I'm not sure if there's any toy as fraught with controversy as Barbie. The doll is blamed for everything from decimating girls' self esteem to encouraging them to dress like hookers.
The whole debate is enough to give any mother of a girl a serious case of agita before each and every birthday party, lest one of the little gift givers comes walking in with a doll box. But with a 7-year-old in my house who has played with the occasional Barbie (none of which I purchased) and still seems to have a pretty hearty self esteem, I was curious: how much is the Barbie debate in our heads? Do little girls really think what we think they think when we see a Barbie?
I decided to find out.
I went online and found 10 Barbie dolls that range from slutty and skanky to pretty run of the mill. I found the tattoo Barbie who started the whole debacle last year. I found some designed to encourage girls to aspire to big careers (even president), and some that are decidedly not for kids.
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And then I placed the photos one by one in front of my 7-year-old daughter and asked her what she thought. I didn't coach her beside telling her that there were no wrong answers and she wouldn't be in any trouble ... and asking her a question or two (would you play with this doll? would you dress like this doll?).
What she said made me feel a lot better about letting her play with Barbies ... not to mention my parenting. Take a look ... it might surprise you.
What's your take on little girls and Barbie?
Image via Flavio (back for awhile)/Flickr
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Comments 187
For once, you wrote a good article. I'm not surprised at any of it since I had 3 little girls. I'm surprised at the Barbies, though. Cat Burglar Barbie?? Really?? Who would buy that and there was one that looked like a stripper with fishnets. Would never buy that. I was a child of the 60's and had a Barbie and friend Stacey and they talked by pulling a string in the neck. Stacey had a British accent. I had a "house" for them that opened from a case. LOVED IT! Barbies weren't skanky back then. I think it helped my self-esteem because of the fantasy play that I could imagine myself doing they things I had them do. My daughters probably had 100 Barbies altogether.
I played with barbies growing up and i am not damanged by them, i still collect them and keep them in the boxes. i will let my kids play with them when they r older ( they r only 2)
I find it interesting that even at 7 a child knows enough about the world to put each of these dolls into a 'category' based solely on looks. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing though.
No surprises in her responses to me. A lot of confusion! "I like it because it is tight - I wouldn't wear it because it is tight." These dolls are nothing but negative, in my opinion. It is fine for little girls to play "grown up", but these dolls just represent everything wrong with the presentation of women.
I don't find her responses "cute". I find them sad.
A lot of people freaking out about Barbie don't realize that some of them are made for collectors - not for little girls to play with - so there are some dolls that are targeted towards adults.