There are a number of things about Barbie that bother me, not least her implausible shape, but I would not buy my child Barbie with a tattoo. Maybe it is just me, but I think that a young child that would play with Barbie should not have to be thinking about tattoos.
I draw the line at a tatto, I don’t want my choldren to have one in real life and I don’t want the dolls they play with to have one either. I don’t want to just single out Barbie because there are other similar dolls that are as bad or worse. Justontime, I agree with you about her body shape. what sort of messages does that gice to our children?
Very strange… hmmm. Where do we draw the line? Good question. I think maybe they’d be wise to work on the doll’s proportions, as others have said, and not worry so much about what’s in vogue. That said, I don’t think I’d keep it from my daughter because the doll has a tattoo.
Katherina, it is a difficult choice isn’t it, in one sense the tattoo is just one of many issues I have with Barbie, but for me it is the final straw. I don’t want to make a tattoo seem cool and I don’t want my children to think a tattoo is OK. I wouldn’t ban Barbie, but I wouldn’t buy that version.
Katherina, it is a difficult choice isn’t it, in one sense the tattoo is just one of many issues I have with Barbie, but for me it is the final straw. I don’t want to make a tattoo seem cool and I don’t want my children to think a tattoo is OK. I wouldn’t ban Barbie, but I wouldn’t buy that version.
Yes… and it does make me wonder “what’s next.” Transgender Barbie? Barbie finds a wife?
Considering the toy’s age, maybe they’d do well with “Menopausal Barbie” ??
Katharina, your post made me laugh, hopefully all the things you mentioned are a step too far, but I find it sad that so much of the adult world needs to intrude into the lives of young children.
It is not just toys that hurry children into growing up too soon, the clothes they make for little kids and some of the accessories available for them are really inappropriate.
I see a lot of things that I would not want a child of mine to wear. I especially dislike those tops with smutty slogans on them. If people didn’t buy them they would stop making them.
I can’t believe we now have tattoo Barbie! I don’t like the doll anyway for reasons already stated by others here, but the tattoo addition is pushing the limit.
I can’t bear any of these kinds of dolls that give the wrong messages to young girls. I have the same feelings towards the Bratz phenomenon; surely the clue is in the name, never mind anything they represent. My niece was a fan for a long time but I refused to buy her anything related, although others did. Thankfully she has moved on as she’s grown older but there is always something unsuitable to take the place. Bad influences on children are everywhere but it depresses me to think that half of these influences are specifically aimed at them.
Most of my friends and I played with Barbies as children and found nothing evil about them. Most Barbies were made in physical form as adult dolls and not children. Designers probably figured little girls enjoy mimmicking teens and adults, or big sisters and mommies, so these dolls would be attractive. However, I think Barbies should remain in their orginal form without the tatoos. If someone chose to create a Tatoo Tara, then it would be their right, though I would not purchase one for a child because I personally don’t like tatoos. However, leave Barbie as she is.
If someone chose to create a Tatoo Tara, then it would be their right, though I would not purchase one for a child because I personally don’t like tatoos. However, leave Barbie as she is.
That’s a good point… if they wanted a tattooed doll, why not create a new line instead of altering Barbie who’s been
around since the 50s? Interesting.
Most of my friends and I played with Barbies as children and found nothing evil about them. Most Barbies were made in physical form as adult dolls and not children. Designers probably figured little girls enjoy mimmicking teens and adults, or big sisters and mommies, so these dolls would be attractive.
I don’t think there is anything evil about Barbie, but I do have an issue with her shape, Her proportions are not just implausible they are impossible. In a world where so many young people have eating disorders and issues about their physical shape, I don’t think this is helpful.
Are we drawing the line for our own children? If so, we must accept that they will choose for themselves, eventually, as is the right of any adult.
Are we drawing a line to instill a prejudice against or rejection of certain forms of harmless, personal expression?
I can only speak for myself, but I draw the line at Barbie with a tattoo, two of my children are old enough to decide for themselves,and they would never contemplate such a thing. It is not harmless, it is perminant , it leads people to make assumptions about you and it can disadvantage you when applying for jobs and in various other ways. What you think is attractive at 18 is certainly not what you would want at 50!
