Do You Believe In Girls?

Just today I was having a conversation with some online friends about, of all things, Barbie®. Not surprisingly, there were two distinct views – those who hate the doll and those who love the doll. I was born in the late 50s. I loved Barbie®. I’m not going to tell you what my sons did to my Barbie® dolls when they found them at my mom’s; I will say that my own daughter was unable to play with them by the time she came along. And she loves Barbie®.

I know Barbie® has taken some flack over the years for setting up girls for failure. No human can achieve the physical measurements equivalent to those of the Barbie® doll. I also know that various factions of the media have taken the fantasy of Barbie® – which is really just a toy – and attempted to personify it in the form of airbrushed models and celebrities. Barbie® is a plastic toy; the beautiful people who grace magazines, movies and music videos are living people who are nipped and tucked and photoshopped into perfection. Sorry, kids. Barbie® is not responsible for our daughter’s poor self image. We adults are.

Regardless, Mattel has launched a site that is aimed at girls and their parents. We Believe in Girls focuses on empowering girls and educating parents on how to encourage our daughters to believe in themselves. When I clicked to the site I saw Flash intro (which I hate. Please, no Flash!) and clicked on the “2″ tab out of curiosity. That’s when I saw the quote that hooked me.

Your daughter won’t break if you treat her more like your son. ~Armin Brott~

I’ve explored the site just a little but do plan to visit there regularly to read the blog authored by the Chuck Scothon, father to a 5 year old daughter and General Manager of Mattel Girls. I also enjoyed looking through the forum. It isn’t too busy yet but the discussions so far are interesting and intelligent. If more parents, both mothers and fathers, join in, this could be a valuable resource with lively, thought-provoking discussion.

I have only one daughter and one granddaughter. They’re both beautiful and special. My daughter still has her Barbie® dolls. I don’t know if my granddaughter will be interested in them or not; right now Kendyll seems to gravitate toward the trucks in most store toy departments. In doesn’t matter, though, this site is still getting bookmarked. I’ll be watching it closely to see if it becomes as popular as I suspect it will.

If you have a daughter, a niece, a granddaughter or if there is any young girl in your life that you really car about, please consider joining in the discussion at the forum and maybe even leaving a message for Chuck at his blog. Better yet, why not help spread the word? If you have a blog, let your readers know about this site. If you don’t have a blog, do pass the site along to those you know. This could be one of those positive forces on the internet; let’s give it at least as much publicity as the darker side gets!

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