Barbies vs. Bratz

In this week's reading, we covered the history of Barbie dolls. A lot of what i gathered from the text was that Barbie was encouraging little girls to be bimbo sluts. I can see where that might be an idea... Beautiful blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, perfect plastic skin and a body to die for. Barbie is always in the newest, hippest outfits and always a pair of high heels! I had Barbies when I was little, and I admit, I would kill to be Barbie! She had everything, a dream house, a boat, an airplane, a cat and a dog, and Ken!!!!! Everything she could ever dream of. I don't really see it as a bad thing that a little girl should aspire to be beautiful, in shape, successful and have a loyal lover. I would like to direct your attention instead to another doll that came along in 2001. Bratz. Four dolls were released: Cloe, Jade, Sasha and Yasmin. I think they sound like strippers. I wouldn't be surprised if they released a doll named Candi or Bubbles, or something of that sort. Have you ever seen a Bratz doll? Let's look at Bratz and Barbies together. The first image is of a Barbie Teacher play-set I personally had when I was little. The second is a Bratz play-set entitled "Girl's Night Out" that is pretty general (i.e. not a vacation set, or something limited and special).

Can everyone see the difference here? I realize that Barbie can come in more risqué outfits and play-sets than Teacher Barbie. The reason I picked this image to represent Barbie is because this is the Barbie *I* had when I was little! I also had Barbie Airplane and Barbie's Dream House and Barbie as a vet. Bratz dolls actually come in this box. Let's compare Barbie and Yasmin, shall we? Both are beautiful, thin and curved in all the right places. However, unless it's Malibu Barbie, she doesn't usually come with a midriff-tube-top such as Yasmin does. Yasmin also just looks a little scary, certainly meaner that Barbie's charming white smile. Yasmin actually isn't smiling. Yasmin's box also says "the girls with a passion for fashion!” Exactly what fashion is that? The red-light district fashion? When I was little I wanted Barbie’s princess prom-style dresses. But I would feel like people would think I was a prostitute if I went out dressed as Yasmin. It’s true; Barbie wears permanent high heels, and Bratz (can) have high heels but are more often seen in (rather ugly) mary-jane-type clogs. I feel like based on the doll’s faces their ideas of a good time would greatly differ. A Bratz doll would say, “Let’s go to the mall big daddy, I’m ready to receive you” while Barbie simply looks so much nicer saying “Come on girls, lets go to the mall and get some shoes!” It’s all hinted in the name as well. Barbie Millicent Rogers or Yasmin the Bratz. And they are just that: a brat. It’s no wonder why younger girls are skanks. As I’ve said before, I used to be a nanny. If I think back and compare two girls I cared for, I can think of significant differences. Both girls are now freshman in high school. One girl played with Barbies and American Girl dolls. She is now on the volleyball and math team and attends a Catholic school. The other who played with Bratz dolls (she is actually where first saw these dolls), now refuses to live with her father and stepmother and has a daily outfit based on mini skirts and knee high socks. She has also dyed her hair 6 different colors. The differences are shocking. The second girl also did not have very good role models. She had an older sister who pierced her tongue at age 13. So her idea of what she wanted to be when she grew up was different than the first girl. Both wanted to grow up to be beautiful and popular but both had very different ideas on how to get there. I’m not saying if you played with Barbies as a child you’re going to grow up to be Betty Crocker. All I’m saying is that “back in my day” I played with Barbie to act out a harmless fantasy of being a veterinarian-teacher-mom-princess-flight-attendant in a dream house. I don’t think that what a Bratz doll end up to be.

Jackie Barthuly