A Tat-olly Cool Barbie

Did you hear about the new Barbie causing all the stir? She has pink hair, trendy clothes, and…. wait for it… tattoos! Not the slip on kind, but the painted on the skin kind. And well, I am sorta excited about her. Her name is Tokidoki Barbie and she is the talk of the town right now.

Now mind you, I can do without the anorexic sized body, but at least the clothes aren’t cleavage revealing. I am all about her pink hair, the pink mini, and of course the tattoos. CNN ran the story here and you should read all the comments. Mothers hide your girls from this Barbie! They are going to come home tattooed with pierced va-ja-jays for sure after playing with this doll!!! I never thought I would be defending a Barbie, but all the fuss over the tats is just ludicrous.

Maybe I am a little biased. I am a tattooed girl and love me some pretty body ink. And when my girls want to get a tattoo, I will fully support them as long as it is well thought out and not some dudes name on their bums. Tattoos are fun, personal, and a statement… plus this is not the 50′s when only social deviants sported tattoos… or is it?

This is a comment about the Barbie, “Encouraging children that tattoos are cool is wrong, wrong, wrong. Mattel why not put a cigarette and a beer bottle in her hand while you’re at it!“.  “Maybe they should sell barbie as a prisoner or a lesbian too, that would also be politically correct or barbie with a stripper pole I bet a lot of strippers would buy that for their daughters too , let’s really prepare these kids for the future. why tell them fairy tales? we all know life is not a fairy tale.” {from here}

Hmmm…. last time I checked I didn’t smoke or drink beer. Obviously though, thanks to my sugar skull tattoo and my three strawberries I am an unfit parent, dooming my girls to a life on the street or hanging off a stripper pole.  Many other comments reflected this ignorant attitude that it is so very wrong to have a Barbie with a little more flair to her than the normal model. (By normal I mean unrealistic proportions, flawless hair and skin, and skimpy but acceptable wardrobe.) Some though at least understood that by playing with a tattooed doll their children will not all of a sudden run away to join a biker gang.

I showed the Barbie to Gabby and AJ, who squeeled with delight. I asked her why she likes the doll, (Gabby just glanced and walked away- girlfriend has no time for dolls, no matter how punked out they are!) and AJ replied, “Well, she has pink hair and nice sunglasses… oh, and pants like mine!”. Fair enough. She didn’t even care about the tattoos because in this house they are cool but not a big deal. Of course… the fact that AJ currently has 3 or 4 Hello Kitty tattoos on her arms may factor into that, lol.

At $50 each, the Tokidoki Barbie is not something that every parent is going to buy on a whim… unless they are fans of cool clothes, punked out hair, and pretty girlie tattoos!!! =)

Are You a Whale or a Mermaid?

**I read this on Facebook, have no idea who the original writer is, but just had to share it because I think it is a perfect reflection on what society thinks women should look like and what is more important!

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

“Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I’d rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn’t enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: “How amazing am I ?! “