Researchers find Barbie is often mutilated (AP) Updated: 2005-12-21 08:38
LONDON - Barbie, beware. The iconic plastic doll is often mutilated at the
hands of young girls, according to research published Monday by British
academics.
A line of Barbie dolls sit on a shelf, in this
July 19, 2004 file photo, in a toy store in New York. Researchers from
University of Bath's marketing and psychology departments in Britain
questioned 100 primary school children about their attitudes to a range of
products as part of a study on branding. They found the Barbie provoked
the strongest reaction, with youngsters reporting 'rejection, hatred and
violence,' Agnes Nairn, one of the researchers said. 'The most readily
expressed reason for rejecting Barbie was that she was babyish, and girls
saw her as representing their younger childhood out of which they felt
they had now grown,' Nairn said. [AP] | "The
girls we spoke to see Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity, and see the
torture as a 'cool' activity," said Agnes Nairn, one of the University of Bath
researchers. "The types of mutilation are varied and creative, and range from
removing the hair to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving."
Researchers from the university's marketing and psychology departments
questioned 100 children about their attitudes to a range of products as part of
a study on branding. They found Barbie provoked the strongest reaction, with
youngsters reporting "rejection, hatred and violence," Nairn said.
"The meaning of 'Barbie' went beyond an expressed antipathy; actual physical
violence and torture towards the doll was repeatedly reported, quite gleefully,
across age, school and gender," she said.
While boys often expressed nostalgia and affection toward Action Man �� the
British equivalent of GI Joe �� renouncing Barbie appeared to be a rite of
passage for many girls, Nairn said.
"The most readily expressed reason for rejecting Barbie was that she was
babyish, and girls saw her as representing their younger childhood out of which
they felt they had now grown," she said.
Nairn said many girls saw Barbie as an inanimate object rather than a
treasured toy.
"Whilst for an adult the delight the child felt in breaking, mutilating and
torturing their dolls is deeply disturbing, from the child's point of view they
were simply being imaginative in disposing of an excessive commodity in the same
way as one might crush cans for recycling," she said.
Manufacturer Mattel, which sells 94 million Barbies a year worldwide, said
the doll remained the "No. 1 fashion doll brand."
Mattel U.K. said that despite the findings of "this very small group of
children, we know that there are millions of girls in the U.K. and across the
world that love and enjoy playing with Barbie and will continue to do so in the
future."
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