Barbie was the first American, mainstream fashion doll, launched
in 1959. Barbie has held more than 75 jobs,
including being an astronaut, surgeon, business executive, and United States
President. In recent years, dolls in the line have become more diverse,
especially in ethnicities. However, people still like to shame Barbie for
having an "unrealistic body," despite her accomplishments, which
people tend to forget about when saying she is a bad role model. Action figures
are hardly criticized for their unrealistic proportions. Almost every fashion
doll line faces criticisms, some more deserving than others. These doll include
lines like Bratz, Monster High, and the new Lammily dolls.
Until recently, I was not aware that Bratz dolls were considered
"slutty," but they are. I had a good handful of Bratz dolls as a
child, maybe ten. I love them though, and their flashy, stylish, urban outfits.
Of the four main Bratz dolls; Yasmin, Chloe, Sasha, and Jade; only one, Chloe,
is white. There was diversity in the line and it promoted strong friendships
and following your dreams, although in typically feminine professions like
fashion design. However, I still don't understand why people think they're
"slutty." Is it the big lips? The makeup? The clothes? Most fashion
dolls have thin lips, so girls with naturally big lips can see them and feel
better. Makeup is a wonderful form of self-expression. They wore a lot of
"short" skirts but also a lot of long pants. They were also shorter
dolls. Bratz always seemed like regular teen girls to me, and it makes me sad
that they're labeled as sluts now.
"Be Yourself. Be Unique. Be a Monster." Monster High
encourages children to be themselves. The line is bright, colorful, and fun.
They appeal to children and adults alike, as I collect them and know of many
other adult collectors, and my cousin who is 4 loves them as well. The dolls
have so much personality, just like Barbie. They have POC coded characters,
like Clawdeen Wolf and her family, who are coded as black. They also have
disabled characters, like Vandala Doubloons who has a wooden leg and
Rider/Finnegan Wake who is wheelchair bound. Monster High is a popular doll
line with growing diversity, but the line is still criticized. They are
criticized for being too thin, which granted, they are thin. That criticism is
justified, however, there are some that are just rather off the wall like that Monster
High is "hypersexualized" and "satanic." The girls are high
school students as well as fashion dolls, and they dress like it. And the dolls
are monsters so there has to be Illuminati symbolism. It
makes me sad that some parents won't get Monster High dolls for their children
because they are monsters, because the dolls and movies are all so positive and
encourage children to be true to themselves.
Lastly I'll be talking about Lammily dolls, a doll line I may not
have even heard about if I did not follow doll blogs. Lammily is average. Her
tagline is "Average is Beautiful." She is marketed as the
anti-Barbie, specifically size wise. The more I read about Lammily for this
post (I knew very little about her besides the fact she was average), the more I
accepted that Lammily is a step in the right direction, however, she is by no
means the whole walk. I do not really like the reasoning the creator, Lamm (yes
he named her after himself), had for making her, "If
Barbie were a real woman, she'd be intimidating and cold, and what I like about
real women is that they're warm and friendly. I just wanted to create an image
that would reflect that." I do not know why he'd think Barbie
would be cold, when she is shown to be a caring and loving character. Is it
because she has power? Or is it because of her body? Neither give any reason
for anyone to think she'd be intimidating and cold if she were real. That's not
my only problem with Lammily. Like I said, she is being market as the
anti-Barbie, like she is constantly screaming "I'M NOT LIKE OTHER
GIRLS" in her ads. I do not like that they are pitting female dolls
against each other. This is seen a lot in the Lammily ad and children’s
reaction to Lammily. It's sad that their only marketing strategy is this,
because Lammily is then essentially promoting girl hate. On top of all that, Lammily
does not have much of a personality (yet) and is boring. It's overusing the fact
that she is average. But despite all that, I do think Lammily, as a doll, is
good and will hopefully promote better self-esteem in girls. A new wave of more
diverse Lammily dolls are on the horizon (though they all have the same
"average" body). Lammily will be able to start a whole new doll generation,
I think, as long as the marketing steers away from pitting the
"Lammilys" against the "Barbies," and once she proves
average is not boring.
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ReplyDeleteI played with Barbies I think until I was in middle school. I’m not going to lie; I have always liked playing with dolls. When I stopped playing with dolls, was right around the time Bratz dolls got popular. I never seen them as “slutty” or anything like that, but I did feel like the dolls were meant for pre teens rather than little girls. The makeup and clothing always seemed like it was aimed at the higher age group of girls. I do remember when Monster High came out and I was working at Toys R Us and I thought that those dolls were so cool and different. I never paid attention to how skinny they were and at that time I believe it was only four dolls out. I have never heard of the Lammily and I think the doll is a little creepy. I have no idea what is on the back of the doll legs. I did enjoy the video it was quite funny how the guy had pimples on his face and one of the girls had a scar on her belly. Now don’t get me wrong it is sending a good message that being “average” is beautiful but it shouldn’t have to shame another doll to do so. Yes, Barbie body is unrealistic, but it taught girls that they could be whatever they want to be from a camp counselor to the president.
ReplyDeleteAs a child I was more of a Bratz kind of girl, and I honestly think because of the strong diversity they have. I never seen them as slutty, I really just like the style of the doll, the clunky shoes, and different clothes. I actually wanted a 2013 Barbie for Christmas representing my graduation year, because it seemed more classic. I dnt think I woldve ever requested any other doll.As far as the alammily doll goes, I hink its a great idea to show girls its okay to be comfortable in your body without feeling any less perfect than you are. I think the other dolls set a pretty high standard for appearance. But the doll does secretly bash Barbie. What did she ever do to you? If they continue to use this as a way to differentiate themselves from other dolls it will back fire.
ReplyDeleteAs a child I was more of a Bratz kind of girl, and I honestly think because of the strong diversity they have. I never seen them as slutty, I really just like the style of the doll, the clunky shoes, and different clothes. I actually wanted a 2013 Barbie for Christmas representing my graduation year, because it seemed more classic. I dnt think I woldve ever requested any other doll.As far as the alammily doll goes, I hink its a great idea to show girls its okay to be comfortable in your body without feeling any less perfect than you are. I think the other dolls set a pretty high standard for appearance. But the doll does secretly bash Barbie. What did she ever do to you? If they continue to use this as a way to differentiate themselves from other dolls it will back fire.
ReplyDelete