Holding Off an Army of Bratz: Are Dolls Harmful to Girls' Esteem?

During a trip to Target over the summer I found myself wandering into the toy section. Even as a 22 year old college senior I can't resist the urge to relive the childhood delight of looking at toys, so I pretended to be as adult as possible as I quickly ducked into an aisle of pink. Some what sat on the shelves was perfectly familiar: Barbie in a variety of outfits and occupations, baby dolls, and My Little Pony boxes piled high.

What was unfamiliar was the majority of the shelves' occupants: dolls so disturbing I couldn't believe that they were for sale, that someone decided little girls should play with tiny demons of femininity. At that moment I felt real fear for little girls as I imagined them begging for the toy that will destroy women of the future; a toy called Bratz.

In her heyday Barbie received a large amount of criticism for the image she portrayed to young girls. In response, Mattel, the manufacturer of the doll, introduced Barbie in a variety of career oriented outfits. She became a firefighter, a doctor, a paleontologist, and even an astronaut. Her body proportions have been altered to reflect more realistic waist sizes, and you can find a friend for Barbie from practically every ethnicity. I am in no way saying that Barbie is without flaw, but with the criticism she has received and the changes she has made, it is arguable to say that she has in fact grown over the decades. Well, grown as much as a doll 1/6 the size a real woman can.

Many of the girls who played with Barbie in her peak of popularity in the mid-1990s (including myself) have grown beyond playing with dolls. A new generation of girls has taken over, perfectly adapted to a modern world of tiny cell phones and 'scan and pay' cash registers. What does the modern girl of the millennium play with? MGA Entertainment pushed to answer that question in 2001 with the introduction of a new doll light-years ahead of Barbie, the Bratz doll . Every leap that Barbie made to go to college and become a lawyer was thrown out the window in favor of a doll set to the lowest of standards.

The Bratz dolls have massive heads that could never be supported by the stick-like body they rest on. Her face is painted with more makeup than any woman should see in her lifetime, let alone a 6 year old girl. The enlarged eyes and lips take over the plastic face, distracting attention from the nearly invisible nose. Her clothes are tight and as short as possible. It looks like the poor thing came upon a fabric shortage with tragic results. She is the model for what every woman shouldn't be, and yet girls will be unable to see that.

The common response might be, "What's the big deal? They're just dolls". That is the real problem. Dolls serve as role models for the girls who play with them, and marketers are fully aware of that fact. The official Bratz website showcases all the Bratz products, including items that are meant for girls to wear such as makeup and clothing. Clicking on the website was painful enough, but the message that appeared as the content loaded was just nauseating: "Please wait a moment…It takes time to look this good! " Too bad the definition of looking good for a Bratz doll is a massive amount of makeup and little clothing on a sickly thin frame.

Are Bratz the real model society should be showcasing for young girls? Setting the unrealistic or impossible beauty standards for real women that Bratz seem to achieve is dangerous. The lifestyle and attitude of Bratz dolls are easy to describe because they don't have much to them. Bratz have "a passion for fashion" so they spend a majority of their time at the Mall buying clothes. They only value external appearance and accessories, an attitude reflected in their 'diamond' fashion collection and makeup sets.

Even babies are included in the movement - Bratz Babyz are simply smaller versions of the adult dolls. How many babies do you know who wear heavy makeup and hair styles that reach the floor? Do they wear tiny panties and cropped sparkly tops? Bratz Babyz tell young girls that the innocence of youth is a great time to start molding outward appearance to match whatever the Bratz line says is acceptable.

A discussion of dolls may seem irrelevant for college students, but remember that our generation will be raising children of our own someday. What messages will our generation allow them to see? Will we raise women who feel self worth based only on outward appearance or men who only value a woman because she is incredibly thin? Worrying about dolls may seem silly, but not when future generations might only use books to level makeup tables. Take time to carefully look at the toys young children are taking home next time you enter a store. They may be plastic and fabric, but Bratz are a force waiting to strike against any free thinking woman. Barbie is far from perfect, but at least she could go to college. I don't know about you, but I don't want the next generation full of life-sized Bratz.