Life without Barbie?
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| Wed, 03-04-2009 - 2:20pm |
I'm all for sending positive messages to girls about appearance, but really ... I wouldnt buy an unattractive doll to give to a child. So what gives? There are many cute and pretty dolls out there to choose from so i dont know what good it will do to ban Barbie.
Ditch the doll? Lawmaker targets Barbie
Barbie could get an unwelcome present for her 50th birthday: outlawed in West Virginia.
A state lawmaker proposed a bill Tuesday to ban sales of the iconic Mattel doll and others like her.
The Barbie Ban Bill, proposed by Democratic Delegate Jeff Eldridge (D) Lincoln County, says such toys influence girls to place too much importance on physical beauty, at the expense of their intellectual and emotional development.
"I just hate the image that we give to our kids that if you're beautiful, you're beautiful and you don't have to be smart," Eldridge told West Virginia news station WOWK.
The delegate concedes that the chances of getting the bill passed are slim, but adds that he stands behind it.
"I knew a lot of people were going to joke about it and poke fun at me," Eldridge said. "I couldn't get anybody to sign on the bill with me but I said I'm still going to introduce it."
A Mattel spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The Barbie doll officially turns 50 on March 9, and the toy maker has made big plans this year to mark the anniversary.
Barbie has had her foes over that half-century. Critics say the doll promotes materialism and an unnatural body image.
The bill has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee.

<< but really ... I wouldnt buy an unattractive doll to give to a child.>>
I guess it all depends on what one considers "attractive"
http://images.google.ca/images?gbv=2&hl=enq=barbie+plastic+surgery&btnG=Search+Images
http://sas.localguides.com/bundles/guides_e8/assets/widget_acrDjish5gW5EmoiHnSFro.jpg
http://static.oprah.com/images/tows/200509/20050914/20050914_101_350x263.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uuOo8x3WXWE/Rx9MfCUUveI/AAAAAAAAH8U/l6HBFtnxyXc/s400/2483.jpg
Barbie wasn't invented when I was growing-up. I had baby dolls & pretty China dolls but none with adult proportions.
I've always thought Barbie was a little freaky. My DD had one & liked dressing it as did all her friends.
Cougar Barbie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjDmCEJokZs
Blessings,
Gypsy
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the sunset.
- Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator
Dog fighting is cruelty, which is a human activity and a human illness.
It's not the dog's fault.
All dogs need to be evaluated as individuals."
--Tim Racer, one of BAD RAP's founders
http://www.badrap.org/rescue/
Mika Dog
"All things share the same breath;
the beast, the tree, the man.
The Air shares its spirit with
all the life it supports."
--Chief Seattle
"If there are no dogs in Heaven,
then when I die I want to go where they went."
~Will Rogers
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress
can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
~~Mahatma Gandhi
Edited 3/4/2009 10:36 pm ET by gypsywolfwoman
Blessings,
Gypsy
)O(
This is so funny. I never had Barbie, I had Dawn dolls, they were miniture Barbie type dolls. My neice inherited them, then my dd got Dawn and Barbies from my neice. My dd breastfeeds the Dawn dolls off of Barbie. I don't think that is promoting an unhealthy image at all. She asked for a "Boy Barbie" for Christmas and got one. He's got dark hair and a tuxedo, she simply calls him "Groom." He and Barbie give Baby Dawn and the other baby sister group hugs, give them baths and put them to bed. No body image issues rearing it's ugly head, actually a promotion of strong family values going on if you think about it. Groom does quite a bit of cooking in the Barbie dream house too, while Barbie Mom is at work.
I think we have a LOT more in society influencing our dd's about their looks than Barbie.
I used to have Barbie and Midge date.
"Groom does quite a bit of cooking in the Barbie dream house too"
Good for him!