Critical Media Literacy

Bratz Dolls

Bratz Dolls: Information (From Wikipedia) In June 2001,the first four Bratz dolls, Jade, Cloe, Sasha, and Yasmin, were released to market, each attired in urban-styled fashions. The Bratz quickly gained strong popularity, becoming the number one doll brand in several countries, like in France, Spain, and Italy, and number two in the United Kingdom. The dolls won Family Fun's Toy of the Year award and TIA People's Choice Toy of the Year Award for In 2002, the Bratz became the Girls' Toy of the Year in the United Kingdom, later making a serious competition for a long-time #1 fashion doll, Barbie, and became the phenomenon worldwide.

APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls Fresh concerns over the body image and lifestyle the Bratz dolls allegedly promote were raised by the American Psychological Association when they established their "Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls" in February, In the report that was published in accompaniment to the Task Force's founding they cited concern over sexuality the Bratz dolls allegedly portray.[14] Bratz dolls come dressed in sexualized clothing such as miniskirts, fishnet stockings, and feather boas. Although these dolls may present no more sexualization of girls or women than is seen in MTV videos, it is worrisome when dolls designed specifically for 4- to 8-year-olds are associated with an objectified adult sexuality – APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls[14]

From: The Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum: High School Media Literacy Questions What is the message? Who is sending the message? Why is it being sent? How is the message being sent? Who is the intended audience? Who benefits from the message? Who or what is left out of the message? Can I respond to the message? Does my opinion matter? Do I need the information?

Responses to this question have reavealed … Societal ideology has embedded within it notions of the “good girl” and the “bad girl”. According to this ideology, “bad girls” violate sexual norms in some way: they’re sexually forward in appearance or behavior. The “good” girl is attributed with all the virtues associated with patriarchal femininity and domesticity: she’s modest, unassuming, self-sacrificing, and nurturing. She has no needs of her own, for she is completely satisfied by her family. Can you think of an example, from TV or movies, of females who play the role of “good girl” and “bad girl”? What traits make them either good or bad?

Some information for students on patriarchal ideology and women’s clothing In the nineteenth century women wore extremely tight corsets which prevented them from getting enough oxygen to be physically active or from experiencing emotion without getting “the vapors”: shortness of breath or slight fits of fainting, which were considered very feminine and proved that women were too fragile and emotional to participate in a man’s world. The persistence of repressive attitudes toward women is still visible today. Though women’s fashions have radically changed since the nineteenth century the most “feminine” clothing still promotes patriarchal ideology. One of the most “feminine” styles of clothing today is the tight skirt and high heels, which create a certain “feminine” walk, one which precludes running, making it symbolically akin to the restrained physical capability imposed by nineteenth-century women’s clothing.

Question: Question up for Debate: Do the Bratz Dolls take up ideological notions of femininity in such ways as the restriction of movement and the ways they encourage male sexual access to women’s bodies, or do they undermine such notions of the “good girl”?

Read!!! Read an excerpt from McLean’s magazine…Why are we Dressing our Daughters like this? If you are interested I will send you the link to the full text document.

It isn’t just about girls... The 1974 Superman figure targeted at young boys

The current Superman figure targeted at young boys in 2011—notice the change in the idea of “Superhero” body image.

Writing Journal Prompt The question is, how has society changed so that what was once the outfit of a hooker, we now purchase for our daughter’s dolls?... so that in order to be a hero, shoulder width must be three times your torso? More importantly, why has it changed? Is this change a sign of society’s progress, or is it a digression? How do you imagine marketers and popular culture will affect your children, nieces, nephews, and society in seventeen years?