike-heeled, crazy skinny Sesame Streetwalker posing as a girl power icon in town: Winx Club dolls, based on the Nick series, Winx Club Good thing these fairies are magical, because if they were real women they’d have to keep their uteruses (uterii?) in their purses. As dolls, they make Barbie look like a before picture from ”The Biggest Loser.” Looking at pictures of these normal-sized little girls happily olding these pro-ana fairies makes me wince. I’ve seen the research that says girls now self-sexualize by age six. You can certainly see how that happens. The girls are so lovely and chubby and real. The dolls are so skinny and missel-pointy and freakish. They’d have a mom BEGGING for Barbie. Nick, can’t you do better?
Tags: age compression, Barbie, girlie girl culture, pink princess culture camd, premature sexualization, princess culture
Posted March 18th, 2012, in Barbie, Creepy Marketing, Princesses, The Weight of Weight, Why I Wrote CAMD | 28 Comments
Yesterday I posted a link on my facebook page to an article on CNN.com called “Fat is the New Ugly on the Playground,” which featured a few nice quotes by yours truly. In response to the post were comments including the following: Excuse me in my experience fat has always equalled ugly on the playground, ain’t nuthin new here, take it from a former fat kid. ‘Fat’ has always been ugly on the playground, or any where else for that matter! I’m not sure why this is all of a sudden breaking news. Absolutely true. Fat kids—boys as well as girls—have long been tormented, demonized and excluded by their schoolmates. In CAMD I talk about the history of American attitudes towards fat—the reasons it came to be seen as a moral issue, a character flaw; how it became particularly taboo for women whose avoirdupois was once considered sexy. Check out an [...]
Tags: age compression, CAMD, fighting back, girlie girl culture, pink princess culture camd, premature sexualization, princess culture
Posted July 11th, 2011, in Barbie, Princesses, Why I Wrote CAMD | 20 Comments
I used to sort of enjoy Polly Pockets when Daisy was into them. I think it was their size. And they had some cool gear. And sometimes I’m a hypocrite, so sue me. Of course, Pollys, like most toys for girls, had aged down: initially, for instance, Barbie was aimed at a 9-12 demographic, but little girls, trying to be cool like their older sisters, start wanting them too and then they became anathema to the older girls. So now rather than starting with Barbies at 9, girls are done with them by 6. I write a lot about age compression in Cinderella Ate My Daughter and also how it’s affected the nature of the Barbie fantasy. Anyway, the thing with the Pollys is that they are now marketed (according to Amazon) to girls ages 2-5. And those little rubber clothes and shoes are really impossible for girls that age [...]
Tags: Barbie, CAMD, girlie girl culture, pink princess culture camd, premature sexualization
Posted April 26th, 2011, in Barbie, Recommendations Grown-ups, Why I Wrote CAMD | 2 Comments
Lisa Belkin, author of (among other things) the blog, “The Motherlode,” asked if I would respond to a reader who wanted guidance on how to explain to her father why she didn’t want him to give her daughter a Barbie doll. Let me know what you think of my advice……
Tags: Barbie, girlie girl culture
Posted March 1st, 2011, in Barbie, Princesses, Why I Wrote CAMD | 1 Comment
Mattel just announced that it will be releasing “architect Barbie” later this year, complete with I.M. Pei-style black-rimmed glasses. There’s apparently been a concerted effort since 2002 by women in the profession into the doll’s career pantheon. In general, the recent (and hard to find) “computer engineer” and architect aside, Barbie’s recent careers have been disappointing: “baby doctor,” “pet vet,”ballerina” and “cheerleader” have largely replaced yesteryear’s “astronaut,” “race car driver” and “ambassador for world peace” (not to mention my personal fantasy job: “See’s Candy Store Cashier”). Though frankly, all of Barbie’s careers are a little odd considering that she herself is supposed to be a teenager (though maybe she’s grown up since the 90s, when among the first words she “spoke” were “math class is tough.”) Now for a little jolt of real life: the good news is, 40% of architecture students are now female. The bad news is, only [...]
Tags: Barbie
Posted January 8th, 2011, in Barbie | No Comments
Interesting comparison of old and new Barbie bodies. One other comparison: when she was introduced in 1959 her demographic was 9-12 year old girls. Now it’s 3-7 (and even 7 is pushing it).
Posted December 15th, 2010, in Barbie | No Comments
Barbie’s carbon footprint. This makes me almost feel bad for the old girl.
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