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

Kids and their kids

 A response to the ideas Maggie brings to the table...

There are so many shows like "16 and Pregnant" that show young girls with a child as a celebrity. No wonder kids these days are all about sex and having kids at a young age. They want to be popular, they want to be a movie star, they want attention, and apparently according to shows like these, this is how they think they will get it. Even shows like "Dr. Phil" that have young mothers on are influencing children in the wrong way. I understand that Phil is talking to these teens who are wanting to have a baby and telling them that it is not the right decision and how much it will affect their lives in a negative way, but the fact is, that teen is still on t.v because of these thoughts that she has. She is still being a role model for young girls who will do whatever it takes to be in the spotlight. I watched this episode of "Tyra" in which girls who were 13 and 14 years old have already had 20 or more sexual partners! When Tyra asked them why they did it, they told her because they wanted to be liked and to be popular. I know when I was 13, sex didn't even cross my mind as something I wanted to do, whether it could've made me popular or not. It disgusts me to think that these days, young girls are willing to do almost anything to not feel left out.
I have to ask though, where are the parents during this? I understand sex is everywhere, but I still feel that if you teach your children morals and values from a young age, and continue to remind and counsel them in what is important in life, that they should have some sense of self-respect and dignity. Is it just me or are parents getting lazy?

In response to Jackie...

I can definitely relate to watching a little girl go from innocent with barbies and ponies to eyeliner, short skirts, and piercings.I'm thinking, what has happened? Does middle school really have this much of an influence on kids. It's middle school!!!??? I recently observed in an eight grade classroom, and what I saw and heard, was a lot more than I expected. Again, when I was in eighth grade, there was some chatter amongst the boys about boobs and wanting to kiss a girl, but they were still shy about it and got embarassed if the girl he liked found out. Today, embarassed?? Please. These young boys are vulgar! It's not just boobs anymore, it's tits and pussy. Girls are singled out and I can tell that they all feel the pressure. Recess is all about hanging out with your boyfriend and going and making out with him where the teachers can't see you. These kids and their phones were even causing problems. Middle school boys with internet on their phones looking up pictures of "hot chicks". This is the new recess, this is the new middle school, and these are the new teen boys and girls. Makes me sick!

Brittany A

Too Much Sex?

Lately, I've noticed that a lot of students are making dirty jokes and comments of that matter towards each other. As a 19 yr-old college student, it makes sense, but what really bothers me is that kids younger than high school age are able to understand these adult jokes and even make some of their own. It's, honestly, disgusting! Why are kids able to understand all of this trash talk?

Maybe this is because of all of the rotten, x-rated television families watch night after night. I remember as a child being sent out of the room to watch something else if my parents deemed it "too x-rated" and the reasoning being that they are "mom and dad shows". For a while, it bothered me; why should I have to leave? Its not like I haven't seen that kind of stuff before! Now it hit me, they were just trying to help me hold on to my youth as much as possible, since it would be destroyed anyways in time.

Maybe it's also because of the exploitation of sex-scandals and other x-rated things about celebrities from the media. Most kids absorb this kind of gossip like a sponge to water anyways. Who doesn't want to be just like Paris Hilton and make multiple sex tapes, then show them to everybody in the free world?

Don't forget about those teens having sex and children at 15. Reality shows like Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant are great to show kids the downsides of having children at such young ages, but at the same time, I think teens are starting to think that in order to get attention, a child needs to be born. That in itself is outrageous. Becoming a parent under the age of 20 eliminates about half of the possibilites in one's life, such as going to college (at least as a traditional student), hanging out and partying, and avoiding most adult responsibilities. I've had friends even tell me that they would like to become pregnant in order to save a relationship. What is this world coming to?

Honestly, I don't understand most of society's point with centering everything on sex, but it just seems like too much.

-Maggie

Stupid Spoiled Whore

I'm a big South Park fan. Has anyone ever seen that episode "Stupid Spoiled Whore"? It's an episode where Paris Hilton visits South Park for the grand opening of her store Stupid Spoiled Whore where little girls can buy things such as thongs, the stupid spoiled whore video play-set, and Paris's new perfume, "Skanque." The female fourth graders of South Park learn that they need to party every night with a lot of different guys. They even throw a stupid spoiled whore party where bikinis and tube tops and 7 minutes in heaven are the main events.

I realize that South Park may be a little bit more dramatic than real life. But it does remind me of real life. Every day I see younger and younger girls dressing more like whores. I'm all for a pair of heels and daisy dukes. I really am. But not before you hit puberty. Girls have bad roles models; it's true. When I was little I wanted to be Britney Spears. And we all see how that turned out. Thank God I did not grow up to be Britney Spears. There's a point in the South Park episode where Wendy asks her friends why they want to be like Paris Hilton. They say, "it's not just Paris: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Tara Reid, they're all stupid spoiled whores!!" If little girls are still idolizing Britney Spears... In 2011... There is something seriously wrong with society. I thought it was bad when I like her during her "Hit Me Baby One More Time" phase in 1999. In 2011, things have changed. Things need to change again. I blame the parents. Also in this specific South Park episode, Wendy says "Mom, Dad, I'm growing concerned about the role models young women have in today's society. It seems that lewdness and shallowness are being exalted, while intellectualism is looked down upon. I think young women are being marketed to by corrupt, moral-less corporations." Never have smarter words come from a 4th grader. Not until Wendy threatened her father with buying a thong did he start to care about the store. Because it's South Park, it's more dramatized than in real life. But it really is frighteningly realistic. I used to be a nanny, and I remember the first time one of my kids... “Grew up.” Oh... the shame. She was so young and innocent. I remember reading her bedtime stories and watching the premiere of High School Musical for the first time on the Disney channel. How times have changed. Maybe it's just me being an old fart, remembering the good old days and wishing they were little and innocent forever. But I can see how society is changing. It wasn't that long ago that I was in middle school. Today's middle schoolers are much different from how I was. It's a shame how some things take a turn for the worst, and how many of today’s little girls are acting like stupid spoiled whores.

Jackie