Barbie Dolls and Bratz Dolls
Are They Sending the Wrong Message to Our Tween Girls?
Barbie and Bratz have gained wide popularity with tween girls. It has been that way for years. But, what are these dolls teaching tween girls about their own self-image?
For generations little girls have loved Barbie dolls and now, in more recent years, Bratz dolls too have taken their place in the lives of tween girls all across America. Is there any little girl who doesn’t get one or the other of these dolls (or both) at Christmas, for her birthday, or some other occasion in her young life? But what message are these dolls sending to our children?
Barbie Dolls
Barbie has been the most popular doll for young girls around the world since 1952. Barbie's creator, Ruth Handler, says she created the original Barbie doll based on a model of a German doll called “Lilli.” Lilli was actually created, not as a toy for children, but as a “3-D Pin-up Bombshell” for German men following WWII. Lilli’s sexual messages were very clear and explicit. She was a “harlot” who traded sex for money, smarted off to police men, and sought the company of “balding, jawly fatcats.” What’s more, Lilli’s first advertisements called her “the star of every little bar.”
While Barbie seems to have come a long way from her earliest days as an all-out prostitute, there is still much concern about the sexual messages she is sending to the tween girls of today.
Many children today are all too familiar with the recently popular “Barbie” song. For those who are not familiar with the song, it is a “duet,” which features both the “Barbie” and “Ken” characters, and includes the following lyrics:
Barbie: “I’m a Barbie girl, living in a Barbie world.”
Ken: “Come on Barbie, let’s go party.”
Barbie: “You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere.”
In addition to the sexual messages Barbie sends to tween girls, there is also concern about the body image that Barbie displays. If Barbie were a human being, given her current proportions, she would not be able to stand, walk or even function as a normal person. Given the size of her breasts compared with the size of her body and feet, Barbie would literally fall over face first if she attempted to stand. Additionally her waist size and weight would be considered extremely unhealthy for any real human being. Barbie would stand 5-foot-6, weigh 110 pounds and have a 39-inch bust line.
Bratz Dolls
Leading psychologists have expressed concern over the recently popular Bratz Dolls because of the explicit sexual messages they send to tween girls. In an article written in 2007, titled “A Generation of Damaged Girls,” reporter Sarah Womack reveals the beliefs of several prominent psychologists that Bratz dolls are taking advantage of children’s natural desire to be loved, sending them wrong messages, which pervert the child’s innocent need for attention and affection. Bratz dolls are often garbed in fishnet pantyhose, mini-skirts, and low cut necklines, not too mention the 6 inches of make-up that is literally painted on the dolls faces. What message does this send to a small child about beauty, attractiveness, and sexuality?
A new book, entitled “So Sexy, So Soon: the Sexualization of Childhood” co-authored by Dr. Jean Kilbourne, is set to be released sometime this year. The book relates the rise in early sexual activity to the Barbie and Bratz toy industry, as well as other over sexualized products being marketed to very young children.
