Toy Pole Dancer Doll Adds to Miley Cyrus Scandal

In 2006 there was an adult USB toy that was discontinued due to some women finding it offensive. Even though the desktop toy pole dancer doll, which was meant to be one of the most popular Christmas gifts of 2006, had a disclaimer stating that it was aimed at adults, some women's rights groups complained about it, managing to get it pulled from shelves (no word as of yet on how they are doing on getting other degrading popular Christmas gifts pulled like Hooters gifts cards, calendars with babes in bikinis, and Santa's helper lingerie). Mothers have finally won the war on Bratz dolls, thanks to a big legal dispute, but have recently been faced with a problem involving one of their daughter's other favorite icons, Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus played the role of a pole dancer at the Nick Teen Choice Awards, and while she didn't really do anything too risqué, her actions angered a lot of parents. If you were one of these parents and someone who cheered upon learning that the Bratz dolls and the USB pole dancer stripper doll had been discontinued, make sure you're sitting down for this one.

Gizmodo has a picture up of what has to be one of the most disturbing dolls aimed at children I've ever seen (you can see it here). The box says "Pole Dance", while the stand the doll is on says "Pole Dancer", so, sorry, I can't tell you what the correct name of the doll is. All I know is that is a doll in a pink package with a big heart on it advertising the pole dancer doll with words like "Style", "Interesting", and "flash". The pole dancer doll comes complete with a stand that appears to be covered with flashing lights and a disco ball on top.

When I first clicked on the link with the picture of the pole dancer doll, I figured the doll would look like a Barbie or a Bratz doll. Boy was I ever wrong. In a horrible twist that makes this terrible idea even worse, the doll appears to be a little girl wearing a party dress (think more along the lines of Barbie's little sister). So, people of Wal-Mart, be prepared to boycott your favorite haunt when you spot this one on shelves.

I've often thought parents who worried over some of the roles Barbie has had throughout the years affecting their little girls' futures were silly. After all, I became none of the things any of my Barbies were, which included ice skaters, princesses, rock stars, and ballerinas. I thought Britney Spears was absolutely amazing, too, and while she slightly impacted my fashion choices as a teen, I still didn't wear anything skimpy, and liking her never changed my personality. Still, I can see how parents today are concerned with Miley Cyrus getting away with what could be called pole dancing at the Teen Choice Awards, and I'd hate to see what happens if this pole dancer doll ever makes its way onto shelves (there's no caption on the picture that says where it was from).

I was already thinking that, with the popularity of pole dancing workouts and poles being installed in women's homes, that the next thing that would cause a big controversy would be such poles aimed at girls, especially after the Miley Cyrus ordeal. But this pole dancer doll definitely takes the cake.

She wouldn't be the first or last doll to cause a controversy, with a breastfeeding doll made by a Spanish company recently causing a major controversy, and Barbie still managing to make parents complain after all these years. It's just too bad toys can't just can't seem to be toys anymore. Why not just make dolls appear to be the age of the children they are aimed at that do things that kids do, like go to school, take part in outdoor activities, and hang out with friends? We're already forcing kids to grow up way too fast with all the responsibilities and activities they're being loaded down with, and making their toys part of a grown-up world, especially the "adult" part of the grown-up world, is really just too much.

SOURCES:
http://gizmodo.com/5348675/pole-dancer-doll-doesnt-really-set-the-perfect-role-model?b
http://www.gambling911.com/toy-pole-dancer-scrapped-121006.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,537261,00.html