The GEM Debate: Barbie As A Girl Scout: Is This A Bad Thing? (POLL) : Good Enough Mother

Mattel

The GEM Debate: Barbie As A Girl Scout: Is This A Bad Thing? (POLL)

Barbie, the 55-year-old toy icon, is back in the news. This time, Barbie is being paired with the Girl Scouts. As of this week, girls can have their very own Barbie Girl Scout, complete with a pink and green uniform, high-heeled hiking boots, and the first corporate-sponsored uniform patch in Girl Scout history.

As you might have guessed, this pairing is not without controversy. People are calling the two million dollar deal “insidious” and “product placement at its worst.” Dr. Susan Linn, founder of Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood told the Today show, “Barbie is basically a terrible role model for girls. She’s not about what the Girls Scouts’ principles are, which have to do with leadership and courage.”

She also adds, “Holding Barbie, the quintessential fashion doll, up as a role model for Girl Scouts simultaneously sexualizes young girls, idealizes an impossible body type, and undermines the Girl Scouts’ vital mission to build ‘girls of courage, confidence and character.’” Mattel argues that its partnership with Girl Scouts is a “good fit” and says that it inspires girls’ imaginations and shows them that they can be anything they want to be.

Barbie has had 135 jobs over the years. She’s been a princess, a pilot, and a police officer. Now that I think about it, I’m surprised that Barbie and Girl Scouts didn’t think to get together years ago.

The partnership is a marketing tactic for Mattel, but so what? Corporate sponsorship is everywhere. There isn’t a day that goes by that we all aren’t bombarded with a message from somebody’s sponsor or have the cost of something we enjoy underwritten by a business or corporation. It’s so ubiquitous that we don’t even see it anymore.

I’m not a fan of Barbie, but I just don’t see her as the worst toy in the world. Adults give Barbie more power than she actually has. We’re the ones doing the hand-wringing about her being a bad role model. Body proportions aside, I think the argument can be made that Barbie is a pretty good role model because for years, this doll has led the pack in showing girls that they can be anything they want to be.

My daughters like Barbie and have a few of their own. Chances are good that they’ll get more until they outgrow them. I’m not worried about her as a role model for my girls because they have so many real-life role models—starting with me—who are far more meaningful and who play an active role in their everyday lives.

I’m so over the “Barbie is bad” shtick. I think there are larger issues when it comes to girls and self-esteem. In my mind, it’s the media that is more responsible than Barbie for reinforcing the idea that a girl isn’t good enough or is only coveted if she’s thin and pretty.

What do you think of the Barbie-Girl Scout partnership? Is it harmless or does it send the wrong message to girls? Take the poll, share your thoughts below, and join the conversation on Facebook.

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