Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Ambivalent Moment
This , folks is "Bebe Gloton" and you are NOT hallucinating - it comes with a petal-emblazoned "bra" and cries until you "nurse" and "burp" the wee infant doll . And I am a little drawn to both sides of the fence when I think about this for a variety of reasons .
First , I'll go with the pros - breastfeeding is a perfectly natural and wholesome experience that benefits mother and child and this doll is a breakaway from the irritating bottle-feed variety . Some girls who have witnesses their mummies with their younger siblings will naturally emulate this action with their dolls anyways and it is perfectly normal . It is certainly more appropriate than the "Brats" type dolls who adorn harlot wear and encourage early rebellion .
But then there is another side of me that sees this as a tad unsettling . I vividly recall being a young child and most girls didn't even wear shirts at the beach and I now see even infants wearing bikinis as if there is something wrong with their childish undeveloped selves - we have taken to sexualizing even the youngest of girls in this manner and thusly this doll may reinforce something that makes most normal folks cringe . Do toddlers really need to have maternity promoted and reinforced with a toy? I mean , sure it's natural , but do we really NEED to be introducing a CHILD to something an ADULT does at a very young age? And doesn't it step back into the vestigial idea that women are only on the earth for producing and rearing offspring?
After milling this over I have come to the conclusion that if a parent sees it as appropriate , then this is THEIR choice and nobody else's - maybe it is WE as adults who are of the sick mind that this encourages sexuality . It would certainly be of the parent's option whether or not to use the accessory "mammary" bra . It's up to the parents - NO doll is going to encourage early development in the way that the media already has . Yes , it might open your kids up to ask "uncomfortable" questions , but kids should be dialoguing with their elders anyways .
What do you think?
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I think breast feeding is perfectly normal FOR ADULT WOMEN not for little girls. Let children be children. I don't see anything sexual in breast feeding. Breastfeeding does not encourage sexuality. That's absurd. Any adult that thinks that way has some serious issues with sexuality and should get some adult help. The open dialogue between parents and their children should be ongoing,and hopefully the parents have a healthy view of sexuality so that when they do communicate with their kids they are communicating appropriately and with the proper information age wise, that the kid can understand. I don't like this Bebe Gloton. Trash it. It's a gimmic toy by the manufacturer to make money. Little girls will copy their moms without it. Let them, they don't need gimmic toys. This toy doesn't make me cringe either. It's just unnecessary. You think the manufacturer cares whether people think it promotes sexuality or doesn't, come on, they just want to make money, that's it that's all.
ReplyDeleteWell this may just be, the project that didn't quite gel, and there was already too much spent on pre-production to cancel. Let me explain; seems they got the baby down pat, anatomically correct, audibly convincing and the role play works. But then Smithson pipes up and says, but Mr Fielding, sir, ummn "Little girls don't have breasts" which immediately drew a scowl from the development team, even though they knew that they could conceivably be in deep doo doo. Well what do we do then Smithson? Smithson drew a long breath, scrambling for an idea in his cloistered ordered little mind, and after a moment of thought declared "Nursing Bra" that's what we need. Brilliant Smithson responded Mr. Fielding, and the developers all breathed a sigh of relief. So that my friend is how the bra came into play in this ensemble.
ReplyDeleteNow as far as sexualizing goes, My only concern as a parent would be that little baby glot glot would inadvertently end up a surrogate pacifier in little tommy's bed as opposed to being in little mommy's bed.
Oh my Gawd! I love you uncle Al !!!
ReplyDeleteAll I wanted as a little girl was a train set I could blow up like Gomez and Uncle Fester, more Legos and my mom's stilettos in my size.
ReplyDelete