Anti-Barbie Is Anti-Possible
In my feminist-fueled 20's I thought that if I ever had girls, I'd dissuade them from Barbies. By doing so, I'd protect them from feelings of low self-esteem and bad body image. In their place, I'd find ugly, wooden doll-like figures who have no interest in today's fashions or dramatic accessories. I see now that keeping my girls away from Barbie is about as possible as keeping them away from a playground on a sunny day. Our Barbie Bin In retrospect, the logistics of banning Barbie would have been a nightmare. It would have meant telling all my relatives and friends not to buy Barbie products at every birthday and gift-giving holidays (repeatedly). I'd have to write "no Barbies" on all their birthday party invitations from age 4 - 14. Potential playdates would need to be screened and warned of our preferences for non-Barbie play. We'd have to guide our girls to change conversational topics away from Barbie movies and new dolls on the p...