Are Bratz dolls too sexualized? (1st Draft)

                When I was a young girl, my sister and I had a tub of Barbie’s. When I was about ten years old, I started seeing Bratz doll commercials on T.V. I wanted one so bad. Eventually my sister got one as a gift, became bored with it, and handed it down to me. And my infatuation with Bratz dolls began.

                Recently I’ve seen a lot of negative comments about Barbie dolls and Bratz dolls on the internet. But most of them unsurprisingly have been about Bratz dolls. This urged me to do some research on the topic and rethink my favorite childhood toy and its effect on me.

                An article on the Christian based website Pure Hope claimed that “Many toys made for children today deliver subtle, and sometimes not too subtle, sexualized messages.” This is somewhat true. The sexualization of dolls distorts girls’ perception of the human body, but there is another side to this. The more I’ve looked into this topic, the more horrified I’ve become.

                A blogger named Liz Nord on the website Secrets of Moms claimed that she would not allow a Bratz doll in her house.  She wrote, “The Bratz dolls are wearing ten pounds of make-up and such skimpy clothing that they look like prostitutes. I am confused why these dolls are selling and why parents are allowing their girls to play with them”. But I can tell you why they are selling. They are original. They stand out from a crowd. Many of the things I’ve read online have painted MGA Entertainment (the company that manufactures Bratz dolls) to be monsters intent on sexualizing our children. But I think they are innovators. Bratz dolls preach individuality. Even more so does MGA Entertainments newer line of dolls, Moxie Girls who are marketed towards preteens and have clothes kids can draw on.

                Also, who ever said that Bratz dolls were being marketed towards little kids? I didn’t start playing with them until I was ten. After I started playing with Bratz dolls, I never touched a Barbie doll again. Barbie dolls to me teach conformity and made me feel inferior. Barbie could do everything and still look beautiful with an amazing figure. She made me feel awful. When I saw Bratz dolls, I just envied their style. I never looked at a Bratz doll and thought, “Oh how I would love to have a mutant sized head and removable feet…” It just didn’t happen.

                But I do wonder if Bratz dolls have had a negative effect on me. I’m months away from being eighteen now. I’m a young woman and I can’t go to school without even a little bit of makeup on. I insist on wearing heels every day and prefer to wear a skirt to a pair of jeans. When I look around my school though, this is a common trend. Are we all of victims of the Bratz generation? Would I still dress like this if I hadn’t played with Bratz dolls? Part of me believes it's just a part of being a young woman. Many young woman start to experiment with their style as they grow into adulthood.

Not so Pretty in Pink

Sometimes I wished I lived in a Brat-Pack movie, for example. Pretty In Pink, which is my personal favorite. Molly Ringwalds’ character, Andie Walsh is a loner at her high school with an alcoholic father and a mother who is not in the picture (and she has a really awesome, flamboyant best friend who she calls Duckie - he's played by Jon Cryer). Despite all of her troubles at home, she manages to catch the eye of the most popular guy in school, Blane (played by Andrew McCarthy). Together, they overcome the rude popular kids in school and their class differences and reunite at the prom. The movie ends with the two of them kissing in the parking lot. Unfortunately, no matter how much I look like Molly Ringwald, my life if not a brat-pack movie.

Andie Walsh had her own style and even though she was a little shy, she was cute and charismatic. Some people consider me to be charismatic – I’m good with people. But no guy would ever respect my style. My peers just find me strange. I’m definitely not shy or cute like her character is.

No popular guys at my school would even think of going out with the Molly Ringwald character, They would rather go with the pretty blonde cheerleaders, the volleyball players or swimmers. I realize that there is this huge gap in girlfriend appeal between those ladies and myself.

It's not like I have my eyes on any guys at school. I just can't help but long to be her, every time I watch that movie. Or any of the movies for that matter: The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles. There's just always some boy with her eyes on Molly Ringwald. There was always somebody wanting her, wanting to love her for her.

The truth is, even if a popular guy did fall for me, I probably wouldn't date him. If I would've been in Pretty In Pink, I would've fallen for Duckie. Duckie was goofy, hilarious and had a lot more personality than Blane. In all honesty, Blane was a bit of a jerk. I don't know why Andie forgave him and ended up with him, but that's a little beside the point.

I mean, I do have a boyfriend. I just always feel like there is something missing. There's always this empty feeling I get whenever I'm around him, but maybe I should stop setting my standards as high as Brat Pack romances.