Barbie as the anti-ideal
I just came across this article on Aish.com: http://www.aish.com/societyWork/women/Banishing_Barbie.asp
Unfortunately, the author is no longer accessible. But it is interesting to see her take and the defenses of allowing children to play with the dolls that follow. Now it is true, that Barbie is not an icon of tznius, nor is her body type one that is within the realm of possibility for most people. But do toys shape our self-image, or are they tools for imaginative play? I recently passed on my daughters' Barbie dolls to my niece because they never were very enamored of this type doll, and even my youngest clings only to a single baby doll. My sister's reaction was that her daughter would like them, but she was concerned about their presence with her teen boys.
Unfortunately, the author is no longer accessible. But it is interesting to see her take and the defenses of allowing children to play with the dolls that follow. Now it is true, that Barbie is not an icon of tznius, nor is her body type one that is within the realm of possibility for most people. But do toys shape our self-image, or are they tools for imaginative play? I recently passed on my daughters' Barbie dolls to my niece because they never were very enamored of this type doll, and even my youngest clings only to a single baby doll. My sister's reaction was that her daughter would like them, but she was concerned about their presence with her teen boys.
Comments
I'm sorry, this is unrelated to the post, but I can't seem to find an email address for you.
The RSS feed for your blog stopped working a while ago. I haven't been receiving updates via Google Reader for your blog for a while. You may want to look into this.
The Wolf
As for the feedburner feed, I get an error for that feed (try the link yourself).
The Wolf
Try the RSS button added to the blog. Thanks
Thanks Chaim & Ariella!
The Wolf
I was never much of one for individual imaginitive play. I enjoyed sports and board games far more. Playing Barbie by myself never was much of a priority, although I enjoyed playing with my best friend quite a bit. I can't remember playing much with baby dolls or stuffed animals either, although the stuffed animals made great decor for my room.
On the other hand, my children are very imaginitive. A block or even a piece of toy lettuce can become a challah. A shoelace can become a baby carrier. They receive hours of endless joy reading to their babies, taking them in the car, feeding/nursing their babies, etc. On sukkot, every baby had to go in the sukkah for meals. When we go to the store, a baby often comes along. They practically have me convinced the babies are real because I find myself following their instructions for care when I'm put in charge.
I don't know if they will ever "advance" to Barbies, but if they do, I'm sure Barbie will be sitting in a sukkah, eating challah, and Ken might even lain from the tiny Torah my son made (but hopefully not in front of any unforgiving friends).
We have had few bad experiences with other children at the library, so I didn't bother watching the kids play until the Daddy doll slapped the Mommy doll, the Mommy doll fell off the roof, and the Daddy doll declared that he couldn't figure out why they were married anyways and that the should get a divorce. Seems they made up after that and proceeded to watch some TV But then the Mommy doll touched the remote or something and the hitting began again.
Thank G-d after the 2 minutes of play the boy left because I was about to pull my kids out of the library whether they were ready to go or not.
At this point I can definitely say: toys are what you make of them. These dolls were modestly dressed and yet the Daddy was beating the Mommy to a pulp and declaring a divorce.