Let's discuss Barbie, Bratz, Only Hearts, and Moxie Girlz, and other of their ilk

[NewLeaf]

Just an FYI but the Moxie Girlz are made by 'Bratz' which they are going to stop (have stopped?) producing.

Like I said I'm not a fan of Bratz (or Moxie, for that matter) and also Barbie (though less so) partly for contributing to sexualization at a young age, branding and also because of the scripted play.

[2girls4me]

Originally Posted by joyful mama

bratz are the only ones we don't allow, b/c I don't like their name, their clothes, or their excessive makeup. I don't mind barbie, and the others I'm not familiar with

Originally Posted by butterflyqueen71

Teri, I 100% agree!

[TradCathMamma]

Originally Posted by NewLeaf

Like I said I'm not a fan of Bratz (or Moxie, for that matter) and also Barbie (though less so) partly for contributing to sexualization at a young age, branding and also because of the scripted play.

I see it the same way.

My MIL and SIL have lots of old Barbies that they have pulled out for my girls, my MIL knowing I don't like them. She told me once as they were playing that I "lost the Barbie battle." Fortunately they are on the other side of the country and visits are not often and the next time, I will not allow it.

They have seen Barbie or Bratz on rare occasions at a store and tell me they like them but I have just told them that I don't think they are good to play with and that is what parents decide for their own children and then I have dropped it.

[JulySheMustFly]

also because of the scripted play.

Can you expand on this part?

[Maggie]

Originally Posted by Teribear

We allow all but Bratz are highly restricted based on their clothing. We tend to have more of the Lil' Bratz and the Sportz Bratz than anything else around here.

Same here. We have very few Bratz, but she has tons of Barbies and I would allow the others, I think.

[ValiantJoy07]

My sister and I were not-not "allowed" to play with Barbies. But my parent never bought them for us. If we ever asked my Mom would say she didn't like them- no real woman is shaped like that and she didn't like the breasts around the boys () and there were so many better dolls to play dress up with. I think we both got 2 as random gifts.I had mine 2 weeks when let my SIL play with mine and she left it outside and it got ruined- so ended my short lived barbie days.

We had American Girl Dolls...On our 8th Birthday (this was before bitty baby) we got our first American Girl Doll (K got 2 Samantha and Addy - I think I kept her in the doll stage longer...I have Molly)... My Mom sewed so she would duplicate the outfits for us (and taught us how to sew with these projects) and every year we'd get to pick a "acessories" package we wanted from the catalog...We spent hours dressing up and doing their hair.

I played Barbies at my friends houses- I thought it was boring and tedious...The pieces were so small and they got lost so easily. I liked American Girl Dolls (though sadly they've changed quite a bit from what I see boo!) because they were more realistic and there were so many styles of clothing you could do - we got in a big Little House on the Prairies stage and my Mom made "laura and mary" out fits for our dolls we'd spend weeks and weeks hour upon hour playing out the series with my cousins.

I plan on getting basic dolls for dd's (and a felicity for me if I can find one ) and I can't wait for them to be big enough to play American Girls again. (I'd still pull mine out if I had time )

[Herbwifemama]

I love the American Girls dolls, I had Kirsten when I was little, and I"m passing her down to dd- I might not be able to wait til she's 8, maybe 6. I do want her to appreciate the doll though for the treasure she is. I also want to scour Ebay for Pleasant Company accessories, but that might be the collector in me- I wanted all Kirsten's stuff when I was little, and I never got more than the basic.

I also have a collection of Barbies- I'm undecided on passing them down to dd, but I'm quite sure she doesn't need new ones. I'm thinking about getting her an Only Hearts doll soon, to preempt the Gift Givers, and tell them that dd is obsessed with Only Hearts dolls and accessories, so they can just focus on that, and not Barbie. I'm not sure yet.

[ValiantJoy07]

Originally Posted by Herbwifemama

I love the American Girls dolls, I had Kirsten when I was little, and I"m passing her down to dd- I might not be able to wait til she's 8, maybe 6. I do want her to appreciate the doll though for the treasure she is. I also want to scour Ebay for Pleasant Company accessories, but that might be the collector in me- I wanted all Kirsten's stuff when I was little, and I never got more than the basic.

I also have a collection of Barbies- I'm undecided on passing them down to dd, but I'm quite sure she doesn't need new ones. I'm thinking about getting her an Only Hearts doll soon, to preempt the Gift Givers, and tell them that dd is obsessed with Only Hearts dolls and accessories, so they can just focus on that, and not Barbie. I'm not sure yet.

THAT is a VERY good idea... Off to google Only Hearts Dolls and a few others on this thread that I've never heard of.

[Bonnie]

I love the Only Hearts dolls and only wish they weren't so expensive. We have four that I found on a clearance rack for 5.99 each. I also love that they actually fit in my girls' doll house furniture that's supposed to fit "fashion dolls" but is actually a solid inch too short to accommodate them. They are girls, not women, and don't dress like they're going clubbing or wear make-up.

We've also got just about every Disney Princess fashion doll in production. They tie in to the girls' favorite stories, are often cheaper than Barbie, and were kind of my compromise when I decided I didn't want my then-4yo to play with Barbie, although I still have a hard time articulating why. The fact that I hate the branding and marketing juggernaut is somewhat muddied by my buying in to Disney. Although, having said that, there's simply no avoiding the Disney buy-in around here - my dh was raised an acolyte at the altar of the Mouse, so to speak, and the movies are a solid part of our family culture and "literature". So I guess avoiding the Pink Poison is my way of keeping the number of buy-ins to a minimum? I don't know.

Bratz and similar are out. of. the. question. My girls emulate the Disney girls' dresses and make-up and hair...'nuff said.

[TuneMyHeart]

I googled those Only Hearts dolls; they're adorable! Where do you get them? Are the bigger/smaller than Barbies?

I was very anti generic plastic, and MIC/Disney toys until E turned about 3. She really got into princesses around then, and I didn't see enough reasons to not let her play with that stuff. She loves them, and they bring out her imagination in incredible ways. I generally don't buy that kind of thing, but I don't have a problem when someone gives her one.

She's totally in love with the Barbie RV. But I'm not buying a $100 Barbie accessory.

[Bonnie]

Target carries Only Hearts. They also have little sisters who appear to be 2-3 years old.

[Niphredil]

I don't really know yet, TBH. N is desperate for a Barbie because they have long hair like she does.

I do know that my sisters and I lived and breathed Barbie when we were younger. I can't speak for them- though judging by their lives & choices that their experience are similar to mine- but never once did body image gunk cross my mind. We were far, far too concerned with making beautiful homes and elaborate lifestories for them to give a rip about how big their boobs were.

[joyful mama]

Originally Posted by Niphredil

I don't really know yet, TBH. N is desperate for a Barbie because they have long hair like she does.

I do know that my sisters and I lived and breathed Barbie when we were younger. I can't speak for them- though judging by their lives & choices that their experience are similar to mine- but never once did body image gunk cross my mind. We were far, far too concerned with making beautiful homes and elaborate lifestories for them to give a rip about how big their boobs were.

yeah, we played with barbie a ton growing up, and we didn't really care about the body image at all... I don't think I even noticed it until I was an adult

[J3K]

My dd's are out of that age range now...and we allowed almost all dolls except Bratz. Mostly because I had a problem with the gloating that seemed to go with the label "brat". "being a brat isn't a good thing".

That "rule" was broken when dd's good friend gave her a Bratz doll (her friend has the same name as the doll).

My dd's are going to be 16 and 13 this summer. They have no body issues because of playing with those dolls ,they have no over-sexualized feelings/emotions because of those dolls , and playing with them brings fond memories.

I almost wonder why I was so adamantdly against certain dolls , when this far into the future , it doesn't seem to have mattered at all.

[ValiantJoy07]

Originally Posted by J3K

I almost wonder why I was so adamantdly against certain dolls , when this far into the future , it doesn't seem to have mattered at all.

It's not so much that I'm worried about body image...I just think there are better options out there when it comes to Barbie and Bratz. I would rather the playing options be more open to orgional or historical play than stuck in "I'm a barbie girl in a barbie world"... I played Barbies with friends growing up and I personally found it really boring dressing and undressing them to go to parties or on dates (that's how my friends played)...I had a doll house my Mom made (to look like the Magic Cabin Dolls) and I preferred playing after books I'd read- making boats out of paper and moving the family onto the raft- making my own extensions for the house out of shoe boxes...I couldn't dress or undress the dolls (they were hand made out of wire and cloth and wooden dowel ends) But I spent more time at that wooden doll house making up adventures and living out life in my imagination and having more fun for hours nad hours... When I couldn't stomach 1 hour of barbies with friends. I have that dollhouse for dd and I plan on dusting it off when she's 4 nad making her some new dolls (the orgionals are barely hanging together- I think I did surgery with tissues and paper towels to keep them together).

I really don't think we'll be having any kind of dolls like Barbie, bratz or even Only Hearts dolls just because I think they can limit play than very basic dolls that you can make your own costumes and rooms for with some extra imagination. ETA: I had a little box of scraps of fabric (lacy things for weddings, guazey options, lots of flannel to add "shawls" etc) next to my doll house so I could add thigns for play.
(I hope this didn't come across wrong...I have a toddler on my lap typing quickly)

This is quite elaborate- my Mom just made me a rectangular wooden house with 4 rooms and some small stuffed "mattresses" a couch and I made the rest of the furnature out of wooden blocks, random odds and ends I'd find around the house and paper...It was so much fun- The Borrowers was a favorite game of mine.