I know some parents who have a problem with fashion dolls being played with by their children and although I can understand the reasons they choose to have that opinion, I’m afraid I can’t quite agree. Ok, so perhaps the figures aren’t EXACT as to a real human body but then neither are lots of other toys or cartoon characters and I can’t help but think it’s all a bit overkill and all a little bit worrying about something they really don’t need to. After all, dolls like this have been played with for absolutely generations and we can’t ALL be wrong?
Take Barbie for instance, she’s been played with and enjoyed by children since 1959! That’s amazing and to say she is a bad influence just doesn’t cut it for me. For me I feel it’s exactly the opposite. When I used to play with my ‘Day To Night’ Barbie, a gal dressed in clothes for the office which flipped around for a night out, I used to play sophisticated games where Barbie had a high powered job and earned her own money. When I played with my Tropical Barbie, yes, she ran around in a swim suit but she was also totally kick ass and confident to be in it. When I played with Crystal, my Rockstars and the one with crimped hair (can’t quite remember which one she was) my games were not with them all sat around having their hair done (we did do that too of course) waiting for Ken to get home from work and fixing him a meal, NO! They were doing the things I wanted to do as a grown up and being FABULOUS in every way. If anything, poor old Ken was the one who had to stay at home with little sister Skipper, make all the Barbies tea and generally just be surperfluous to the story lines I made up – coming in only when I needed him to.
For this reason I am MORE than happy for Florence to be a Barbie fan and in fact, I LOVE that she is. I love that she enjoyes playing with the same sort of dolls I did and plays the same sort of games. The only difference is that as times have changed with the way women are treated Barbie has too and now the dolls are even more high flying in their careers, outloks and agendas! I love it!
Playing with Barbie was for me and is for Florence, all about using your imagination to play wonderful games. making up stories, dreaming and aspiring. For this reason I absolutely LOVE this new video on the Barbie YouTube channel! What Happens When Girls Are Free To Imagine They Can Be Anything? Take a look!
Barbie, imagine the possibilities!
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