Monday, November 14, 2011

I'm Not Sure How I Feel About This


Tokidoki Barbie. I am not a Barbie fan. Never have been. Do I like this? I DON'T KNOW! Shall we discuss?

Actually, the Byron Lars Barbie Collection does much more to address my Barbie-related issues. Some of those dolls are pretty fabulous.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

The more things change.... I know Barbie fans who've gleefully tried dressing their dolls in clothing off the backs of their brothers' GI Joes. I also know that when Information Technology Barbie came out, one friend commented about "She's WAY overqualified. Wasn't she an astronaut?" NOTE: If you're someone from Mattel reading this, please pretend I put in all the (TM) and (R) things in their proper place.

Robert in San Diego, slightly cautious after a sticky encounter with the Velcro (R) people

Anonymous said...

"With cactus friend,Bastardino" was definately not what i was expecting about that article. I'm not sure how i feel about this either, but that tattoo is awesome.

Anonymous said...

When I was little Barbie was okay. I played with them on occasion. I just don't understand why do people still collect them? They are really not that valuable. Are they? Even grown adults collect them. Huh??? I am not sure how I feel about this either.

Anonymous said...

No offense, but it seems pretty much the same to me. Putting clothes that we would never wear on dolls we would never look like.

Only now, the clothes look cooler. And come with a pet cactus. And since I loved Barbie as a kid, I think it's cool. I just wish they would get rid of those "sky high" heels.

Anonymous said...

They are very valuable just search barbie into ebay & sort price highest. The very very old ones go for a couple thousand. Tokidoki barbie was sold at barbiecollector.com for $50 now sold out and is going for $300-$400. Keep in mind that tokidoki is a collectors doll made for people over the age of 14.

Anonymous said...

Dear Rachel:

People will collect ANYTHING. Barbed wire, postage stamps, typewriters, fountain pens, books, porcelain figurines (Hummel, for example), and that's just off the top of my head while typing really fast.

A great short story about collectors is "Baxter's Procrustes" by Charles W. Chesnutt. The link there goes to a University of Virginia "etext" version of this old story. Doubling back to my first sentence, I first learned about Charles Chesnutt because he appeared on a stamp!

Robert in San Diego

Anonymous said...

why don't you like barbie, kirsten? D: is it what she represents? because i still manage to like barbie and also be intelligent and not conceited or vain. i consider myself eligible to join the irregulars (kiki may disagree though).

Anonymous said...

my friend did an article on this talking about how bad this was for kids.

Kirsten Miller said...

Munna: I don't think there's anything wrong with people who like Barbie. I'm not a fan of the dolls because I think they (usually)represent a very bland, conventional image of femininity. But that has nothing to do with the people who play with Barbies. See the difference?

falcon said...

Played with them when I was little. But I don't really think little kids toys should be taken so seriously by adults... especially so.... icky feminist nightmare ones

Kirsten Miller said...

Falcon: Interesting perspective! Not necessarily one I would have expected from you! I'm really curious to hear more.

Holy Lucy, Batman! said...

The image Barbie puts out, it seems, is actually quite feminist. Barbie, like Robert says, WAS an astronaut. Barbie did more in one year than it seems Ken did in his WHOLE EXISTENCE. I think what people stereotype about Barbie is a wrong analysis based on the outside. If you look to all that she has done, you will find she is a good role model. It would just be nice if she should show this on the outside. I played with Barbies as a girl, and I am proud, sure I would not play with them now, but that doesn't mean anything.

Also I am not sure about where Barbie is going from this point on, I still think modern entertainment and marketing is EVIL!

liltomboyblue11;) said...

Well... I came from the group of friends who ripped of their heads and chewed on their feet (I didn't personally chew the feet, however.)

People can like Barbie, that's fine. But. I just want to state that the image Barbie has was based off of a sex doll. (for the 50th year anniversary they had a segment on NPR) and that I find kind of... well, disarming.

Not to mention that this is a stereotypical portrayal of alternative fashion, and while some may look at it and say "Woah, edgy Barbie! Cool! Society is moving in a new direction!" (yes, I've heard that.) it's really not going in any new directions, at least not because of a Barbie doll. This is a publicity stunt by the company to get attention and money, quite frankly.

Tokidoki, however, will always be adorable.

Done with my rant, sorry!