BlogHer - Barbie - Comments

Thank you!

LaSara.Firefox — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:02:56 -0500

Thanks for the comment! I have had so little response on this post - and I've posted it a LOT of places - that I can't decide if Feminism is dead, or we've just gained some perspective and ease. ;-)

"Do I contradict myself?

Very well then I contradict myself,

(I am large, I contain multitudes.)"

-- Walt Whitman (Song of Myself)

* Barbie is timeless *

abarbielover — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 11:55:59 -0500

Barbie has long been - and will always be - a wonderful role model for girls and women - no matter what the latest political trends in feminisim might be. Thanks for this post! Alicia

* Alicia Josephine *

Comment, comment, comment away!!!

LaSara.Firefox — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:12:32 -0500

I look forward to hearing the Blogher take!

-LaSara

Do I contradict myself?

Very well then I contradict myself,

(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

Walt Whitman (Song of Myself)

More commonalities and tones

Suzanne Reisman — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:00:06 -0500

It's interesting that many of the women who left comments here mention the violence done to their Barbies. When I read about heads being popped off, it reminded me of the people I knew who nibbled on Barbie's feet and ultimately hobbled her. I wouldn't lump short hair cuts into that category, but I also cut off at least one doll's hair to make her into a "punk." (I also outlined her eyes with silver glitter paint and made her a giant star earring. She became the best Barbie ever.)

As I wrote the post, I also thought about what, if anything, Barbie meant to girls of color. It's interesting that Anali's parents would not let her have one. Now that Barbie comes in two colors, I wonder if girls who grew up in a more "diverse" era had the same experience.

Suzanne Reisman, Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender
Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants

Off with their heads

blindedbyblonde — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:30:48 -0500

I was a tomboy and my favorite thing to push was my older sister's freak button, an the best way to do that was to take the heads off her barbies and hide them.

I just recently found an old shoebox with her barbies...

and of course one was missing her head

I called my sister and we had an awsome laugh over it!!

http://blindedbyblonde.com

Diahann Carroll - Julia

Anali — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 18:44:51 -0500

Being an African-American kid in the late 60's - early 70's, my parents wouldn't let me have a white Barbie doll. So the doll that I most remember was the "Julia" Barbie doll based on Diahann Carroll.

I loved the show Julia with Diahann Carroll and was so excited when I got the doll. But like any kid, my little brother used to pull her head off and I'd have to put her back together again.

Anali's First Amendment

Oh, for want of a Ken doll

AmberS — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:08:34 -0500

I never had a Ken doll. To this day I remain jealous of those who did. ;)

I let my own daughter play with Barbies. I share the same reasoning as Blog O' Beth. I don't think she can overshadow me. I remember enjoying her as a child and I don't think I bear lasting damage, so banning her outright seems harsh. As an adult, though, I don't really like her.

~ Amber

www.strocel.com

I'm impressed

Vered — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:35:32 -0500

The only deviant thing I ever did with my Barbies was giving them an ultra-short haircut.

I do think Barbies can cause great damage to a young girl's body image.

----

A Mommy Blogger and a Blogger For Hire

Barbie is as beautiful as ever!

abarbielover — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:36:45 -0500

I love this post! All very well said indeed!

Barbie is one year older than me (though she looks a whole lot better). I have quite a collection of her dolls... and I continue to find inspiration in this little plastic representation of perfect femininity, style, grace, and confidence.

I really enjoyed the Barbie Fall 2009 Runway Fashion Show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in February... such lovely Barbie-theme dresses!

* Alicia Josephine *

The Wreck of the Barbie Ferarri

Jody DeVere -- Ask Patty — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:36:55 -0600

Thank you for your great comments and suggestion to check out The Wreck of the Barbie Ferarri

Jody DeVere
President & CEO
AskPatty.com, Inc.
www.askpatty.com
www.certifiedfemalefriendly.com
www.jodydevere.com

No pink cars for me, but maybe for my daughters...

allbee — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:30:48 -0600

Living in the Dallas area, I think of "Mary Kay Cosmetics" when I think of a pink car--Mary Kay top sellers drive pink around here, so I wouldn't want to be mistaken for one by buying a pink Barbie car. But maybe the younger generation would...however, I don't see how Mattel is staying afloat with the younger generation-- both my daughters and their friends had Barbie dolls, but the older child much preferred playing with Beanie Babies, and my 10-year-old saves every penny to add to her ever-growing collection of Webkinz plush. I, however, was totally into Barbie, and spent many hours under our basement ping-pong table moving and dressing the dolls in a Barbie soap opera. I still have a my old vinyl Barbie dream house (although my kids cracked the roof) a Barbie convertible like the one you have pictured, a rocker Barbie, a Ken doll and all his clothes (although he doesn't "talk" anymore), and their British friend, Stacy. But while I absolutely loved playing with them, I can't imagine their influencing my car buying decision, unless they made a car to look exactly like that peach and green convertible, but then I'd probably go the practical route. It's all about saving money and safety for me, and convertibles or sports cars just don't fit that bill...but my older daughter did have a purple VW Barbie Beetle for her Barbie dolls, and a Beetle just happens to be one of her favorite cars...

By the way, if you haven't heard it yet, John Hyatt has a great song titled, "The Wreck of the Barbie Ferarri".

-Patricia

www.uncoolmom.com

thanks

ginagold — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:44:14 -0600

Wow that is super sweet, thanks

Gina

theginagoldshow.com Blogging For The Rest of You Muthas.....

Hey

mashadutoit — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:18:29 -0600

Hey I love the way you write. Your blog is awesome too, and you have one CUTE daughter. Super cute!

Barbie phones! They could

greenlagirl — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:08:01 -0600

Barbie phones! They could catch on, unless the resulting products look too Hans Bellmer-esque --

mstaz -- Let us know how things go with your daughter! (but just to be clear, her doll may not actually get recycled....)

green LA girl

I'm using it as a teaching tool for my 6 year old

mstaz1112 — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:19:25 -0600

Ok, its not perfect (by a long shot), but we are using the event as a teaching tool for my daughter. We are trying to teach her about charity begins at home and food drives and building homes for Habitat is too advanced for her right now. Giving a Barbie doll to another child in the hospital for recycling her doll, she can understand. I was going to blog about it after we went to the event for her opinion.