Barbie dolls. Love or hate?

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Barbie dolls. Evil or harmless? Did you play with them when you were growing up and now feel incomplete as a woman because you don't have an eighteen inch waist or your toes aren't permanently pointed in the high heel position? Or do you think that I'm the evil one and I shouldn't pick on this best selling and beloved piece of plastic?

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2000

Answers

Actually, I found that scrawny blonde bimbo had some incredible uses growing up. First and foremost She was used to grease the treads of my toy tanks. I would spend hours and hours imagining her gurgling screams of pain as my 60 ton tanks turned her terribly out of proportioned body into ground beef. It was quite fulfilling. Secondly it was always so much fun to use her body parts, (especially her empty head) to decortae my diaramas. Bitch's head on a stake was a favourite of mine.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2000

Well, in the first place Barbie dolls weren't invented yet back in the stone age when I was growing up. Venus of Willendorf was the rage back then. In the second place, what chance would Barbie ever have of being able to cook up a decent dinosaur stew?

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2000

I played with the B. dolls quite a bit growing up. As a matter of fact, I believe I had a camper, where B. and her boyfriend would go out into the woods, set up camp and scamper naked thru the trees.

Even as a child, I had a twisted mind.

I always felt bad for her because she had a crotch without a split. Felt bad for her boyfriend also, since he had a nice package, but no way to unwrap it.

If I was going to design dolls, tho, I would not make them anatomically correct. I think that the ambigious genitalia fostered a bigger and better imagination in me.

I think that B. dolls are harmless and not worth the energy to fight the desire little kids have to play with them. My daughter has a ton of ratty-haired, clothless dolls, which entertains her for hours. She has a collection for the bathtub, which entertains my son when he bathes with Godzilla or another reptilian creature.

I feel they are harmless plastic toys and I don't dwell too much on what impact they could make in my children's life because I show them what it is like to be a real woman, with a real body, living my life with real faults and real successes.

Von


-- Anonymous, May 22, 2000


My daughter and two friends made a short video for a videography course they were taking (in high school) that they titled "Barbo" -- Barbo was a wheelchair-bound Barbie who was constantly being picked on because of her handicap, we discover in a flashback that she was a Viet Nam veteran, that she is in the wheelchair because of combat injuries, then one day her tormentors push her too far and she kills them all. (Fortunately this was pre-Columbine else instead of receiving the good grade for this that they did, they would probably have been in trouble with some zero tolerance nitwit school administrator.)

Jim

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2000


I had a ton of B. dolls while I was growing up. My mom sent me a Pearl beach B. that she found at target a few weeks ago. I guess it was supposed to be a joke, since my name is Pearl and I no longer live at the beach, but I love it. It came with this really cool ring that changes color in hot and cold water. Man I love that stuff. My dolls were really beneficial to my future I think. I sew clothes, mostly loose flowing garmets that are so comfy! The reason I sew only these loose garmets is because I could never get anything to fit over B's stupid breasts that would then fit her hips. I hated her breasts. I think I still do...

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2000


I prefer to believe that girls aren't so stupid as to assume they should look like an 11 inch tall toy, and thus I find them perfectly acceptable playthings. I had Barbies when I was little, I have collectors Barbies now (they're gonna send my kid to college, by god! I'm warped, but I'd be willing to be that had more to do with the people around me than my toys.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2000

I have it on good authority, since my 7yo Meaghan is reading over my shoulder that little girls think this about Barbies:

"I know I won't look like that. But she looks enough like a real person. So it doesn't matter.You can do anything with Barbie (except roll a tank over her). The people who make barbies can't make it look like a real woman because it's too hard. Just tell her she's never gonna look like that when she grows up."

Yeah, I typed in exactly what she said whn I read her the question... so now you know what the little girls think. One, anyway.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2000


I have lived about 1500 ft away from the worlds first and sofar only Barbie store dedicated to ONLY BARBIE stuff. I have seen camera crews from CNN, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and many more, some of them even parked on my sidewalk, to make a report on this unique Barbie- holic place... This store survived for a mere year and is still vacant right now... Thank God!

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2000

I adored my Barbie dolls. I actually used them more as models though, for the clothes I would make for them. Any spare fabric became an outfit. I still have a few dolls. A tattoo art Barbie, a Wild hair Barbie, the different ones that I can add piercings and weird clothes to.

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000

I loved my Barbie's growing up but I always managed to pull their heads off. I guess I liked to swing them around by their hair and they would inadvertantly fall off in the process. *shrugs* Who knew. :O)

My daughter has several Barbie's now and she loves them. She has all of the things that I wanted while growing up...the Barbie Dream house, plane and all that good sh!t! :o)

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000



Barbies...

Well, I think that they have as much of an effect on how girls view themselfs as He-man had on boys viewing themselves. They look at them and think, WOW. But in the end they know it's a toy and make believe.

Personally, I like yardsale Barbie dolls. That's where I bought one and turned it into a Cyber Punk Barbie. Her hair was a bitch to reshape, and style. She has cybernetic legs. I think Nick got a hold of her and she ended up in the tub. She was really cool though.

Oh... and he-man. I froze him. Star Wars had a big influence. I froze every toy person I ever had as a kid.

You don't even want to know what torture Stretch Armstrong went through...

-- Anonymous, May 27, 2000


I had Barbies growing up (even the town house, elevator and all!) and I don't think it impacted my self-image. All my other dolls played with Barbie in the town house, and of course she and Ken had crazy sex all the time.

I read an interesting interview with the designer of Barbie clothes, who had an explanation for her (the doll's) dimensions. She said that since the clothes have to attach with velcro or snaps (little fingers aren't good with tiny zippers or buttons) the waists of the clothes are very thick. So in order for Barbie to look "normal" clothed she has to look ridiculous naked. I don't think I've ever seen numbers for Barbie's clothed dimensions, if she was scaled up. Interesting point, though.

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000


Barbie doesn't look normal naked or clothed. We call her "giraffe girl". My daughter doesn't care. She's in hog heaven because we finally permitted her to own them. Conclusion? Buy Mattel stock!

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2000

WHO LOVES ALL BARBIE DOLLS BLACK OR WHITE

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2000

I think that Barbies are whatever the imagination wants them to be. If the kids are taught early on that the dolls are only figures of fantasy and not reality then don't worry. Just because some have had bad experiences with this doll doesn't mean that everyone else will if they play with Barbie. If one states that Barbie is bad for a girls self esteem (period), then what about all of those who played with her and are now successful? I played with toy guns growing up but don't have an interest in owning a real one. I loved model planes but am scared to death of getting on a real one because of a fear of heights. If Barbie is bad for you then don't have it around. However, don't judge others as to how this toy will effect their lives. They might not have the problems that you have to deal with. If the child can enjoy this toy without any problem then let her or him alone. I had both the GI Joes and Barbies and am not gender confused or gay. The fact is that I've seen these things as only plastic items for play. I never thought that any female should be like Barbie nor that I should have the body like GI Joe. The difference between fantasy and reality I did from the beginning know.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2001


I think everyone should stop blaming eating disorders and all of their childhood problems on a piece of plastic.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

i used to have loads of different barbies when i was little i had her dream house her horse her car ken and skipper, i used to play with them every day not worrying about wether someday i would look like this or not. i think its stupid how everyone thinks you should be thin pretty and blonde like her well u can all kiss my ass cus i aint none of those things and i aint gonna make my self sick everytime i eat somethin so i wont put on weight or just not eat at all. people arent meant to look like that shes a fuckin doll its not natural so all u barbie wannabees ie pamela anderson get a fuckin life. shes a toy not something we should all aim to look like in life . im me and if that aint good enough then screw u

-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002

You know the only doll that people who hate barbie's unrelistic imige would be a doll with a fifty in. waist ,over-dyed hair,wrinkles and a beer bellied boyfriend . Besides when you were a girl did you ever recall drawing pictures of that type of lady? I bet not. And did you know that because of people complaining to mattle they made barbie's butt bigger and I can't get their old clothes on them. I'm only 11 and not once have I ever wished I looked like barbie. Alot of people I know, adults and kids,played with barbie and their minds arn't poisend . So lay off,people.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2002

im afirad i hate barbie and wana fuck ken

-- Anonymous, December 22, 2002

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