Heavens, Maybe John Howard should dress as a “Bratz” doll. (Do “Bratz” dolls have a bent towards non-truth anyone)? Well, he should certainly fit the description for “Bratz” depth of character. Seems both were conceived in a tadpole pond.
Somehow I don’t think John would be happy with the incongruous position of the creator of the “Bratz”, an Iranian Jew. Or would Johnny whisper in Georges ear , “Blow them all away”.

diver dan - "Maybe John Howard should dress as a “Bratz” doll" - I really wish I hadn't read your post. There is no way I will sleep tonight with this image in my head! :-)

I have three sisters who grew up with some Barbie dolls, and they have grown into beautiful responsible adults, and they have more between their ears than some of their fellow friends who grew up with teddy bears.

Don't deprive your children of some toys, if only for just the sake of letting them have some fun. They don't see a Barbie doll as a role model, however what you will find when they are young is they will imitate, and imagine what it would be like to live in a pink house and have a pink caravan, the same goes for the Bratz dolls, let them have their fun free from any prejudices.

Our children have some Bratz dolls, and I see the scenario played out again as I did with my sister, my wife and I know that letting them have their "toys of the day" (within reason of course) will not do any detrimental harm to them. Settle back and let's put things into perspective, the children will grow up and out of their "Barbie days" or "Bratz days", and trying to be too Politically Correct can really spoil the fun for children these days.

I loved this article, Shakira.

As a parent, I am not keen on Barbie or Bratz but allowed my daughter to move from one to the other in accordance with her whim. She 'outgrew' Barbie before even starting primary school and by Year 2 wasn't interested in either. I think by taking a feminist stance on it, I probably would have made both seem much more appealing. While I do take your point about Bratz at least providing access into mainstream 'girl culture' for those who don't fit the blonde haired, blue eyed stereotype (as a dark haired Anglo-Aussie, I could also never relate to Barbie as a kid).

However I really do want to add a vote for the Japanese Barbie equivalent, Ricko-chan, who is small and flat chested and resembles a young girl rather than a pneumatic 50's housewife or skanky ho like Barbie and Bratz. She also has a great wardrobe and (flat) shoes that actually stay on her feet!

Again a very insightful, well presented argument from you Shakira and a pleasure to read. I feel so sorry (not!) for those intellectually stultified 'post-ers' that failed to perceive the reality of their own stupidity!

What a shallow indictment they are of society and a sad role model for the future!

On a recently televised 'Oprah' segment, a research project showed girls with 2 dolls to choose from - one white, the other black. Almost unanimously the girls chose the white doll as the 'nice' doll, regardless of their own ethnicity.

Secondly the girls were asked which doll was the 'good' one. Again, overwhelmingly the white doll was chosen regardless of the girls ethnicity.

Overwhelmingly, regardless of ethnicity, almost each and every girl identified the non-white doll as 'bad'. Sadly these girls were asked to define themselves as 'good' or 'bad' solely on the basis of their skin colour.

Sadly the 'Barbie's' and 'Bratz' dolls also provide a similar choice - 'good' because they have great figures and dress very fashionably or 'bad' because they don't have the right 'brand name'. Shallow and callow.

What a role model to be guided by, given that parents are forced to spend increasigly less time with our kids!