Tween Dora? Maybe it’s Time for Mattel to Grow Up
I’m outraged. Mattel has announced that they will be supplement the preschool Dora line with a tween doll. The new doll will sport a thin body, long hair and fashionable clothing. (Mattel will be keeping the doll secret until launch this Fall.)
“As tweenage Dora, our heroine has moved to the big city, attends middle school and has a whole new fashionable look,” Mattel said in a press release. Is this necessary, really? Evidently it is if corporate America is going to hold onto our childrens attention past age eight.
“The doll really taps into a tween’s love of fashion and empowers girls to influence and change the ‘lives’ of Dora and her friends”… Oh, and comes with a retail price of $59.99, because growing up means spending more money. Of course, there will be accessories available as well… because we are playing into (or rather, creating as consumerism always has) a tweenage girls love of fashion and thus, creating a larger consumer base.
My husband fully believes that girls products are significantly more expensive than their male counter parts because our society is busy training females to spend more. I notice these price discrepancies any time we go into a clothing store for the kids.
- » See also: EWG Gives School Cleaning Supplies Their Report Cards (and it ain’t pretty)
- » Get Eco Child’s Play by RSS or sign up by email.
Obviously Viacom and Mattel are desperate to extend their target market, and concerned parents everywhere are left to cry, “why?”. We certainly don’t need any more Bratz dolls on the market and personally, I will not be allowing my older children to play with or watch a grown up Dora if there is any hint of sexuality. We allow the preschool Dora because its fun, benign, and (dare I say it?), educational. My four year old speaks more Spanish than I thanks to Dora and Diego.
We sit here pondering what’s next? A tween Diego with a dollar sign gold necklace and low riding, bump, bump Cadillac?
Mattel, maybe its time for you to grow up and stop marketing “sexy” to our children. My nine year old daughter won’t be sporting high heel shoes and neither will her dolls.
Hmm, I don’t really care that this new “Tween Dora” is thin (assuming she’s not anorexic-looking) or has long hair. But I do hope she doesn’t wear makeup or provocative clothing like those awful Bratz dolls.
nope… i’m out. besides the annoyance of yes the price (amen, that you brought that up because it shocks me every time!!), and then yes, yet another way to subvert our daughter’s sense of self worth and confidence (thanks disney!) but to then have to push what is already a toy that already floods the market with hundreds of offshoot toys into a new market… it is the very description of greed that these toy companies beating into our girls. and people think our banks are bad!!
I think your hubby is right.
I also doubt that doll will to fly off the shelves like Mattel thinks it will- unless Tween Dora magically turns itself into a Hannah Montana, an iCarly or a Jonas brother doll.
I feel that it needs to become a relatity for some people, of Dora growing up. Is it a little bit too early? Maybe. But to make a racial implication such as Diego wearing dollar signs and driving a cadillac with bump, bump music should be retracted or kept to yourself. That type of mind set is one the main reasons why our young men present themselves the way they do. If television has that much of an influence on your child(ren) then you need to go back to your parenting handbook and figure out where you might have gone wrong. People need to learn when it is appropriate to voice opinions and when not to look too far into the ideas that these major companies decide. We are in control, if you don’t like the doll then don’t buy it.
We do not allow our daughters to play with Bratz dolls either, because we find them too sexy, as do you. However, I confess, I am VERY excited about this new Dora because my nine year old still loves Dora, but nothing Dora is age-appropriate for her, which is VERY frustrating for her and us. Plus I recognize that her desire to play with dolls, and the absense of having an age-appropriate Dora pushes her toward the Bratz, Barbies, and other such dolls. This new Dora may be just what we need! While I agree that this Dora looks different, I do not agree that she looks sexy. I don’t think you can tell that from the picture. I can tell she is thinner, taller, and that her hair is longer & may be styled a bit differently, but the same thing has happened to my daughters because they are growing up. They do NOT dress sexy because we do not allow it. I am trusting Mattel to allow Dora to grow up without dressing her too sexy until I see actual evidence that convinces me otherwise. This silhouette does not convince me of it, and those high heels you mentioned…Check the silhouette again…She is wearing ballerina style flats in this.
[...] The rest is here: Tween Dora? Maybe it’s Time for Mattel to Grow Up : Eco Child’s Play [...]
A tween Dora is not a bad idea. Just because she will be skinny does not mean a thing. If she were fat, there would be an outrage condemning the doll for influencing girls to gain weight. Also, why is the long hair made a point, is that a unattainable goal for young girls. As for the clothes, so long as they do not advertise a specific brand there is no problem. There are “fashionable” clothes for low prices at stores such as Wal-mart and K-mart, so this does not seem to be setting unrealistic goals. I also feel that the Diego comment is a bit racial and stereotypical. Not all Hispanic youth are in that kind of culture. Finally, the tween Dora will not be promoting any particular lifestyle, so there is no basis for comparing a dollar sign wearing, low rider driving Diego to the Dora doll.
Jamie, Not sure if you saw my piece on Shaping Youth about this, but two of our advisory board members (Packaging Girlhood.com) have launched a petition and we’re up to almost 4000 signatures, woohoo!
http://blog.shapingyouth.org/?p=5314
As I wrote in my piece, quoting Parent Dish who pointedly describes the NEW Dora who will be revealed in the fall, She now “lives in the big city and goes to middle school. She still solves mysteries but she’s abandoned outdoor adventure for shopping, jewelry and fashion.”
So there IS an ‘agenda’ in terms of why I feel it’s harmful…Because as I wrote, I feel this message has the potential of being even MORE destructive than starting out on the consumptionist career path of fluff-n-stuff like Bratz (which are just plain absurd and toxic imho) Why? Because it speaks to a harmful pattern of real life implications, conveying essentially:
“…Girls can START out as unique, brave, active, indie spirits, but behaviorally, by the time they edge into tweenage years, they’d better march like lemmings into the beauty biz to embrace their inner fashionista.”
And THAT alone, to me is worthy of an overhaul. Bleh. I suppose ‘time will tell’ with Mattel, especially based on the reverb and outrage; we’ll see if they ‘hear us’ out there, because Dora belongs exploring the world not the mall!
Here’s the petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Dora_Makeover
My favorite part?
“We know that if the original Dora grew up, she wouldn’t be a fashion icon or a shopaholic. She’d develop her map reading skills and imagine the places she could go.
…She’d capitalize on those problem solving skills to design new ways to bring fresh water to communities in need around the world. Maybe she’d become a world class runner or follow her love of animals and become a wildlife preservationist or biologist.
…We’ll never know because the only way a girl can grow up in tween town, is to narrow that symphony of choices to one note. It’s such a sell out of Dora, of all girls.”
Yep, we need to draw this line in the sand very clearly. Knock it off with the age compression, vapid values, and consumption cues, Mattel and Nickelodeon, quit putting girls in a box…There’s a whole world out there for kids to explore. Let’s go!!!
http://www.ShapingYouth.org
I have seen the new Dora. I think you will be disappointed because you will have nothing to complain about. She is not a fashion doll. See the product before you start disparaging it.
[...] she’s being ‘productized’ into COMPUTER integration, but for [...]