When I was 7, we lived in Hollywood, Florida, a weird south Florida suburb of strip malls, apartments and condos in between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. We had a thing back then called Green Stamps. You would get them at the grocery store based on how much you bought and could redeem them at the Green Stamp store for a range of stuff from appliances to toys. I'll never forget the day when my mom let me pick out whatever I wanted from the Green Stamp store. I was immediately drawn to a doll with big blond hair and a sparkly outfit. I thought she was Barbie. We "purchased" her, and I later discovered she was actually a Dolly Parton doll complete with boobs even bigger than Barbie's. I don't remember thinking about her anatomy in any sort of adult way, although I do remember playing Barbies later with Dolly and my other real Barbies (and Ken) and having them "do it."

NPR just did a story on tween marketing and how hyper-sexualized stuff has become that is marketed to children. I've covered this a lot on Ypulse -- everything from Bratz to the Pussycat Dolls dolls. There is an interesting essay about Barbie in the NPR package. The writer is basically saying her feminist mom really stressed over trying to keep Barbie out of her life when she was litte, but now that she is a mom, Barbie is just the tip of the iceberg.

This is elementary, but I think it's not so much the toys themselves as the lack of open communication from parents around what it all means. I don't know what that would have sounded like if my mom tried to talk to me about Dolly and Barbie and why the dolls have huge boobs and a ridiculously small waist, or even if my 7-year-old brain would have understood completely. But as I got older, what hurt me the most was the lack of any healthy discussion around human sexuality in my house. Arming kids and teens with good information and the ability to be media literate is the best weapon against all of the super sexy tween outfits, toys and music that's out there. I also believe parents who feel strongly about this stuff can just refuse to buy it...and hopefully explain why in a way a tween tugging at your purse strings can understand.

In a semi-related story, USA Today looks at how spas are now catering not just to teens, but to little girls.

Posted by anastasia