Tattooed Barbie 'Overly-Sexualised And Inappropriate', Say Parents

[Alex]

So apparently a Barbie sporting tattoos, pink hair and a cactus wearing dog called 'Bastardino' is causing controversy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...sexualised-and-inappropriate-say-parents.html


Apparently parents think its inappropriate for girls to have. It's apparently playing on young girls natural desire to be older and is seen as something to be resisted.

Personally I think its hilarious that they're stressing out about this when Barbie's been doing this sort of thing for 52 years. Barbie's been seen as ditzy, fashion orientated and the like for her entire existence, this new one is nothing new.

As for the 'playing on girls desire to be older' again Barbie's been doing that thing for years, bikini's and other outfits, cars, boyfriends, again its nothing new.

I feel they're just stressing out about the idea of tattoos because they're not really seen as 'femine' and throwing out any excuse to justify they're reason, yet come across as idiots because this is what Barbie was created for.

 

[#hamler]

I think it's quite hilarious. I think it's hilarious because a company can't make a fucking toy for children without being ridiculed by their buyers for being over-sexulaized. That's basically what the company does; make toys to similate a perfect life. Barbie seems perfect. Ken seems perfect. The black ones seem perfect. Why not make something different for once? If anything I would perfer my imaginary daughter get this one simply for the reason that she's different then the other stereotypic shit Barbie produces. It's somewhat embarassing the kind of world we live in where this is a major issue.

 

[justinsayne]

I don't see why this is such a controversy, the Barbie isn't even sold in a store, it's a "collectors item" & only available online, so it's not like your going to be walking through Walmart or Toys R Us with your kid and she's gonna see it on the shelf and want it. This is just another example of people overreacting over nothing.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

So these parents are saying that a doll that has a boyfriend and can be striped naked at anytime is appropriate for small children, but ink designs on thier skin isn't. That is some BS right there.

I see naked barbie dolls with kents on top of them laying all over the floor of my friend's house ( has a little sister) with no parental intervention from anyone. If these girls aspire to become mature then I would much rather have my hypothetical daughter get a tatoo based on barbie rather than get STD's or pregnant due to "the stuff I did with barbie and kent when I was little". I also doubt that a doll that girls play with at such a young age would affect thier adolescent mind-set either.

 

[LSN80]

Short and sweet here. If you don't like the barbie doll, don't buy it for your damn kids. If youre trying to send a particular message or moral values to your kids, then sit them down and explain to your(likely daughter) as to why it's inaappropriate. And if you think it's inappropriate, dont let your kids near it, no matter how much they want it.

Of course, this is the perfect way to alienate your kids. Is the Barbie doll underdressed? No. Even if so, who cares? What do most girls do with Barbie Dolls anyway? They dress them up. Hey parents, guess what that includes, even with "innocent" mini-skirt Barbie? Taking their clothes off. My sisters did it all the time, and living in a conservative family, my parents didn't say a peep about undressing Mini-skirt Barbie or bathing suit Barbie. Its a part of childhood, and childhood has evolved. Over 40% of the people in the US today have tattoos, including innocent conservatives like myself. But I digress.

Here's my problem: Why didnt these parents raise a fuss with Mini-Skirt Barbie or Bikini Barbie? Maybe they did- But I never heard anything about it. You want to talk about sexualized? The two dolls I mentioned are far more sexual then tattoo Barbie. Tattoo Barbie is just more unconvential, that's all.

So here's the solution. Having read the article, it's annoying as hell watching parents go on about this doll. If I were a betting man, Id guess some of those parents have tattoos themselves. If so, they're freaking hypocrites. You think tattoed Barbie is sexualized? Have yours removed by laser treatment, mom and dad. Even if they're not there for public view, your kids will likely see them someday, and remember the moment you sat them down and told them about how evil tattoo Barbie is. And please, settle this in house, and stop bitching to the media about it, looking for attention. If you believe that strongly about it, sit your child down and explain in detail why you feel so strongly, and dont buy them the doll. They'll get over it, perhaps. But don't be surprised if it bites you in the ass later when all the other kids have them.

 

[Karilas]

This makes me a little bit sick. I can't really add anything to this that LSN hasn't already stated, but it pisses me off the way that so many people still discriminate against those that try not to reinforce outdated gender roles and appearance convention. Ugh.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This doll is causing issues because it is "different". The parents don't mind their girls playing with the dime a dozen blonde barbies since that's "normal" and apparently a doll that looks different is worse than one that is not wearing enough clothing. Parents need to stop being hypocrites and let their kids play with a toy that they happen to like. There is nothing wrong with that doll. There are many women who have unique hair colors and tatoo themselves. Too many parents try to "protect" their kids but only end up making it harder for them to face reality. It's a toy, one that shows another type of adult they can grow up to become. What happens if these same kids decide that they want to be like that barbie doll even more now that their parents disliked it? It wouldn't be the first time something like this backfired for the parents.

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

Fucks sake.

Shit like this makes me believe the world truly will end in 2012, I think society as a whole has plateaued; we spend so much time worrying about petty bullshit and things that don't matter or make a difference.

The only issue here are they parents who are trying to create a problem where there isn't one.

 

[ABMorales787]

That doll is a real turn-off. As opposed to the beautiful blond's sold on the market most young boys would most likely steal from their sisters, undress and fondle out of curiosity. The Barbie doll with a camera in it sounded like it could be an issue parents should look into.

I find it funny that "playing on young girls natural desire to be older". When other designs come with cars, house, a freakin' boyfriends and kids. What will parent's not whine about these days?

 

[Karilas]

That doll is a real turn-off. As opposed to the beautiful blond's sold on the market most young boys would most likely steal from their sisters, undress and fondle out of curiosity. The Barbie doll with a camera in it sounded like it could be an issue parents should look into.

I find it funny that "playing on young girls natural desire to be older". When other designs come with cars, house, a freakin' boyfriends and kids. What will parent's not whine about these days?

Parents are always looking to defer responsibility for their own shitty parenting. It's always about blaming schools, toys, video games, the media etc. and never about introspection of their own flawed parenting techniques.

 

[Trill Co$by]

How much you want to bet that every single one of the parents that are complaining, or at least the mothers, have played with Barbie once in their life? How much you want to bet that they've all undressed Barbie AND Ken to see what was under there?

I'm with Karilas on this one, parents have absolutely no desire to be parents these days... and the ones who ARE willing to be parents, are labeled as the bad parents because they don't hop on Media Bandwagons. My niece is 4 and plays with Barbie and Brats dolls alike... she even has the entire Barbie dollhouse, and the best part is, it's helping grow not only her imagination but her creative mind as well.

Seriously, why must people wait 52 years before screaming about "sexually inappropriate" dolls? Because of tattoos? Tattoos, by the way, that aren't inappropriate by any means.

 

[Minister Christian]

What a one sided debate this is turning out to be, i also find the tatooed barbie hilarious. I`am sure i had an Action Man doll when i was younger and he had a tatoo. This didn`t make me want a tatoo, i have always found tatoo`s tacky.

When the girls were playing with barbie dolls, i was playing with wrestling figures. Maybe the parents these days should just start buying there little girls wrestling figures!

 

[Karilas]

What a one sided debate this is turning out to be, i also find the tatooed barbie hilarious. I`am sure i had an Action Man doll when i was younger and he had a tatoo. This didn`t make me want a tatoo, i have always found tatoo`s tacky.

When the girls were playing with barbie dolls, i was playing with wrestling figures. Maybe the parents these days should just start buying there little girls wrestling figures!

I think that's because there really isn't much to debate, the only people who think Tattooed Barbie is a bad thing [by Barbie standards] are those who would like to reinfoce outdated gender roles and old standards of deviancy. Most young folks these days understand that having a bit of ink doesn't make you a bad person.

 

[Darkshot77]

First let is analyze why Mattell made the doll. MONEY. Businesses aren't dumb, not one like Mattell who has been in business for decades. If there is a need, or rather market, fill it. This is a law of good business. For this doll to have even been made Mattell believed it that people would buy it. That is the cool thing about capitalism, actions speak louder than words. If you do not like it you have the choice to buy it or not. If sales are non-existent the product will be recalled. Conversely no amount of whining or complaining will take a product off the market if sales are still good.

Furthermore as has already been pointed out, she wears more clothes than most other barbies so calling it overly-sexualised is a crock.

But ridiculous comment of the day goes to:

Holly Lebowitz Rossi, a writer for parents.com, said: "For those who look to Barbie as a role model for strong, empowered girls, the tokidoki doll is overly-sexualised and inappropriate."

Since when was Barbie a roll model for "strong, empowered girls" The Barbie has done more to destroy the psyche of little girls than empower them by being in a business suit as opposed to an apron. Barbie's clothing has never been the problem, it is her body. Her perfect curves and features have, from the beginning, set an unrealistic standard of beauty. Something that if most girls try to achieve will do more damage to them then a few tattoos.

All in all the crusade is dumb and will fail. People need to shut their mouths and focus on more important things like actually raising their children.