These days I am not so sure about Barbie. I have tried to keep Barbie from seeping into my girls psyche but little by little she wormed her way in. I wonder if there is some sort of Barbie gene in little girls? (and big girls too). The Barbie aisle at the toy store calls loudly and the girls can not help but be drawn in. I too have found myself drawn in again. The re-make of Peaches and Cream, the basic black collection or the Vera Wang Barbie? Anyone with me?
So I have started to wonder if Barbie is all that bad? I know that her measurements, if altered to real life size would have her at 6' and too thin to menstruate. But is any doll modeled on real measurements? Is this really relevant in a doll, after all she ISN'T life size nor alive. There is of course the focus on clothing and shoes but girls learn that anyway and I am certainly not the best example of that either, neither are my friends, there are several Vuitton handbags and too many pairs of designer shoes amongst us! But Barbie also has a stellar career, she is a doctor and vet and probably holds several other qualifications that take smarts and several years of study! Barbie has also had a husband, Ken and after their "separation" (um????) several boyfriends including an Aussie surfer toy boy! (perhaps Barbie also has the cougar title???) Although this is probably not something we wish to encourage it is fairly standard in our society.
Is it better to perhaps let Barbie in and use her as a tool to educate my girls? Something along the lines of "yes, Barbie is pretty but she is also a doctor and that takes hard work and dedication" or using Barbie to educate the girls about marketing and branding etc.
The ground I am trying to hold against Barbie is getting shaky indeed. Even if I am able to keep her out of house the girls will meet up with her at friends houses!
I think this may be a case of it being better to let her in so I can keep an eye on what she is up to!
What are your feelings on Barbie??
3 comments:
Yeah Barbie is a tough one. Here are some of my thoughts on the lady in question :) http://aparentinglife.blogspot.com/2010/12/barbie.html
Fun to dress up and a great tool to teach healthy relationship rules too.
I'm not kidding here: when I was little, my mom bought a Ken for my Barbie. They had to "get married" before she would buy me a "Skipper" doll as a kid for them AND every subsequent Barbie that had a Ken doll ALSO had to have a wedding. :-)
Well, it may be funny in retrospect, but it taught me valuable morality lessons all in the name of play.
So yeah, like many things in life, it's a dual-sided coin which can be used as a tool for good or not.
As long as you don't let them have Bratz dolls!!!!!
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