Posted on 03/11/2009 5:30:07 AM PDT by Matt Philbin
A little girls’ icon gets ink. Can ‘Pole Dance Barbie’ be far behind?
By Matt Philbin Culture and Media Institute March 10, 2009
We can be sure she’s not the first of her generation to mark her 50th birthday by getting tattoos. After all, the cultivation of youth-obsessed narcissism and bad taste is a Baby Boomer hallmark (see Clinton, Bill). But “Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie” is no less disturbing for being a product of her generation.
Mattel is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bubbly blonde franchise with an update – tattoos for her and her young owners. Of course, temporary tattoos have been a staple “secret toy surprise” in cereal boxes and candy for decades. But only in the ‘90s did real ink cease to be liberty souvenirs for sailors and become unisex accessories. Tattoos are now a ubiquitous sign of rebellious conformity for men, and often a statement of Tila Tequila aspirations for women.
As a reflection of contemporary pop culture, Barbie’s always been an emblem of what little girls wanted to grow into (or at least, what Mattel thought they wanted to grow into.) From debutant to surfer girl to go-go young exec, her ensembles and accoutrements were an ideal vision of how an impossibly beautiful 20-something with unlimited cash and free time would live.
So logically, today we have “Tramp Stamp Barbie,” accurately reflecting the aesthetics of our porn-sodden culture.
Read more at CMI. http://www.cultureandmediainstitute.org/articles/2009/20090310110616.aspx
(Excerpt) Read more at cultureandmediainstitute.org ...
Barbie turns 50 this year (like me!)...must be a mid-life crisis.
It’s funny, my 7 year was cleaning her room this past weekend and tried to throw away her Barbies. She really doesn’t like them.
Stop the world. I’d like to get off.
I wonder why they didn’t call her “Tramp Stamp Barbie”?!? /sarc
Can somebody fill me in. How do tattoos equal porn?
I’m having trouble making the connection, too.
Don’t you know if you have a tattoo it automatically makes you a whore?
That was sarcasm.
At one point he said to his older daughter "Look at Barbie. She starts out as the glamorous party girl, and winds up face down on the floor in the corner without any clothes on. Don't wind up like Barbie"
That’s good....I might need to use that someday......
It doesn’t. But that doesn’t fill the collection plates now does it....
Tattoos = Porn PING!
I don’t care for tattoos on women, but this is a bit of a stretch!
I mentioned it to my boss, dunno what happened. It wasn't really pornography....but wasn't exactly right, either. "What the hell is wrong with him?", was my boss's comment, and I thought it was apt.
It was a palindrome.
“Can somebody fill me in. How do tattoos equal porn?”
No idea. Maybe we should ask the author who made this bizarre connection.
Hey Matt???
Are you planning to respond to comments on your thread - as author of this blog post and thread poster?
Maybe when they come out with Strap-On Barbie I'll take the porn thing seriously.
“After all, the cultivation of youth-obsessed narcissism and bad taste is a Baby Boomer hallmark (see Clinton, Bill). But “Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie” is no less disturbing for being a product of her generation.”
How did this idiot work boomers into this? In 1959 the oldest boomer was 13 years old, he wasn’t inventing Barbie.
Today the youngest boomer is 45, the boomers probably aren’t buying many Barbies for their grown kids and boomers are not the “tattoo generation”.
My guess is that this involves the generations that voted for Obama not the conservative boomer generation.
Trailer Trash Barbie
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