Friday, October 21, 2011

As a little girl I loved Barbies.  LOVED THEM.  I would sit in my room for hours upon hours and play with my little families.  I would go over to my friends house and we would play for days.  I accumulated a disgusting amount of Barbies during my childhood. 

While growing up I never once thought of my Barbies as "role models".  I never looked at their very unrealistic body proportions and wanted to aspire to be that.  I play with them, used my imagination and had fun.  So when I saw an uproar lately about a new Barbie coming out that has tattoos, I just shake my head. 
I think we as a society are becoming so overly invested in our child's psyche and trying to protect them from every little thing that we got lost. We forget that kids are kids and we as the ones raising them, are usually the ones to plant little seeds of prejudice. After all, these are only tattoos.  That does not mean Barbie is going to begin a deep downward spiral into drugs and whoring herself off in the crack alley.

I don't have any daughters yet, or children of my own, but I hope one day to instill in them to be what they want to be.  I hope that my parenting skills will trump any messages they may get from a tv program or playing with a doll.  I hope they have enough self confidence to do what they want with their bodies, once they are of legal age, or to do nothing at all.  I also hope they never feel the need to judge others based on what they put on their bodies. 

4 comments:

  1. I totally agree. I went to a women's college and the whole Barbie thing was brought up A LOT. Honestly, I plan on letting my daughters play with whatever they want to play with but I also plan on taking the time to listen and explain things to my daughters just like my parents did.
    Also....on a none, political note, I think it's kinda cool that Barbie has tattoos.

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  2. I kind of like her too. If she wasn't so damn expensive I'd probably buy one.

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  3. I"m pretty sure that Lucas wouldn't even notice that tattoo Barbie was any different from the other Barbies. Mommy has tattoos, other ladies don't. He doesn't care, and he doesn't notice. He's never been the kid to point, stare and/or comment on anyone that is "different" and I honestly believe that it's because he's exposed to so much diversity.
    People are getting wrapped up in the wrong battles. Let's worry about the real issues in our society. Let's battle poverty, hunger, and incurable diseases, and not worry about Barbie's decision to express herself with a little ink. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Problem solved. #end rant

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  4. well said. hahahaha - i thought of you when i saw this barbie! i thought this thing was kinda funny. i didn't get all offended by it. i, too, never had any issues with barbie's growing up. never suffered any "damage" from playing with them. i don't see what's so horrible about this one.

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