Barbie Gets Tattoos and Parents Go Berzerk: Really, What’s the Big Deal? - Page 2
No disrespect, but there are way too many conversations going on these days about society-at-large’s responsibility to swaddle children and shield them from the things they’ll most likely see when they walk home from school everyday. Last month, it was a T-Shirt that was deemed too negative because it allegedly promoted being pretty over being smart. Now it’s this random plastic Barbie, who aside from a few tattoos is actually a well-covered up and cute doll. And before both of these things, there were a string of other products that adults deemed toxic to their children’s psyche and self-esteem. My response to all of these rumblings is…DON’T BUY THE CRAP!
Seriously, you don’t have to pick up a tattooed Barbie, or the Barbie with the plastic fetus belly or that ugly shirt from JCPenney, but it doesn’t change the fact that there are women out there on the streets covered in tattoos, young women walking around pregnant and others celebrating their beauty over their brains (why, I don’t know). Taking a shirt off of racks or dolls off of shelves doesn’t change any of that. To me, it just gives off the vibe that if you took the time to protest or write letters about this issue out of all the bigger issues going on in the world that are of more importance, well, then you need to re-prioritize.
Same goes for the amount of crap grown celebrities get for wearing what they want and doing what they please. If a popular singer wants to roll around half naked in a video, feel how you feel because you’re tired of seeing her without her clothes on, not because of the effect it will have on your kids. The TV in your house? You bought it. The cable on there that allows them to know what a “guido” is and to watch scandalous music videos? Uh, you’re paying for it. Parents have more of a hand in what their kids see and are exposed to, and unless little Jenny comes home wearing daisy dukes because of what she saw in a specific person’s video, we all know it isn’t society’s job to shield your babies.
If you base what your child’s mental health and wellness will be off of what a Barbie looks like or what some products say, then you need to get out of WalMart and go sit down somewhere. Talk to your kids about these images and issues rather than quickly going from level 0 to 10 because, in most cases, your opinion means more to them down the road than public or popular opinion. Therefore, I say, let this doll be sold to the adults who collect them, and as always, if your child asks you to get a tattoo after hearing about this Barbie, then you know, and they should already know the answer: HELL NO!
But I could be wrong. What do you think?
More on Madame Noire
