Hobson's Choice
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Barbie
As Eleanor's fourth birthday approaches, I'd like to thank our nearest and dearest, our friends, and our acquaintances for keeping Barbie out of our lives so far. We know at least one family who have received Barbie because the giver felt it was important for the children to be exposed to mainstream American values. And the problem is that once Barbie comes into the home, she makes ants and termits look easy to eradicate. There is no getting rid of her or her shoes.
I know Barbie is coming sometime. I plan to follow the example of the mom who makes her whole family listen to a speech on body image and then eat donuts every time a new Barbie is received (this cited by that great author Sandi Kahn Shelton, and she has a lot of stories about Barbie shoes). In contrast with those exceptionally slutty and girl-destroying Bratz dolls, Barbie seems wholesome. I will welcome her as long as she's not a Bratz (which I will destroy, have no doubt). I loved Barbie myself. My Barbies would act and sing the entire soundtrack from _My Fair Lady._
But at this moment, in a Barbie-free home -- well, okay, she has a Grandma and Grandpa Barbie, but Grandma has saggy boobs and a thick waist. It's not the same thing.
Anyway, at this moment, in a Barbie-free home, I give thanks, thanks that Eleanor does not yet associate an impossible body with the feminine ideal, thanks that Barbie's brand of femininity is still beyond Eleanor's ken, and thanks that I still retain the "Largest Bosoms" title at our address.
10:02 a.m. - 2006-06-20
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