Back in the Dinosaur Days,
when I was a yahoo,
I played with Barbies...
when they looked like this
But my mom would not let me have the "grown up" Barbie,
Instead, I played with "Skipper"--
When I was in 2nd grade, my father actually sold for Mattel Toys (then Kennar),
so of course, my brothers and I had more toys than is legal in some countries--
including the grown up Barbies...
Okay, so I grew up with an abundance of Barbies. They were my most favorite dolls.
I did not have a Dream House--I think my father must've changed jobs by the time they came out, because I am certain I would've had one if he'd still been with the company that sold 'em.
So I created my own dreamhouse...using textbooks covered in slips for beds,and rolled-up Sunday socks for pillows, my mother's high-heels for sleek sporty cars, and my brother's GI Joe's for dates.
Barbie's look reflected whatever was going on at the time in the world...peasant skirts, bellbottoms, boots, jumpers, maxi-midi-min-dresses. So fun.
As I had my own daughters, Barbies got a welcomed invitation back into my home.
The Barbie aisle was always visited when we went shopping--
back in 1987, I think, is when my oldest finally started noticing the beautiful dolls
in their fancy garb. We shared our addiction together and all of my girls began collecting
dolls. As I've shared in a past post, many had been kept in their boxes until a new little friend came over
last fall and convinced the Caboose to open most of them up! Ugh.
Anyway, we've got all kinds of Barbies around here--
Little Debbie, Snow White, Cinderella, wedding days, Birthdays, Mermaids,
Fairies, Beach, Astronauts, Teachers, Doctors, Mommies, Babysitters...
and on and on...
we had to exclude some of them from our collection
based on our personal standard of modesty.
True story.
My girls have stood admiring the shelves of dolls before them,
and the one question that helped them make a choice was,
is she modest?
I read an article this morning about the newest Barbie
on the shelf--
maybe you've seen her at Target?
The series is called BASIC BLACK...
the dolls are mature-looking,
wearing an assortment of the classic adult black dress,
some evoking images we see in the media
these days--
reflecting our world
of Kim Kard*shian and P*ris Hilton.
When I first saw these,
I admit,
I liked them.
Our local Target only stocks about half a dozen,
so I didn't see the questionable dolls.
To my surprise,
the Caboose didn't like them at all.
"Boring" was her response.
She likes the brightly colored, feathered & finned,
versions available.
Okay then, nothing to see here, I decided.
There's alot of controversy over this series,
because it's being marketed towards adults,
altho' it is still in the Barbie aisle.
And adults are upset over her new look,
but in fact,
Barbie is the same as she has always been--
a reflection of the world around her.
In the article I read,
it said something along the lines of
parents have turned to the TV for teaching their children
about morals and modesty--
that's what got my attention right there.
The world is full of noise--
loud, noisy, lost people.
In my mind, it makes sense--
when a person is lost
they are taught to make lots of noise--
shouting if possible
to get attention!
SO does it make sense that our world
that is so so lost when it comes to
knowing the difference between virtue and vice--
would be so so loud?
It is a challenge to hear the
"still, small voice"
that directs us to virtue
when the noises of "vice" are booming
.
Is it hypocrisy or not,
to be angered that the folks over at the
Barbie-factory took a look around to see what's popular and what's selling,
and came up with this series?
It's what is current this year...
can we change what will be current next year?
That depends on how fast these dolls fly off the shelves,
ya think?
Here's a news report about the Barbie Controversy.
More than anything,
I think this serves as a timely reminder
that we Mothers,
have a grand responsibility to teach our
daughters what's really important--
and we need to be careful that
where we focus our attention isn't
contrary to the values
we want for our families.
So, what do you think??
*Scroll down to the bottom of my page to turn off the music so you can hear this clip.
It is terrifying to me that people are seriously turning to pop culture to teach morals and values to their children. You are right on--it's the parent's responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI think you've got it right, Dawn. 100%
ReplyDeleteAnd I think your new blog look is nothing short of FANTASTIC!
=)
I loved Barbie as a kid, and I had no problem with Barbie for my own daughters. We bought the original Bratz but stopped when the second batch were too risque for our sensibilities. I like the look of these dolls, and can't see the problem, although I admit I didn't watch the clip because I'm on my baby computer which makes everything sound like it was coming out of a tin can. But when the day comes that I feel a DOLL has more influence over my child than I do, then I'll have bigger problems than toys to worry about.
ReplyDeleteI think Satan likes to use this silliness to make people think that somehow they really don't have as much influence over their kids as the media, etc. They make a lot of noise because they're scared, or have felt like they had no choice but to relinquish their influence and authority.
When you recognize how much power a couple of good parents can have in their family's lives, this kind of stuff loses a lot of its impact.
I can see how most of these Basic ones would just be boring to little girls. The cleavage is ridiculous even for Barbie though!
ReplyDeleteDid you ever have the Growing Up Skipper? The one where when you turned her arm, she went through puberty and grew boobs? Too funny!
"The world is full of noise--
ReplyDeleteloud, noisy, lost people.
In my mind, it makes sense--
when a person is lost
they are taught to make lots of noise--
shouting if possible
to get attention!
SO does it make sense that our world
that is so so lost when it comes to
knowing the difference between virtue and vice--
would be so so loud?
It is a challenge to hear the
"still, small voice"
that directs us to virtue
when the noises of "vice" are booming."
Wisdom. You should write a book.
Your post reminds me of the many long hours my sister and I and our friends make and created Barbie houses (out of similar objects - I've driven many a high heeled vehicle :) and clothing out of whatever scraps we could glean, and even did tissue paper clothes for a while :)
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to see my girls collect some of the dolls and their clothing. What a great lesson in modesty! Wish I'd have thought about it at the time - but I didn't. I'll be wiser with the grandkids! Can't wait to show them the basics of a tissue paper wardrobe - ha!
Kristin
I never really cared for Barbie, but my daughters loved them, and one still says she can't wait to have kids so she can play with Barbies again.
ReplyDeleteI have never liked the clothes the Barbies wear, but these last ones are particularly ridiculous. Look at the cleavage on that last one. That may be who some adults dress, --but they are adults. I think the toy industry needs to be much more responsible.
Fun to meet you today at CBC! This is a fun post. I was nuts for Barbie, and wanted nothing to do with baby dolls. :)
ReplyDelete