OK-number six out of the five most popular posts--sigh

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

A Counter-Terrorist Named Barbie

Now, a disclaimer. I never played with Barbie and her friends. I had 

twenty-two dolls, (I was the only girl), and I duly baptized them all with 

the tap water, (and, I must admit, with holy water), and named them 

such late 1950s names as Cynthia, Daphne, MaryRose, Katy-Jane, Kimberley, Karen, Donna, and so on, unless they had names, like Shirley Temple, and my pre-Disney story-book dolls, Snow White, Rose Red, Sleeping Beauty, etc.

Barbie was not my thing. However, Barbie may become the iconic counter-terrorist for this site. Again, according to the keen Robert Spencer, she 

has been banned in Tehran. This is at least the second time Barbie has 

been made into an infidel doll. I can understand her appeal to very young ladies--the fake American dream of too-perfect figure, blond hair and trendy clothes-- the princess doll syndrome.

However, it is too much that Barbie is again labelled as a symbol of Western decadence. Well, maybe, in a 

strange way, she is, but I know lovely women in convents, traditional Catholic women, who were not as 

counter-cultural at the age of eight as I was, who loved their Barbies. Sigh, the only thing I really wanted for 

MaryRose and Karen was the pink vintage Barbie Austin Healey, but my dolls, all baptized and full of doll grace, 

would probably have not wanted to be caught dead in a Barbie car....

Daphne was rescued by one of my brothers from a pretend high-rise fire on my dad's recliner by a very large metal firetruck. She rode away perched on top of the ladder as my brother saved her, but that is not quite the same thing as moving in style in a pink vintage Austin Healey. Maybe this is what Tehran fears...women driving sports cars.

Jumper Weather

American Jumpers

British Jumpers

Protests Over New Merida Doll

I watched it with someone who loves it. Well, I guess it helps me understand what the Millennials like. I like the mom, three little boys, and the horse best, in that order. Merida is a brat. I guess she does change.

http://money.cnn.com/gallery/pf/2013/08/07/customer-protests/index.html?iid=GM

I saw this movie. And, the heroine is nothing like the new doll desired by the Disney folks.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2331417/Parents-anger-Disney-turns-Brave-girl-curvy-princess.html

Barbie Sales Down

I have two ideas to help Barbie sales, which are down four quarters in a row. Of course, no one talks about the stolen childhood of our girls, who are forced to grow up to fast and do not play with dolls.

Here are the two ideas.


Bring back Military Barbie and Ken so that they can deal with civil war at home and the kids would feel safe in cars with their grandmas.

Bring back Barbie for President Doll, as she would be better than any candidates put forth so far, at least by the Dems. She is better looking than Hillary and no Benghazi links.

A Passport for Barbie

The little dog is "way more cool"...

Well, this is my third and, perhaps, my last Barbie Post. I also wrote on one Ken, which really makes this one number four, but who cares about Ken?

The latest Mexican Barbie comes complete with a passport and some people are reacting negatively. I cannot understand why.

Now, if I were a little girl, I would think this is really cool. But, if I were a little girl, I would be much more interested in the chihuahua. Little dogs are great!

Barbie can now travel anywhere, maybe even to those countries which do not want to give her a driving license.

Well, you the readers can decide

.http://www.ibtimes.com/barbie-chihuahua-new-mexican-dolls-world-barbie-carries-passport-sparks-outrage-1186077

Where Are the Ken Dolls? Who Cares?

In an effort to show that Barbie was an influence in the making of at least one generations' views of women, authors have traced the importance of Barbie in suburbia.

Now, my question is, where are the articles on Ken? My second question is where are the Kens? The trouble with Ken is that he was pretty face with no personality. Why did we want Kens? We should have paired off the GI-Joes with the Barbies. At least they looked like men and were DOING something.  Comments wanted.

Let me quote an author on this: http://universityhonors.umd.edu/HONR269J/projects/wolf.html

Because of Barbie's lack of a family, her first relation was a male companion named Ken. The first advertisement for Ken said, "He's a doll!" (BillyBoy 40). Barbie's boyfriend was given an image of "innocence, cleanliness, extroverted playfulness, boyish masculinity, and a hint of shyness" (BillyBoy 40). To accompany this image, Ken came with teenage male essentials, such as a letter sweater, tuxedo, and a gray flannel suit. One of the biggest questions facing Mattel was how anatomically correct should Ken be. They finally determined that young girls did not need to be exposed to some realities of adulthood; therefore Ken was born with permanent underwear.

Ken's development portrays one of the expectations of 1950's women. It was necessary to create Ken because "women were considered failures without male companionship" (Johnson "Barbie's Effects on American Suburban Culture").

All propaganda involving Barbie and Ken portray them as the stereotypical teenage couple. The first television commercial for Ken takes place at a ball. Amid this romantic scene, Barbie spots Ken, and it's love at first sight. All of the ads for Barbie and her "handsome steady" are a   reflection of the innocent qualities of courtship (Weiss "Toys Were Us"). Ken and Barbie had coordinating outfits for the "beach, fraternity dances, after-school sodas, etc" (BillyBoy 41). A magazine about Barbie and Ken's adventures was published. Barbie and Ken were seen as being so much in love that they could not go anywhere without each other (as seen in Figure 3). After Barbie helps Ken in the garden, she says, "I'd do it any time Ken, just so long as we're together" (BillyBoy 42). Compared to modern culture, this is an extremely cordial and sappy relationship. The Barbie and Ken comic book furthers the portrayal of male and female relations of the early 1960's before the hippie culture invaded.

In 1961, Mattel produced a record of songs about Ken performed by Barbie. Through this music, girls could learn about proper social manners when dating. Evident in the lyrics are the games girls would play, such as coyness and aloofness, in teenage relations. This record also reinforced Barbie as a realistic character helping to shape her personality (BillyBoy 44).

Hey, isn't GI Joe better for Barbie?

Free Barbie, Now a Hostage. Captain Kirk Responds

Iran cracked down on Barbie dolls. If you remember my post from several months ago, I told you about how Barbie has become a terrorist.

Now, she has been seized and is a hostage in several cities in Iran.

Free Barbie. We do not have any information as to what she was wearing at the time of the abduction, but she may have been in the retro Pan-Am stewardess uniform.

Update: Captain Kirk, Spock and Uhura Barbie have entered the search.

from the Great S. 

Barbie dolls: strictly forbidden -- they contradict Islamic values.

"Iran cracks down on Barbie dolls," from Trend, September 8 (thanks to Lachlan):

Head of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Gudance in Iran's Lorestan Province Ali Esmailian said that import of Barbie dolls in Iran is forbidden because they contradict Islamic values and Iranian culture, ISNA reported today.

Esmailian said that all Barbie dolls are being seized.

He did not explain what Barbie dolls do with Islamic values or Iranian culture exactly, but argued that launching a campaign against Barbie dolls is aimed to prevent foreign influence tricks in Iran.

Iranian conservative government fights against any sign of what they call "western values and cultural invasion".

Iranian Police closed dozens of shops which were selling Barbie dolls in January 2012.

Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959.

There are also some computer Barbie games for children. Esmailian said that these games should be prevented and the sellers of these kinds of games would be punished.

I am so glad I am a Catholic.

A Counter-Terrorist Named Barbie

Now, a disclaimer. I never played with Barbie and her friends. I had twenty-two dolls, (I was the only girl), and I duly baptized them all with the tap water, (and, I must admit, with holy water), and named them such late 1950s names as Cynthia, Daphne, MaryRose, Katy-Jane, Kimberley, Karen, Donna, and so on, unless they had names, like Shirley Temple, and my pre-Disney story-book dolls, Snow White, Rose Red, Sleeping Beauty, etc.

Barbie was not my thing. However, Barbie may become the iconic counter-terrorist for this site. Again, according to the keen Robert Spencer, she has been banned in Tehran. This is at least the second time Barbie has been made into an infidel doll. I can understand her appeal to very young ladies--the fake American dream of too-perfect figure, blond hair and trendy clothes-- the princess doll syndrome.

However, it is too much that Barbie is again labelled as a symbol of Western decadence. Well, maybe, in a strange way, she is, but I know lovely women in convents, traditional Catholic women, who were not as counter-cultural at the age of eight as I was, who loved their Barbies. Sigh, the only thing I really wanted for MaryRose and Karen was the pink vintage Barbie Austin Healey, but my dolls, all baptized and full of doll grace, would probably have not wanted to be caught dead in a Barbie car....

Daphne was rescued by one of my brothers from a pretend high-rise fire on my dad's recliner by a very large metal firetruck. She rode away perched on top of the ladder as my brother saved her, but that is not quite the same thing as moving in style in a pink vintage Austin Healey. Maybe this is what Tehran fears...women driving sports cars.