Over Christmas, I was reading Abby her newest Barbie book, My Favorite Friends. She wanted to read it over and over again, and Barbie really started to annoy me.
Barbie is a movie star! She enjoys playing different roles in all her films. From a fairy princess to a mermaid, Barbie can do it all!
After working on movie sets all day, Barbie comes home to the Dream House, a swimming pool, and cool friends. She and Ken go out on a date to her new premier, and life is good ….
By the second time I read it, I wanted to change the story line.
Barbie is sick and tired of having to do it all. After a long day’s work, her friends come over and mess up her house, but no one offers to help her clean it up. Ken wouldn’t know what a broom looked like if one hit him in the face (not to mention, he has commitment issues).
Of course, I didn’t have the guts to tell Abby that Barbie doesn’t have it all. She’ll figure it out soon enough. Maybe someday Barbie will pop out a few kids, get wrinkles, and tell Ken it’s time to settle down or hit the road.
For now, Barbie continues to live the dream life. I can’t decide if Barbie’s aspirations are positive for little girls, or are they just setting them up for disappointment and unrealistic expectations?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I don't know, Susan. My mom never let me play with Barbies but I still grew up with unrealistic expectations. Isn't that the prerogative of little kids? To dream big? The world will dash our hopes to bits soon enough. (I sound so cynical. I'm not. Really.) I say, let them dream!
Looking at it from another angle, I've noticed that kids have a pretty strong perception of reality vs. fantasy. I doubt Abby will grow up thinking she'll be just like Barbie.
Yeah, I hear ya. I played with Barbie too.... I don't think I'm done blogging about her.
Post a Comment