Outrage

I don't often use this blog to discuss potentially "hot-button" subjects. We all have our opinions, after all, and I like to keep this blog to, well, my writing.

But I can't stay silent on this subject.

If you have kids, especially little girls, I'm sure you've heard of the Bratz dolls. I've never liked them for a few reasons, but the main one is that they look like little prostitutes. I'm not being harsh, really I'm not. But dolls wearing belly-showing shirts, short-shorts, mini-skirts, high-heeled platform shoes, and tons of make-up, is just a bit much for a girl aged 4-10 or so to be playing with. My daughter was given a Bratz doll for Christmas at one point - I vowed never to buy her one. But since she's not into dolls (she is a huge Scooby Doo fan) I didn't worry too much about it.

I'm thanking God right now that she could care less about dolls, especially the Bratz ones, after reading this article. If the American Psychological Association is issuing warnings about these dolls, we better sit up and take notice. Our current society teaches our children - especially young girls - that their bodies are the most important thing about them. I'm not being a prude - but come on. Some of the girls clothes in stores today I would never let my daughter wear. In fact, that's another blessing I have to count - she doesn't like skirts. She's a jeans and t-shirt gal. At this particular time in our culture, I think I'm glad she doesn't want to get all dolled up with the make-up and hairspray, etc.

Being a woman is a wonderful thing. But where has our femininity gone? Even I have fallen victim to the mentality that I have to show a bit of skin to get some respect. That is so darn backwards, isn't it? What about modesty? Now if you wear a long skirt, you're looked at as being a prude. Less is more in the world of fashion. But we're adults. We can make our own decisions on what we want to wear. That's our prerogative.

But here is the kicker. Our children are now the targets. The Bratz dolls are not your average Barbie dolls - Barbie was tame compared to the Bratz! The name alone is insulting. Yet someone is marketing these dolls to children. Hollywood is going to make a movie about them. And their "fashion" is creeping into the girls' clothing departments in every major store. Short mini-skirts. Flimsy, too-tight tops. Shirts that say, "I'm spoiled" and other sayings that really only degrade instead of flatter.

Let's not even get into what this is doing to the little boys of our society. That's a whole 'nother rant. I have a teenager, and let me tell you - the costume I saw his girlfriend wearing to the Halloween party made me eyes pop - and not in a good way. Yet he said it was "hot."

There's something wrong in our culture if our little girls, who should be enjoying their childhood, are worried about how they look. As the mother of a little girl, I refuse to succumb to society's pressure. I have every intention of raising my daughter to be a woman with high self-esteem based on who she is, not what she looks like.