Barbie and me

I was never a huge fan of the Barbie doll.  I didn't have one of my own.  But my friend next door had a lot of them and all the stuff that came with them.  Once in a while I would go over there and "play Barbies" which really involved preparing them for dates with Ken.  Changing clothes and combing hair was a big snore for me.   We even tried to make our own Barbie clothes but I was hopeless.  One time when we were playing, I made my Barbie have pre date jitters and spend her time in the toilet with diarrhea.  I was not invited to play Barbies anymore after that.  Some people have no sense of humour.

But during those times, and all through my childhood, in spite of all the commercials for Barbie and her accessories, I never ONCE thought I should look like her.  I never ONCE wished I had her lifestyle.  Barbie was not my role model for what an ideal woman should be.  My mother was.  And my friends were the yardstick I measured myself against.  It bothered me more that I did not inherit my mother's tall willowy figure, but instead got the short plump build of most of the other women in my family.  The plump part happened later in life, after years of major food issues.  But I digress.

Now, in this age of over reacting melodrama, a huge deal is being made about Barbie and her impact on our precious little girls.  It's ridiculous if you ask me...though you didn't but I am telling you anyway.  Think about the sheer amount of advertising directed at women and making them feel not good enough.  Look at the skinny, busty role models on t.v. shows.   How can a plastic doll take the blame for what is clearly a warped society.   I never gave my daughter a Barbie, she didn't really want one.  But it wasn't because I thought Barbie sent a negative message, to my daughter, it was because Barbie was a boring toy.

What has really sent me on a rant about this is the Facebook post that goes around saying "they should make a bald Barbie, so little girls who have cancer can feel pretty."  Seriously???  A child battling cancer is worried that she is not as pretty as Barbie?  Or is even worried that she is pretty at all?   She is fighting for her life!   I can't imagine a child looking at her bald head and thinking...I wish there was a Barbie that looks like me.  I feel so ugly".

People need to get a grip.