Bad cues on body image learned from multiracial dolls
JC
So many of us played with Barbie back in the day…today, young girls have the multiracial Bratz to look to for cues. Scarily enough, they aren’t the best cues. When I first saw these dolls, a friend’s niece was playing with them. I thought, great! These dolls are diverse; I thought some of them looked like they could be mixed…But when the clothing came out, I was a little surprised. Definitely trashy. Cantonrep.com featured a story about the bad message these dolls are sending to today’s young girls.
Jade, Yasmin or Nevra, the multiracial fashion dolls who come dressed like, well, like prostitutes, are packaged with one of the Bratz Boyz, whose identity is hidden until your 6- to 10-year-old opens the box. Manufacturer MGA Entertainment says this: “It’s a night you’re sure to never forget as you share a first date with the Bratz and the Bratz Boyz as they laugh over a midnight smoothie, slow dance under a full moon, and find themselves getting closer than ever as they walk the fine line between friendship and love.”
Even without the “secret date” story line, the Bratz dolls give me the creeps. They have oversized heads with overly made-up eyes and huge, pouty lips and huge, snap-off feet with impossibly high heels. Their clothes are skimpy and tight-fitting and can best be described as skanky.
The problem here is the story line that goes along with the dolls. Barbie had a huge repertoire of scripts — from Astronaut Barbie to President Barbie. American Girl went a step further by providing books to go with their historical period dolls. But the script for the Bratz dolls is clubbing and clothes. “Runway Disco” puts the dolls at a bar, wineglasses and bar stools included. The promotional material says they are drinking “smoothies.” Give me a break.
…But if we honestly think about this, Barbie definitely had her share of skimpy clothing. Why has she always been seen as such a classy lady? I wonder…. 
Alex wrote:
I totally disagree. Not all children like Barbie or American Girl dolls. They are tired of the same old thing. The dolls that are constantly reminding them to ” be all that they can be”. Can’t they just play with a doll without their parents coming to mind? The only ones who truly think about the dolls being trashy are the adults who are breathing down the kid’s necks and trying to find a problem with everything! Little girls are sick of the little pink dress princess dolls. Most of these girls have realized that the world is completely different outside their bedroom doors.
Posted 21 May 2005 at 11:11 am ¶
Anne wrote:
Little girls do not HAVE to play with pink princess stuff. Haven’t you guys heard of kid microscope sets or arts and crafts? Why do adults have to box their boys into monster trucks and girls into dolls? Its time to step off of these stereotypes, and let children enjoy all this world has to offer.
And I do agree that the bratz are skanky. No girls should be proud that they are a brat– a spoiled rotten child. They shouldn’t be drinking and clubbing at 8 either.
Posted 02 Jul 2005 at 1:59 pm ¶
Krystal wrote:
Barbie did have/ does have her own problems, but compaired to bratz she is a saint. I have heard many bratz supporters say that the children playing with the bratz dolls do not see her as skanky, thats right they dont, They see her as a rolemodle and they is even worse. When/if I have children they will not be allowed brats anything, I dont want my kids growing up to be little hookers.
Posted 14 Aug 2005 at 10:32 am ¶
Max Dangerfield wrote:
!t is a freekin doll. If you don’t want your daughter dressing like that than tell her that.
Posted 18 Aug 2005 at 5:43 pm ¶
Toni Wilson wrote:
Anyone who falls for the “smoothie bar” line must be wearing blinders. Smoothies my behind! These dolls are inappropriately dressed and the concept of partying in a limo or a bus or even a plane with a bar in it is outrageous. Who drinks smoothies out of martini glasses? Nobody I know. The message these dolls are sending to our children is that it’s all one big party and that is not a message I want my granddaughter to get.
Posted 10 Oct 2005 at 4:10 pm ¶
Kasey wrote:
Children don’t think about a doll being trashy or what their parents will think about the doll. The important part is the unspoken views that are portrayed by these dolls. Yes, we can tell our children not to dress like the Bratz dolls, but if we allow them to play with the dolls, we are giving our unspoken approval of the dolls. In addition to the message we send to our children by purchasing Bratz dolls, we send a message to toy manufacturers that sleaze sells even if it is meant for children.
Posted 27 Jan 2006 at 11:03 pm ¶