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Today's dolls too provocative, says survey of Moms
Reuters ^ | September 25, 2006 | Nicole Maestri

Posted on 09/26/2006 2:45:54 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger

With fashion dolls decked out in knee-high boots, mini-skirts and midriff baring shirts a common sight these days, a new survey finds a majority of mothers believe many toy dolls available for young girls today are too provocative.

The survey, released on Monday, said these mothers would like to see more wholesome, age-appropriate characters and role models for their daughters.

The survey was commissioned by AG Properties, which owns the more conservative Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears and Holly Hobbie properties.

It had an interest in finding out the survey's results because Mattel Inc. is making a Holly Hobbie & Friends toy line this year based on their blue-bonnet Holly Hobbie character, which was originally developed in 1967.

The survey was conducted by research firm Synovate, which polled 1,010 mothers with daughters four to nine years old.

It found that 90 percent of moms surveyed believe there are not enough wholesome role models, celebrities, characters and brands for young girls to emulate.

It also found that 80 percent of moms think there are too many dolls available for young girls that are inappropriate because they are too provocative and/or over-sexualized.

The results come as Bratz, the edgy, pouty-lipped dolls made by privately held MGA Entertainment have become wildly popular since bursting on to the scene in 2001, stealing market share from Mattel's iconic Barbie doll.

Bratz have been the subject of criticism for their styles, but MGA defends the dolls, saying they represent fantasy for little girls and not reality.

"The kids and the mothers look at them for what they are -- beautiful dolls," said MGA CEO Isaac Larian. "When we talk to kids, they don't think they're provocative. They think they're beautiful."

Bratz are not the only flashy dolls on the market. While Mattel will be making the Holly Hobbie dolls, it also makes My Scene "Bling Bling Barbie Doll" -- a doll that wears a low-cut, navel-revealing silver tank top and micro-mini skirt.

"Not everyone is going to love everything we do, but I can feel proud that I have a 5-year-old girl and I don't believe that anything we're doing is something that supersedes what I'm teaching her," said Chuck Scothon, general manager and senior vice president of girls at Mattel Brands, of the toy maker's line of dolls.

Of the mothers surveyed, 85 percent said they are "tired of the 'sexpot' dolls/characters" currently available and nine out of 10 moms wish there was a wider selection of dolls that were positive role models for young girls.

But if more wholesome dolls are available, it does not necessarily mean mothers will purchase them.

When buying a doll for their daughter, 75 percent of moms surveyed said their daughter's request for the doll was one of the most important factors influence their purchasing decision, said Jim Forrest, vice president of consumer and business insights at Synovate.

The survey was conducted between August 15 and August 20. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: bratz; hookerdolls; hoz; mchookers; moralabsolutes; skankz
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Bratz dolls


The "Bling Bling Barbie Doll." Looks like Paris Hilton. *Gags*
1 posted on 09/26/2006 2:45:55 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger
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To: DaveLoneRanger
We had another thread on this that I found while searching to see if this had already been posted.

Have the heirs of Barbie hit limit for risqué dolls? (Bratz ' Pussycat Dolls line cancelled)
2 posted on 09/26/2006 2:47:24 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger (Lord, help me to be the Christian conservative that liberals fear I am.)
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To: DaveLoneRanger
Bratz ....."The kids and the mothers look at them for what they are -- beautiful dolls,"

No they aren't. They are little hoochie dolls, and they are not allowed in my house.

I have three little girls, and they dress and behave like little girls, not like tiny whores.

3 posted on 09/26/2006 2:49:05 PM PDT by teenyelliott (Soylent green should be made outta liberals...)
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To: teenyelliott

Good for you.
susie


4 posted on 09/26/2006 2:51:23 PM PDT by brytlea (amnesty--an act of clemency by an authority by which pardon is granted esp. to a group of individual)
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To: teenyelliott
My college age daughters have said that they would NEVER buy Bratz for any daughters they might have.
5 posted on 09/26/2006 2:53:44 PM PDT by stayathomemom
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To: DaveLoneRanger

American Girl dolls are also very popular. They are realistic and respectable.
I don't have daughters, but if I did, the AG dolls would have a place in our home, but never the Bratz. They're just stupid looking.

Although AG dolls are more expensive than Bratz, they seem to be better quality.


6 posted on 09/26/2006 2:55:38 PM PDT by Ludicrous
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To: DaveLoneRanger

7 posted on 09/26/2006 2:59:06 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger (Lord, help me to be the Christian conservative that liberals fear I am.)
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To: teenyelliott

Good for you!

I'm still trying to figure out. If 90% don't like the dolls, why are they still marketable? Obviously somebody's buying them.


8 posted on 09/26/2006 3:01:14 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger (Lord, help me to be the Christian conservative that liberals fear I am.)
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To: stayathomemom
Those dolls actually look like porn stars. And if Barbie changes their dolls to look like that, then I won't buy those, either.
9 posted on 09/26/2006 3:02:30 PM PDT by teenyelliott (Soylent green should be made outta liberals...)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

There's a lot of white trash out there, and they don't take polls.


10 posted on 09/26/2006 3:08:33 PM PDT by teenyelliott (Soylent green should be made outta liberals...)
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To: DaveLoneRanger
You forgot those adorable little Baby Bratz.

*gack*

11 posted on 09/26/2006 3:09:44 PM PDT by LongElegantLegs (You can do that, and be a whack-job pedophile on meth.)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

Beautiful dolls, great books.

http://www.alifeoffaith.com/


12 posted on 09/26/2006 3:11:24 PM PDT by agrarianlady
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To: teenyelliott
There's a lot of white trash out there, and they don't take polls.

Oh, wait, I guess they DO take exit polls. : )

13 posted on 09/26/2006 3:12:40 PM PDT by teenyelliott (Soylent green should be made outta liberals...)
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To: Ludicrous
Although AG dolls are more expensive than Bratz, they seem to be better quality.

You are comparing a $10 doll with a $87 doll. They are not the same type of toy.

14 posted on 09/26/2006 3:13:31 PM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

I would Dhue her.


15 posted on 09/26/2006 3:13:56 PM PDT by Doc-Joe
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To: DaveLoneRanger

16 posted on 09/26/2006 3:16:02 PM PDT by cmsgop ( President Mahmud Ahmadinejad Must Purify Himself in The Waters of Lake Minnetonka)
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To: Doc-Joe

*Frowns*


17 posted on 09/26/2006 3:16:16 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger (Lord, help me to be the Christian conservative that liberals fear I am.)
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To: LongElegantLegs

I've never seen male Bratz, so I'm not sure how that works.


18 posted on 09/26/2006 3:16:48 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger (Lord, help me to be the Christian conservative that liberals fear I am.)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

That wasn't punny?


19 posted on 09/26/2006 3:18:01 PM PDT by Doc-Joe
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To: DaveLoneRanger

They should call them Slutz - that would be truth in advertising!


20 posted on 09/26/2006 3:19:42 PM PDT by mrs. a (It's a short life but a merry one...)
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To: DaveLoneRanger
Slick has his own doll. But he put the diaper in the wrong place.


21 posted on 09/26/2006 3:20:02 PM PDT by Cobra64 (Why is the War on Terror being managed by the DEFENSE Department?)
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Comment #22 Removed by Moderator

To: DaveLoneRanger

Just because Mom doesn't like them, doesn't mean she's not buying them. Most people buy their kids whatever they want, and then complain about it to survey-takers.


23 posted on 09/26/2006 3:26:12 PM PDT by LongElegantLegs (You can do that, and be a whack-job pedophile on meth.)
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To: teenyelliott

Good for you!!!!! I hope by the time your girls get of HS age the clothing styles for the girls will be more modest.

My 23 yo son worked as a sub in the HS and he was wondering if parents bothered to look at their daughters before school in the morning. He said "most of the girls dressed like whores" his words not mine.


24 posted on 09/26/2006 3:27:02 PM PDT by Kimmers
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To: Cobra64

Wow, that pic of Clintoon and Arafat...it deserves it's own 'Caption This Pic' thread...!

"Please Bill, let me smoke your cigar."


25 posted on 09/26/2006 3:27:06 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man
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To: DaveLoneRanger
knee-high boots, mini-skirts and midriff baring shirts

this pretty much describes the clothing made for girls this
age. i started making almost all of our daughters clothes when
she was just 3 yrs old and i could not find a plain pair (aka not
hoochie momma) jeans for her. i ended up buying her jeans in
the boys department! little girls should look and act like little
girls, not like streetwalkers. the same goes for their toys.
26 posted on 09/26/2006 3:27:59 PM PDT by leda (Life is always what you make it!)
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To: teenyelliott
No they aren't. They are little hoochie dolls, and they are not allowed in my house.

LOL

Bratz = Crack whores in a box

27 posted on 09/26/2006 3:29:08 PM PDT by Charlespg (Civilization and freedom are only worthy of those who defend or support defending It)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

Ha-ha, I bet you were hoping they didn't exist. ;-P
Just in case G.I. Joe decides to get in touch with his feminine side...

28 posted on 09/26/2006 3:30:53 PM PDT by LongElegantLegs (You can do that, and be a whack-job pedophile on meth.)
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To: teenyelliott
They are little hoochie dolls, and they are not allowed in my house.

They look weird. I really can't see why a little girl would want one.

29 posted on 09/26/2006 3:31:32 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (De inimico non loquaris sed cogites)
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To: LongElegantLegs

I'm *LOL* at the way you said that.


30 posted on 09/26/2006 3:32:58 PM PDT by getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL ( **Hunter-Tancredo-Weldon-Hayworth 4 President** I get it, Glenn.)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

And GI Joe is too muscular and gun-prone for boys??


31 posted on 09/26/2006 3:33:12 PM PDT by DTogo (I haven't left the GOP, the GOP left me.)
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To: Cobra64

I'm going to pee in my chair if this thread makes me laugh any harder!


32 posted on 09/26/2006 3:35:08 PM PDT by getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL ( **Hunter-Tancredo-Weldon-Hayworth 4 President** I get it, Glenn.)
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To: teenyelliott
When my then 5 yr old wanted bratz dolls her 18 and 23 yr old brothers said no way they look like sluts. At 6 she tried again for the dolls. This time she was smarter and said but they look like the way your girlfriends dress. She has a few from birthday parties but never seems interested in them so they're boxed away. I don't like them but its hard when they get them as presents. I just try and encourage her to play with dolls like American dolls.
33 posted on 09/26/2006 3:35:55 PM PDT by pandoraou812 ( barbaric with zero tolerance and dilligaf?)
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To: getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL

Ever wonder why the Bratz doll has no nose?
It's because Barbie slapped it right off her face.


34 posted on 09/26/2006 3:40:16 PM PDT by LongElegantLegs (You can do that, and be a whack-job pedophile on meth.)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

You mean the Slutz dolls? When my older daughter turned four, she wanted Barbies, and she only got them because other children gave her birthday presents.

No one gave my younger daughter any Slutz dolls when she turned four - I think the other mothers, who grew up with Barbies, think the Slutz have gone way too far.

Mrs VS


35 posted on 09/26/2006 3:40:57 PM PDT by VeritatisSplendor
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To: DaveLoneRanger

The ironic thing is the exact same things were said when Barbie first came out as the first mass market doll with actual breasts and a woman's figure, and now Barbie is a respite for people complaining about the new dolls.


36 posted on 09/26/2006 3:41:03 PM PDT by Moral Hazard ("That's why I vetoed the 'Johny can't read so let's get Johny laid' bill" - Mr. President)
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To: LongElegantLegs

Any Bratz dolls that are given to my girls as gifts go right in the trash if they can't be returned.

I have always despised the name Bratz. Lovely.


37 posted on 09/26/2006 3:42:41 PM PDT by getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL ( **Hunter-Tancredo-Weldon-Hayworth 4 President** I get it, Glenn.)
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To: Moral Hazard
Ha! Not me. Cali Barbie has a Tiki BAR.


38 posted on 09/26/2006 3:44:19 PM PDT by getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL ( **Hunter-Tancredo-Weldon-Hayworth 4 President** I get it, Glenn.)
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To: teenyelliott

you're obviously confused...it's Barbie that's the porn star...actually a replica german sex toy, complete with silicon looking implants...on never mind she's all plastic. The bratz dolls are mere cartoons of teens, and their breasts are normal size....now their heads are completely out of proportion. Do porn stars have large heads?


39 posted on 09/26/2006 3:45:00 PM PDT by Katya (Homo Nosce Te Ipsum)
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To: DaveLoneRanger
You have to go back a few years, 15 -20 years maybe, to find even sweet-faced baby dolls for girls to play with. Even the disposition, the look in the eyes of the baby dolls at the department stores now, even these have a look about them that does not say innocent and sweet. I should gather some of my daughter's baby dolls together, take a picture of their faces and post it. These dolls are all older dolls. They are so sweet, sweet like girls and women used to be sweet before they turned into the mutation we have now thanks to the feminazis.

Even though parents have their money burning a hole in their pocket wishing they could find some dear and lovely doll for their daughter, they are really better off finding something made years ago from a yard sale, antique store, second hand store - and cleaning it up and maybe going to a large craft show to look for handmade doll clothes that will fit the doll.
40 posted on 09/26/2006 3:46:26 PM PDT by Esther Ruth (Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper!)
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To: Moral Hazard

Exactly what I thought. Kind of like, Elvis and the Beatles used to be abhorrent rock music. Now they're classic havens from the (c)rap and heavy metal.


41 posted on 09/26/2006 3:46:55 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger (Lord, help me to be the Christian conservative that liberals fear I am.)
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To: Moral Hazard

No Barbies or Bratz in my house. Although they do get the Disnet Princesses which are basically Barbies, but without the emphasis on clothes and accessories which tend to open a big old can a worms. Bratz....well that says it all.


42 posted on 09/26/2006 3:47:37 PM PDT by mockingbyrd (Good heavens! What women these Christians have-----Libanus)
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To: Katya

You've GOT to be kidding me...back when we were kids, Midge (the doll we had who was "friends with Barbie") had breasts that would be considered enhanced for sure in today's society! My doll, Skipper, was the flat chested little sister and you KNEW who the grown up dolls were and who weren't!


43 posted on 09/26/2006 3:47:46 PM PDT by princess leah
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To: DaveLoneRanger
Bratz are the devil. You can smell the sulfur on them.


I'm only half kidding about that.

Those damn things should be incinerated.
44 posted on 09/26/2006 3:50:06 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
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To: DaveLoneRanger

Laurie Dhue is not a skank like Paris Hilton is.


45 posted on 09/26/2006 3:50:48 PM PDT by NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
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To: Esther Ruth

46 posted on 09/26/2006 3:51:22 PM PDT by getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL ( **Hunter-Tancredo-Weldon-Hayworth 4 President** I get it, Glenn.)
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To: pandoraou812

five year olds should be playing with baby dolls...luckily my daughter didn't watch tv...so she didn't know there were any options. American girl dolls are lovely, but look too similar for my taste...my daughter disagreed. Now, girls between nine and eleven are a different story, they clearly seek out drama. At that point I think any kind of character doll that has many outfits would keep them busy, whether it's porno barbie, or the cartoonier bratz...


47 posted on 09/26/2006 3:51:30 PM PDT by Katya (Homo Nosce Te Ipsum)
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To: DaveLoneRanger
anyone remember this doll
48 posted on 09/26/2006 3:53:27 PM PDT by Ellesu
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To: wagglebee

MA List? Baby dolls don't fit in a world of future feminists.


49 posted on 09/26/2006 3:56:35 PM PDT by little jeremiah
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To: DaveLoneRanger
Here's my doll.


50 posted on 09/26/2006 3:57:14 PM PDT by Cobra64 (Why is the War on Terror being managed by the DEFENSE Department?)
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