We believe in free markets and free people." We stands for free trade and sound money; against confiscatory taxation and the oppression of collectivists; and for individual autonomy against dictators, bullies and even the tempers of momentary majorities.
So where does this mother stand on Tattoo Barbie? Personally, I see nothing wrong with her. For years, I told my mother that if I ever had a daughter I would never let her have Barbies. As a kid, I was never interested in Barbie (with the exception of one Barbie that came with a horse). I was more interested in animals, cars, and blocks. My stance on Barbie was more about her unachievable body, and long blond hair, that I was worried would make my daughter have a poor image of herself.
All of this broke when my daughter wanted one thing for her 4th birthday. Of course, that one thing was a Disney Princess Barbie. She talked about it for weeks, how beautiful it was and how much she wanted to play princesses with her Princess Barbie. And so help me, I broke, I gave in. When her grandmother asked if she could please buy her the Princess Barbie that her granddaughter kept asking her about, I said yes, and I even let her buy her two so that they would be "friends". I realized that my daughter wasn't thinking about Barbie as something she was trying to become, she just thinks she is fun to play with.
My daughter, as you can imagine, having a mother who works with toys, has more toys than any kid should ever have. She often plays with them for a bit, and then we give them away, recycle them, or donate them. But Barbies, princess or otherwise, are the one toy she always comes back to. There is a huge amount of imagination that goes into my daughter playing with her Barbies. She creates intricate stories for them to play out, and whole worlds for them to explore. Her little brain is working and expanding when she plays with Barbie, and never once has she expressed any kind of envy or want to be Barbie. Of course she wants to play dress up and be beautiful but she never expresses she isn't beautiful enough to compare to her doll. (In fact we hear about what a beautiful princess she is all the time to which we reply "Yes, AND you are so smart too!")
And so why would I defend Tattoo Barbie? Isn't she encouraging young girls to be hoochies? To be loose women? To be skanks at the age of four? I don't think so, and here is why. My daughter loves temporary tattoos just like she loves going to a fair or a picnic and having her face painted. If she didn't have these things, she would probably (and she has) draw pretty things on her skin, or put stickers on her face. It is a natural human thing for us to want to decorate ourselves. Clothing is an expression of this, piercings are an expression of this, and yes, so are tattoos. Do I want my daughter asking for a real tattoo? Not really, but if she wants to get one after she is 18 and moves out of my house, there isn't much I can do about it except encourage her to really think about the permanency of what she is doing. The thing is, my daughter knows that these tattoos on the Barbie are NOT real, they are temporary and just for play. Barbie dosen't come with ink already installed, you have to give her a temporary tattoo with water. Even my four year old knows that there is a difference between a real and a temporary tattoo. She is playing with stickers on her doll, not using a needle and inking her up. And as someone said in reply to this topic on twitter, "Barbie is not a role model. She's a doll." Even my four year old knows that.
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