Barbie makes me Sick !

[livi]

I happened to look in on my 9 year old daughter watching the Barbie homepages. It was down right sickening. These little Barbie girls all looking perfect with one agenda to the audience of little girls in my daughterīs age: You MUST be pretty, cool, wear the latest clothes and accessories if you want other people to like you. If you donīt you are dead in the water. All surface, surface, surface...

Is this what our little girls are suppose to look up to??

As usual, the most upsetting fact is that some greedy buggers is making a lot of money exploring and taking advantage of little girls inherent need for acceptance and vanity. The executive that authorized the design of that homepage should be flogged and stuffed with a giant Barbie doll where the sun donīt shine.

[TerryH]

I know what you mean, but I think most of us grew up with the similar pressures and Barbie wasn't in the equation. Peer pressure affected all of us in some way or another.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Markus, Get on Amazon and buy a copy of "Reviving Ophelia". I read it a little too late but it is about raising pre-adolscent daughter's and the sexual messages/ pressures they are under in today's society. My daughter was already 14 when I read it, ideally you read it when they're like 8 or 9.

[porsche930dude]

hey with all the chubby overweight kids today. maby its not such a bad thing to get those good vanity habbits down early

[VINMAN]

Hey, you can always get her a Rosie doll.....

[tsinger873]

Millions of little girls had barbies when they were young. Your kid wont be damaged by her. seriously.

[the]

It's good for the broads.

[M.D. Holloway]

Our 4 yr old Girl loves Barbie.com. We have to limit her exposure to it and allow her to only play the games on Nick Jr and Disney.com and her Webkinz.

I don't know if she has become a girly girl cuz of Barbie or likes it because she is a girly girl.

[LeeH]

I was just reading an interesting article in an old copy of The New Yorker about Bratz and how they've changed the doll market.
http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2006/little_hotties_4487
Our daughter never really played with dolls of any sort. It's always been about animals for her.

[livi]

I may have overreacted slightly in the heat of the moment. But I do feel sorry for girls who grow up with the notion that looks and wardrobe are important parts of life. To be honest, from a Darwinian perspective, that has probably been a fact since the stone age though..The competition among women hunting for an appropriate sperm donor is tough. Sad side of ethology, be it among birds, fish or humans.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Never let her visit the Bratz.com site.

beaconstreetgirls.com is great.

Little Traveler is taking all my time, so reigniting G9Girl.com and Chain Reaction magazine probably won't happen until 08 sadly.

[Victor]

Well, on the opposing side - look at what most toys for little boys are telling them. Pretty much all "DOMINATE!!!!KILL!!! CRUSH!!! DESTROY!!!!"

I'd be more concerned about that. Little girls will always like pretty dolls - your'e looking at it through adult eyes.

[Wrecked944]

If you want to be truly horrified, take a good look at Ken. The odd behavior of adult women makes a lot more sense when you realize that their future romantic expectations were formed, in part, by Ken.

[livi]

True observations about boys. Yes, my sonīs favorite games are all to do with shooting...

I suppose it might be easier to overlook debatable behavior with your on gender. Although I am very much anti-guns, I am inherently more attracted to 'gun-games' than the prospect of dressing nice and look good.

[id10t]

livi - my kids don't know there are toy guns... verboten in our house. As they age (daughter is ready as soon as we both have time from school) for the first trip to the range... but there are no toy guns. Plenty of real ones though for when they are old enough and ready...

[Nathans_Dad]

Boys like guns, girls like dolls...

What would you have you kid play with? A unisexual doll which can take on either gender role??

[Victor]

Originally posted by Nathans_Dad
Boys like guns, girls like dolls...

What would you have you kid play with? A unisexual doll which can take on either gender role??

Does it have a gun?

[livi]

Originally posted by Nathans_Dad
Boys like guns, girls like dolls...

What would you have you kid play with? A unisexual doll which can take on either gender role??

I donīt mind dolls as such. It is the Barbie homepage I react against. Mediocre looks and clothes just donīt cut it there. You have to be very pretty and wear the latest thing to be popular. That will make all the less pretty girls with less expensive clothes feel real bad about themselves.

I know this is how it is by nature in society anyway, but it does not have to be propagated on the Net too.

[Superman]

I've had this concern for many years. Women are taught to believe that their value is in their appearance. That's a dead-end perception if I ever saw one.

[gassy]

My 10 yr old daughter and 8 yr old son LOVE clubpenguin.com when they get computer time...No image issues, etc...