Comedy | March 11, 2009 | 17 comments

Die, Barbie, Die! Oh wait, you can't.

source: http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/05/mutilating-barbie-dolls-business_harm.html

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St_Alia_10191
Lots of people are chiming in as Barbie turns the big 5-0. Sarah Haskins wrote a great op-ed piece about how little girls like her (and me) put our Barbies through degrading and simultaneously liberating sexual acts with everyone from Ken to G.I. Joe to other toys not even in Barbie's scale.

Neil Steinberg (a boy!) writes in Forbes about girls who take this behavior one step further: mutilators.

Yes, I remember with equal fondness cutting, painting, and melting my Barbies as I do throwing their legs in the air for a no-safe-word-allowed romp with a tuxedo-clad Ken. (A white, sleeveless tuxedo jumpsuit with a gold bow, to be exact. Ah, the 80's.)

Steinberg barely scratches the surface of this questionable activity, chalking it up to a "cool" alternative to driving Skipper to school in the pink convertible or strapping on a stethoscope to cure little Kimberly's croup. He also says that kids put pretty much all of their toys through the process of destruction, but since Barbie's a pretty lady, people actually notice.

--St_Alia_10191
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17 comments // Die, Barbie, Die! Oh wait, you can't.

  • writes4me
    • 0
      writes4me  

    • I used to cut the hair on my Barbies and wondered why it never grew back. I think that was the beginning of my self-awareness. LOL

    • 3 years ago
  • menghi
    • 0
      menghi  

    • this article would sumerized in one word,identification.the process of identification that is one of the mental functions[ego defense operations],is working at any age.in childrens because of playing with doll,interpritation of this fenomenon in child would be more easier than adult.in childs;approach of every child toward her own barbi is very very different.offcourse hostile attutud is one of thems.insuch a instances,the child has incorporated some stress from his or her invironment,and mostly her or his parents.then these streeses will again revived and experiences with toll[barbi].thus interpritation of how the child would makes arelationship an aproach with his or her own barbi has a traputic values.

    • 3 years ago
  • Anyother
  • Vikingblood
  • PROYECTOarismuca
  • Vikingblood
  • Vikingblood
    • 0
      Vikingblood  

    • "The study's conclusions "smack of academic overanalysis," Anastasia de Waal wrote in TheGuardian, "of grown-ups getting too excited about the symbolism of child's play. ... Testing the versatility and robustness of one's toys is neither new nor sinister."

      I don't know, it just seems to me that too many people wallow in artificial, imaginary victim-hood in the States these days. They seem to thrive on it too.

    • 3 years ago
  • Elligirl
    • 0
      Elligirl  

    • I cut my Barbie's hair and we switched Ken's legs with his buddy's for some reason. We left their hands and feet attached, though. :)

    • 3 years ago
  • eden49
  • RepressThis
  • pjacobs51
  • regjoeschmo
  • ejasun
    • 0
      ejasun  
    • Image

    • I also remember my sister buying a cheaper copy of Barbie and going medieval on her.

      The "Barbie club" you can't play unless you have a real Barbie not a cheap copy

    • 3 years ago
  • alivein85
    • 0
      alivein85  

    • Oh yea, I remember (LOL). I also remember my older brothers catching small fish in the pond at the local park only to bring them home and drop them through a chute in the roof of our second story house down to the basement. It was fun for some reason to set rubber cement on fire inside the house to cremate the dead fishes.
      I cant tell: is that worse than whacking your barbie against a mailbox post as hard as you can?

    • 3 years ago
  • St_Alia_10191
  • el_chivo
    • 0
      el_chivo  

    • I don’t know in the States, but over here, Barbie dolls are expensive. I remember my sisters dolls, the only mutilation acceptable was rip there head offs (because happened all the time). Or buy a cheaper copy of Barbie and going medieval on her.

      I never touch my sister barbies (she was bigger than me at the time) but I was happy throwing my action figures from insane heights.

    • 3 years ago
  • ras_menelik
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