The Bratz craze..bleh

[Tiff]

I think its more of the fact that its a mainstream toy that does hold some influence even if its a small bit over young girls. I know there are probably plenty of little girls who will be smart enough to know that the dolls do not represent characteristics that they should follow but there are some girls out there and im sure everyone knows some that take stuff like this to heart. They are the little girls who even before junior high talk about being fat, the ones who think to be popular little boys have to like them and that wearing makeup and hip huggers at 12 is cool.

And if a responsible parent brought them for their child more power to them but ive seen plenty of cases where even friends of mine got these dolls because they wanted to be the "cool mom" I hate that trend and its a growing one. The lets be buds with my kid because im too young to be a mom but I have kids. To me thats a big reason not only the dolls but the other merchandise sells big.

I in no way lump all who get these objects into that catogory heck some people probably get them to collect to never bothering to even open the darn things. I just really think some people can be wrongly influenced by the messages these dolls send, fashion and style is fine but they cram it down kids face to me. If Bratz were marketed to teens which I doubt I wouldnt have an issue. But they are marketed to really young girls who in my opinion should still be into kiddie stuff.

The whole idea of a doll telling a six or seven year old girl its cool to have boyfriends doent seem right to me. And everytime I see the talking bratz commercial I get that image. The heavy use of makeup and clothes that modest adults dont wear also get to me. Sure barbie wore grown up clothing for pretending to be grown up but she wore tasteful clothes. Even their little baby dolls were daisy duke shorts and it makes me wonder who they really want to target with this product?

Maybe im jumping the gun on this but I think the market wants to help push the trend of kids behaving older then they should. But maybe im just an old fuddy dud dunno they bug me. And as a woman I just feel girls have enough on their plate self esteem wise without dolls reinforcing that looking good and being trampy is the only way to get ahead in life. Or being spoiled rotten and rich, for us poor heavy girls whats there to look up to then? Their aint no market for that I guess.

I agree wholeheartedly.

You can promote "dressing up" and "looking nice" in other ways than with a doll that's wearing hoochie shorts, a halter (or in some cases, LINGERIE), has enough collagen in her lips to send her afloat, and is wearing plenty of "bling". Why not teach those values to your child YOURSELF? Why rely on some disgusting figure of what society expects do it for you?

And if you MUST rely on some toy or merchandise to do it for you, then for god's sake, use a Barbie. At least Barbie has careers and evening gowns that cover her fucking middriff, a family, etc. I played with Barbies all throughout my childhood, so it's not that I'm saying fashion dolls are evil. Far from it. I'm saying that this particular brand of doll is disgusting, and promotes a negative self-image.

I'd rather my daughter know that she can be more than a street walker...and that babies do not truly wear lingerie and bling.

[Queen Of Hearts]

I agree that the idea of bratz is stupid and slutty but, I really don't see that if you actually...you know, TEACH you child that being slutty and whorish isn't okay I really don't see whats wrong with these dolls. Sure ,you don't have to be fashionable ALL THE TIME but whats wrong with dressing up alittle...? Looking good..? I see how the dolls are slutty, but I don't see why we should be OMG THESE DOLLS ARE DESTROYING OUR YOUUUUTH kind of thing. Hell, I played with bratz when I was young and so does my little sister, but we have CONTROL over what she gets and does, and like HELL are we going to let her dress like that.

I think its more of the fact that its a mainstream toy that does hold some influence even if its a small bit over young girls. I know there are probably plenty of little girls who will be smart enough to know that the dolls do not represent characteristics that they should follow but there are some girls out there and im sure everyone knows some that take stuff like this to heart. They are the little girls who even before junior high talk about being fat, the ones who think to be popular little boys have to like them and that wearing makeup and hip huggers at 12 is cool.

And if a responsible parent brought them for their child more power to them but ive seen plenty of cases where even friends of mine got these dolls because they wanted to be the "cool mom" I hate that trend and its a growing one. The lets be buds with my kid because im too young to be a mom but I have kids. To me thats a big reason not only the dolls but the other merchandise sells big.

I in no way lump all who get these objects into that catogory heck some people probably get them to collect to never bothering to even open the darn things. I just really think some people can be wrongly influenced by the messages these dolls send, fashion and style is fine but they cram it down kids face to me. If Bratz were marketed to teens which I doubt I wouldnt have an issue. But they are marketed to really young girls who in my opinion should still be into kiddie stuff.

The whole idea of a doll telling a six or seven year old girl its cool to have boyfriends doent seem right to me. And everytime I see the talking bratz commercial I get that image. The heavy use of makeup and clothes that modest adults dont wear also get to me. Sure barbie wore grown up clothing for pretending to be grown up but she wore tasteful clothes. Even their little baby dolls were daisy duke shorts and it makes me wonder who they really want to target with this product?

Maybe im jumping the gun on this but I think the market wants to help push the trend of kids behaving older then they should. But maybe im just an old fuddy dud dunno they bug me. And as a woman I just feel girls have enough on their plate self esteem wise without dolls reinforcing that looking good and being trampy is the only way to get ahead in life. Or being spoiled rotten and rich, for us poor heavy girls whats there to look up to then? Their aint no market for that I guess.

I agree but I wore make up when I was 12 O-o; (Its was eye liner and clear lipgloss). I also wore hip huggers. I think 12 year olds are alittle -bit- too old to be influence by dolls (I am NOT saying thye do't dress up like whores for other causes). When you think 12 isn't THAT young.

[Tiff]

I agree but I wore make up when I was 12 O-o; (Its was eye liner and clear lipgloss). I also wore hip huggers. I think 12 year olds are alittle -bit- too old to be influence by dolls (I am NOT saying thye do't dress up like whores for other causes). When you think 12 isn't THAT young.

Yes, you say that because YOU'RE FOURTEEN.

To you, 12 was only two years ago. To someone like me, who is 24, soon to be 25...that's half my age, sweetie.

I look at my 12 year old nephew right now, and I am very, very, VERY quick to disagree. Especially judging by the very childlike way he was behaving last night.

Like it or not, you're a child, and so are 12 year olds. You're still CHILDREN. And when I was 12 years old, I was still playing with Barbies and I certainly didn't wear makeup. At least, not eyeliner.

[Queen Of Hearts]

Well that depends on how your raised, isn't it? I, grew up around adult for most of my life and I never had kids to play with untill I was around 7..? (I was home schools for awhile). I grew up mutch more mature than pother kids. Some kids liked playing on the play ground, I on the othe rhand, read my fathers sci-fi novels. Yes I am 14. But the point is it isn't as young you think. And there are the common few that makes us think that. (I've also never met anyone who still played with barbies when 12....? O-o; ).

Its depends on how different people are raised in different enviorments (Now that I look at it ,how I was raised wasn't all that good...I saw the matrix when I was like 4 or 5..O-o; )

[Tiff]

Well that depends on how your raised, isn't it? I, grew up around adult for most of my life and I never had kids to play with untill I was around 7..? (I was home schools for awhile). I grew up mutch more mature than pother kids. Some kids liked playing on the play ground, I on the othe rhand, read my fathers sci-fi novels. Yes I am 14. But the point is it isn't as young you think. And there are the common few that makes us think that. (I've also never met anyone who still played with barbies when 12....? O-o; ).

Its depends on how different people are raised in different enviorments (Now that I look at it ,how I was raised wasn't all that good...I saw the matrix when I was like 4 or 5..O-o; )

No, Queen of Hearts, it doesn't.

Regardless of how you were raised, YOU. ARE. STILL. A CHILD.

I'm sure you don't PREFER to think of yourself as that way, since I remember what it was like to be fourteen, and I certainly didn't feel that way either. I felt like I was just as "adult" as my adult brother.

But the fact of the matter is, you aren't. And I'm sorry, but I don't think anybody your age has any place wearing eyeliner or ass-pants. But i'm not your mother, and you're not my child, so it isn't my choice.

And sweetie, things were a lot different when I was a kid than now. For one thing, we didn't have slut-dolls. Nor did we have ass-pants, halters for little girls, and bikinis for Kindergarteners. And not only did I still play around with my Barbies, but so did my 12 YEAR OLD FRIENDS.

Perhaps the reason you don't see them doing this anymore is because they're so OMGMATURE and are far more interested in the eyeliner, sexy boys, and the latest slutty teen role model.

[Senshi_of_Vision]

And to add to what Tiff said and this is in no way a Knock cause I dont know you Queen of Hearts, but what you posted really reinforces my point. At 12 most kids should still feel like kids still, now adays a 12 year old that doesnt act like shes 16 or older is out of place and to me thats wrong. Maybe its cause im nearly 30 but like Tiff when I was 12 I was still playing with dolls and having kid type fun. Makeup was a big no no because A. I was still a child, and in my family kids dont wear makeup and sexy clothes. if your an adult and want to do that fine and heck if your a kid whose parents allow it fine but to me it just seems that kids are growing up entirely too fast. What the heck is there to look forward to as an adult if your doing stuff as a preteen that most have to wait till their a certain age to enjoy? To me a kid will appreciate being an adult more if they are allowed to have a child hood.

Ugh I hated to be off topic but it does tie in and no most 12 year olds arent being influenced by Bratz dolls no more but my point was if they are playing with them at 6 and 7 by the time they are twelve they will be emulating the very dolls they played with if they arent guided right and that is a scary thought.

[Tiff]

And to add to what Tiff said and this is in no way a Knock cause I dont know you Queen of Hearts, but what you posted really reinforces my point.

That honestly kind of reinforced my point as well.

Maybe its cause im nearly 30 but like Tiff when I was 12 I was still playing with dolls and having kid type fun. Makeup was a big no no because A. I was still a child

See, and I don't understand why playing with toys at 12 makes you this OMGIMMATUREBABY. Why SHOULD a fucking 12 year old be parading around in makeup and skimpy clothing? They're CHILDREN. God, let's let our kids be kids, becuase it doesn't last long.

but to me it just seems that kids are growing up entirely too fast. What the heck is there to look forward to as an adult if your doing stuff as a preteen that most have to wait till their a certain age to enjoy? To me a kid will appreciate being an adult more if they are allowed to have a child hood.

Totally. I took advantage of being a kid as long as I could. I was NEVER in a hurry to grow up. And hell, you'll still catch me riding on shopping carts, eating Coca Krispies, and watching Disney religiously.

I really never understood what the hurry was, honestly.

[Senshi_of_Vision]

same here I still love my cartoons eating cereal out of a big bowl on the weekends and I play with my sons toys with him. It just doesnt make sense that kids arent allowed to be that way without being called immature.

And being grown has nothing to do with makeup and clothes anyway most grown ups can tell ya after bills its hard to afford crap like that anyway lol. It must be nice to be a doll that can emulate life that most of us cannot relate to. If I have to choose between a thong and paying a light bill Im going to have power. Or eye liner and lipstick and buying diapers, diapers win out.

I wish there were more dolls that emulated real life grown up problems. Barbie has carreer stuff covered, but maybe if there were more dolls to show what its like when you really do become an adult kids wouldnt want to be grown so quick.

[peachvampiress]

Queen of Hearts

Well that depends on how your raised, isn't it? I, grew up around adult for most of my life and I never had kids to play with untill I was around 7..? (I was home schools for awhile). I grew up mutch more mature than pother kids. Some kids liked playing on the play ground, I on the othe rhand, read my fathers sci-fi novels. Yes I am 14. But the point is it isn't as young you think. And there are the common few that makes us think that. (I've also never met anyone who still played with barbies when 12....? O-o; ).

Like the others, I don't truely don't mean to sound rude or mean, but A LOT of young teenagers think they are mature and adult like, and the majority of them aren't. Almost every 14 year old thinks they have everything figured out, or that they should be treated like an adult, or that they're mature for their age. More often then not, they aren't. A lot think it's unfair that some adults treat them like kids instead of mature adults. It's because they are still kids. When you turn 16 you're going to look back at when you were 14 and think "I thought I was mature then? I've grown so much since then." And when you turn 18 you're going to look at when you were 16 and think the same thing.

[Queen Of Hearts]

Queen of Hearts

Well that depends on how your raised, isn't it? I, grew up around adult for most of my life and I never had kids to play with untill I was around 7..? (I was home schools for awhile). I grew up mutch more mature than pother kids. Some kids liked playing on the play ground, I on the othe rhand, read my fathers sci-fi novels. Yes I am 14. But the point is it isn't as young you think. And there are the common few that makes us think that. (I've also never met anyone who still played with barbies when 12....? O-o; ).

Like the others, I don't truely don't mean to sound rude or mean, but A LOT of young teenagers think they are mature and adult like, and the majority of them aren't. Almost every 14 year old thinks they have everything figured out, or that they should be treated like an adult, or that they're mature for their age. More often then not, they aren't. A lot think it's unfair that some adults treat them like kids instead of mature adults. It's because they are still kids. When you turn 16 you're going to look back at when you were 14 and think "I thought I was mature then? I've grown so much since then." And when you turn 18 you're going to look at when you were 16 and think the same thing.

I'd hate to tell you this but not everyone is the same! I honeestly hate how people think that they have kids all figured out!
Not everyone is like that. There are some who aren't. I know you didn't mean too, but I honestly feel insluted right now.

[MarioKnight]

Queen of Hearts

Well that depends on how your raised, isn't it? I, grew up around adult for most of my life and I never had kids to play with untill I was around 7..? (I was home schools for awhile). I grew up mutch more mature than pother kids. Some kids liked playing on the play ground, I on the othe rhand, read my fathers sci-fi novels. Yes I am 14. But the point is it isn't as young you think. And there are the common few that makes us think that. (I've also never met anyone who still played with barbies when 12....? O-o; ).

Like the others, I don't truely don't mean to sound rude or mean, but A LOT of young teenagers think they are mature and adult like, and the majority of them aren't. Almost every 14 year old thinks they have everything figured out, or that they should be treated like an adult, or that they're mature for their age. More often then not, they aren't. A lot think it's unfair that some adults treat them like kids instead of mature adults. It's because they are still kids. When you turn 16 you're going to look back at when you were 14 and think "I thought I was mature then? I've grown so much since then." And when you turn 18 you're going to look at when you were 16 and think the same thing.

I'd hate to tell you this but not everyone is the same! I honeestly hate how people think that they have kids all figured out!
Not everyone is like that. There are some who aren't. I know you didn't mean too, but I honestly feel insluted right now.

In that case, I challenge you to prove us wrong. When you turn 18, or even 16, and can tell us you think that you didn't really grow up between now and then and feel you're still just as mature as you are now, then I will give you credit. However, in literally everyone I know, they look back a couple years and feel that they've matured. Shit, even people around my age look back to their late teens and felt they've grown up and matured since then.

Basically, this is turning into a giant circle at this point, so until we can break the chain by someone giving proof that counters the point of maturity and such by either my challenge that I laid out or an adult on here saying that they feel the same maturity now that they did when they were a pre-teen, I want everyone here to drop it. We're drifting off-topic with the back and forth arguing about maturity levels, it's getting us nowhere.

[Senshi_of_Vision]

K this is gone off topic but I cant sit back without replying. Queen of Hearts I understand that because of your upbringing you feel older then you are. But the point that is trying to be addressed is that no matter how you were raised, how you feel until your 18 you are indeed a kid. It may not be fair, you may have an older soul as I used to get told but the fact remains that you are that. And nothing Peach said seemed insulting to me. IN all honesty I agree. I dont know many if any teen that thinks they arent mature, or can handle things that "adults" can but in truth they cannot. You say your mature because in your post you read your dads sci fi stories, and have watched mature movies at the age of 4 and 5 I believe. But thats not being mature and thats not being an adult nor is dressing a certain way or wearing certain clothing.

Being mature is understanding that even as an adult we dont know everything and there arent real guidelines save working your ass off getting reamed by taxes and taking care of a family if thats your path. And hell even then some people are in their 50s and dont know how to be an adult by those standards. I understand it seems like your being comed down on but face it your trying to argue that at 14 your mature and not to say that your not but your arguements to testify to it does not help your case. I watched horror films early on in life to, but when push came to shove I was a kid till I turned 18 and was told many times to stay in my place.

theres nothing wrong with being a kid I wish more people would understand that and being mature doesnt mean being able to watch or look a certain way, some of the most mature kids I know understand that just being a kid is whats important.

[MarioKnight]

Ok, the whole point of the maturity arguement can be dropped now after that last post SoV made, which I'll keep up there after my last post only because it got posted the excat same time as my post. If y'all want to keep the debate going, go ahead and make another thread, though honestly I don't see a point for the reasons I laid out in my post above.

[Jeff]

I was 14 when I joined this forum. I can't even believe some of the things I wrote and the attitude I had.

As for Bratz dolls, I don't understand how rational people can defend them. They are essentially miniature streetwalkers. I consider myself sympathetic to feminist causes (for the most part), and when I hear that stupid "passion for fashion" mantra I see red. It is such a CARICATURE of what girls/women really are. And they are buying into it, because it is fed to them from such a young age (Bratz are targeted at 6-8 year olds). In fact it reminds me a lot of the hip-hop culture that has been spoon-fed to many black people. And the driving force behind it? Corporate greed.

EDIT: Sorry Dan, didn't see the recent posts, didn't mean to drag the conversation on.

[Tiff]

As for Bratz dolls, I don't understand how rational people can defend them. They are essentially miniature streetwalkers. I consider myself sympathetic to feminist causes (for the most part), and when I hear that stupid "passion for fashion" mantra I see red. It is such a CARICATURE of what girls/women really are. And they are buying into it, because it is fed to them from such a young age (Bratz are targeted at 6-8 year olds). In fact it reminds me a lot of the hip-hop culture that has been spoon-fed to many black people. And the driving force behind it? Corporate greed.

Great post, Jeff. That's exactly why I cannot stand the Bratz franchise, either.

[Gamer8585]

I was in the movies today (For PotC:AWE) and I had the displeasure of seeing the preview for the Bratz movie.

The only thing that could stop the pain coming from the theater was the sound of my brain eating itself.

I think I'm now officially dumber by 5 IQ points.

[Senshi_of_Vision]

LOL Gamer, ugh ive said it before and I mean it you cant go a few seconds on tv during the daytime without seeing so many commercials for these dolls. And they seem to put makeup on everyting even the animals. Since when did horses need mascara and eye liner? Even the puppies they have in another were bling? ugh and its scary because their is a market for people to buy gems and crap for their dogs. What ever happened to plain ole puppies who got excited to see ya pull out a rag to play tug of war with? now were going to breed a generation of kids who want to waste money buying rover a diamond studded collar... sigh.

[SeiUsa]

I commented on one of the Bratz's "songs" on SongMeanings a while back, and recently I got a rather amusing response:

http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?l ... 3015168746

[peachvampiress]

SeiUsa

I commented on one of the Bratz's "songs" on SongMeanings a while back, and recently I got a rather amusing response:

http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?l ... 3015168746

Yeah, Seiusa. You should be paying attention to their more positive qualities like their generous attitude, clean and respectable appearance, noble career goals, and their message that hardwork and discipline can be rewarded.

Oh, wait...

[Cardcaptor Takato]

I commented on one of the Bratz's "songs" on SongMeanings a while back, and recently I got a rather amusing response:

http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?l ... 3015168746

Yeah, don't pay attention to their clothes or their image, even though that's the whole point of their song. And how exactly do you face tomorrow today? That makes no sense at all. I always thought it was important to face one day at a time.