17.10.07
14.10.07
OH YES!
I’d like to introduce you to someone. She is a friend of Barbie, one of the privileged elite, perhaps. She’s got the coolest clothes and the hippest hair. And a big rolling plastic contraption all the little girls are begging their mothers’ for, “Please Mommy, may I have one too?”
And what can a parent say to those big puppy eyes and quivering lips. They remember what happened last time they said no to that face: it cried every night for a week until you bought it that hamster. Stupid thing smelled terrible too, but it was two weeks’ worth of happiness; after that it was your pet and, no offense to rodents, a waste of money. Who in God’s name thought of having a member of the rat family as a house pet?
But this wasn’t remotely like a hamster. This was a wheelchair, with sparkling rims like fountain water in the sun. Treated like an accessory. How do you explain she can’t get one of these?
“No, honey. Those are for people who can’t walk.” Oh dear, better not say that or else you’ll be dragging her along the floor. How about, “Darling, those aren’t for little girls like you. Those are for special little girls.” Uh-oh. Anything but that. Might try a lie, “Sweetie, those are for little girls who don’t mind their parents. Only bad girls get those so they can never jump or skip or play ever again.” Hey, dishonesty isn’t a sin or anything like that, right? Lying to your child wouldn’t be endorsing it, would it? Just hope she never meets a handicapped person. That would be an awkward Parent-Teacher Conference.
So, what’s up with this Becky doll? Wait, did I forget the most interesting thing, shame on me. Becky isn’t really her name, it’s actually Share-A-Smile Becky. Apparently she needs a whole sentence before her name to fit in.
It wasn’t always like that though. She had to have her name changed to Share-A-Smile Becky because before, when her name was just Wheelchair Becky. No kidding. This chick needed a title before her name to announce to the world- I’m not normal! What’s next? Black Bobby and Chinese Charlie? Let’s hope not.
Anyway, the point is, we can only assume, that the kids at school ostracized her. Is Mattel serious? This doll was supposedly meant to teach children tolerance of the disabled, but this just sounds like straight up name calling to me. I mean, if this is the approach you’re going to use, why don’t you go all out, stop this beating around the bush, just name her Please Treat-Me-Like-An-Equal Becky? Shed all ambiguity right then and there with the first glance towards the shelf.
However, that was before she ditched the flannel jacket and customized her wheelchair. Since the name change, Share-A-Smile Becky has joined some extra-curricular activities to aide her in the social realm, she took up photography and joined the Journalism Club at school. Share-A-Smile Becky can’t ride horses, so she takes pictures of the equestrian team instead. Another good lesson for children, it’s good to dream.
I also find it interesting that, feminists take note, the disabled Share-A-Smile Becky wears comfortable clothes: pants with elastic waists, sensible shoes, and roomy shirts. She is also one of the few dolls with flat feet and legs that bend at the knee. Share-A-Smile Becky is dressed and poised for agency, achievement, and creative endeavors in the world. In contrast, the prototypical uninhibited Barbie carries out excessive femininity in her restrictive sequined gowns, crowns, and push-up bras. So while Share-A-Smile Becky implies, on one hand, that handicapped girls are purged from the feminine economy, on the other hand, she also implies that disabled girls might be freed from the expectations induced by their gender. The paradox of Barbie and Share-A-Smile Becky, of course, is that the ultra-feminized Barbie is a shoe-in for misappropriation by men and beauty practices while Share-A-Smile Becky escapes this sexual objectification at the would-be price of her identity and power as a feminine being.
What’s it like for Share-A-Smile Becky when she isn’t being subject to prejudice and social limitations, that is, how’re things on the homestead? Judging by the looks of Share-A-Smile Becky’s fabulously decorated wheelchair, it’s plausible to think that her family is well off. Let’s assume she lives in the Barbie Dream Mansion. To the delight of your daughter, this can be hers for only $100 of your paycheck. But alas, Share-A-Smile Becky’s wheelchair will not fit! It cannot even be squeezed into the elevator. Sorry to those of you dedicated parents who bought that house. It’s not going to work, couldn’t you spare some change to buy one of those model camping tents? I bet it would fit fine in there.
One distressed consumer, a twelve year-old with Cerebral Palsy, informed Mattel that the wheelchair made the house and things inside utterly inaccessible to poor Share-A-Smile Becky, and the Company has graciously changed the house to accommodate the wheelchair. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that they were willing to do that, but I don’t think it should be forgotten that they designed the chair without consideration to this in the first place! How is this reinforcing the idea that disabled people are equals? Especially considering how much money parents have to shell out to get yet another Barbie house- now they have to buy a new one for the doll?
Expanding on that problem, another thing I don’t understand is the wheelchair itself. Why didn’t Mattel look upon this as an opportunity to modify the wheelchair to fit the house? From the looks of the pictures, Becky has about an inch of extra space. This really becomes a source of concern to Activists for the Disabled as the wheelchair in itself does not include a seat belt! When the carpet isn’t totally level, Share-A-Smile Becky gets jostled and, in extreme situations, even gets thrown from the wheelchair. Maybe they could have sold replacement wheelchairs with ramps to replace the stairs on the porch and entry stairs.
Maybe I’m analyzing this too much, I mean, she’s only a doll right?
I suppose I’ll end my little rant now with a bit of irony.
If you were to get a hand on the box for this advocate doll, you’d notice that on the back of the box there is a picture of Becky with pals Barbie and Christine. Becky sits betweenthe two glamazons in her wheelchair, while they stand beside her.l
Stand?
Excuse me, but everyone knows that Barbie, Christine, and all the other Barbie Dolls, can't stand up. Not a single Barbie doll has the capacity to stand on her own. The all have tiny little feet upon which balance is impossible. In reality, Barbie and Christie would be on the ground, face down, while Becky smiles on.
And what can a parent say to those big puppy eyes and quivering lips. They remember what happened last time they said no to that face: it cried every night for a week until you bought it that hamster. Stupid thing smelled terrible too, but it was two weeks’ worth of happiness; after that it was your pet and, no offense to rodents, a waste of money. Who in God’s name thought of having a member of the rat family as a house pet?
But this wasn’t remotely like a hamster. This was a wheelchair, with sparkling rims like fountain water in the sun. Treated like an accessory. How do you explain she can’t get one of these?
“No, honey. Those are for people who can’t walk.” Oh dear, better not say that or else you’ll be dragging her along the floor. How about, “Darling, those aren’t for little girls like you. Those are for special little girls.” Uh-oh. Anything but that. Might try a lie, “Sweetie, those are for little girls who don’t mind their parents. Only bad girls get those so they can never jump or skip or play ever again.” Hey, dishonesty isn’t a sin or anything like that, right? Lying to your child wouldn’t be endorsing it, would it? Just hope she never meets a handicapped person. That would be an awkward Parent-Teacher Conference.
So, what’s up with this Becky doll? Wait, did I forget the most interesting thing, shame on me. Becky isn’t really her name, it’s actually Share-A-Smile Becky. Apparently she needs a whole sentence before her name to fit in.
It wasn’t always like that though. She had to have her name changed to Share-A-Smile Becky because before, when her name was just Wheelchair Becky. No kidding. This chick needed a title before her name to announce to the world- I’m not normal! What’s next? Black Bobby and Chinese Charlie? Let’s hope not.
Anyway, the point is, we can only assume, that the kids at school ostracized her. Is Mattel serious? This doll was supposedly meant to teach children tolerance of the disabled, but this just sounds like straight up name calling to me. I mean, if this is the approach you’re going to use, why don’t you go all out, stop this beating around the bush, just name her Please Treat-Me-Like-An-Equal Becky? Shed all ambiguity right then and there with the first glance towards the shelf.
However, that was before she ditched the flannel jacket and customized her wheelchair. Since the name change, Share-A-Smile Becky has joined some extra-curricular activities to aide her in the social realm, she took up photography and joined the Journalism Club at school. Share-A-Smile Becky can’t ride horses, so she takes pictures of the equestrian team instead. Another good lesson for children, it’s good to dream.
I also find it interesting that, feminists take note, the disabled Share-A-Smile Becky wears comfortable clothes: pants with elastic waists, sensible shoes, and roomy shirts. She is also one of the few dolls with flat feet and legs that bend at the knee. Share-A-Smile Becky is dressed and poised for agency, achievement, and creative endeavors in the world. In contrast, the prototypical uninhibited Barbie carries out excessive femininity in her restrictive sequined gowns, crowns, and push-up bras. So while Share-A-Smile Becky implies, on one hand, that handicapped girls are purged from the feminine economy, on the other hand, she also implies that disabled girls might be freed from the expectations induced by their gender. The paradox of Barbie and Share-A-Smile Becky, of course, is that the ultra-feminized Barbie is a shoe-in for misappropriation by men and beauty practices while Share-A-Smile Becky escapes this sexual objectification at the would-be price of her identity and power as a feminine being.
What’s it like for Share-A-Smile Becky when she isn’t being subject to prejudice and social limitations, that is, how’re things on the homestead? Judging by the looks of Share-A-Smile Becky’s fabulously decorated wheelchair, it’s plausible to think that her family is well off. Let’s assume she lives in the Barbie Dream Mansion. To the delight of your daughter, this can be hers for only $100 of your paycheck. But alas, Share-A-Smile Becky’s wheelchair will not fit! It cannot even be squeezed into the elevator. Sorry to those of you dedicated parents who bought that house. It’s not going to work, couldn’t you spare some change to buy one of those model camping tents? I bet it would fit fine in there.
One distressed consumer, a twelve year-old with Cerebral Palsy, informed Mattel that the wheelchair made the house and things inside utterly inaccessible to poor Share-A-Smile Becky, and the Company has graciously changed the house to accommodate the wheelchair. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that they were willing to do that, but I don’t think it should be forgotten that they designed the chair without consideration to this in the first place! How is this reinforcing the idea that disabled people are equals? Especially considering how much money parents have to shell out to get yet another Barbie house- now they have to buy a new one for the doll?
Expanding on that problem, another thing I don’t understand is the wheelchair itself. Why didn’t Mattel look upon this as an opportunity to modify the wheelchair to fit the house? From the looks of the pictures, Becky has about an inch of extra space. This really becomes a source of concern to Activists for the Disabled as the wheelchair in itself does not include a seat belt! When the carpet isn’t totally level, Share-A-Smile Becky gets jostled and, in extreme situations, even gets thrown from the wheelchair. Maybe they could have sold replacement wheelchairs with ramps to replace the stairs on the porch and entry stairs.
Maybe I’m analyzing this too much, I mean, she’s only a doll right?
I suppose I’ll end my little rant now with a bit of irony.
If you were to get a hand on the box for this advocate doll, you’d notice that on the back of the box there is a picture of Becky with pals Barbie and Christine. Becky sits betweenthe two glamazons in her wheelchair, while they stand beside her.l
Stand?
Excuse me, but everyone knows that Barbie, Christine, and all the other Barbie Dolls, can't stand up. Not a single Barbie doll has the capacity to stand on her own. The all have tiny little feet upon which balance is impossible. In reality, Barbie and Christie would be on the ground, face down, while Becky smiles on.
11.10.07
PISS AND MOAN
For My A.P. Composition class i am to undertake the reading of a biography of Anne Sexton- personne fameux je choisi- and undergo an interview of sorts, impersonating this gal.
Agh the life. Alas, I am very hungry and hurt.
My best friend of two years, one i was "there for" when she thought she was pregnant and had noone else to go to, it was me, mais oui, moi, who listened to her cry about her families problems. And who does she claim to hate. Mais oui, c'est vrai, MOI!
Et pour quoi? I confronted her about talkign behind my back and i called her a bitch for it and told her not to do it again.
So now three years is garbage. Merci, Amber. May your life continue to be unfufilling, purposeless, and generally negative.
I am done with you. If you can do that to me in a milisecond i'm afraid to try to reinstate our friendship... so i wont be taking that chance. Even when you find out I'm the only one who ever put up with your bullshit. Tell me you can't be friends with me because I told you when you were being a bitch. How many times have you called me a bitch! Is this a one-way street and I am missing road signs. Signal. Ahhh.
I did not mean for this to be a rant... but erasing wouldn't be any good now.
Agh the life. Alas, I am very hungry and hurt.
My best friend of two years, one i was "there for" when she thought she was pregnant and had noone else to go to, it was me, mais oui, moi, who listened to her cry about her families problems. And who does she claim to hate. Mais oui, c'est vrai, MOI!
Et pour quoi? I confronted her about talkign behind my back and i called her a bitch for it and told her not to do it again.
So now three years is garbage. Merci, Amber. May your life continue to be unfufilling, purposeless, and generally negative.
I am done with you. If you can do that to me in a milisecond i'm afraid to try to reinstate our friendship... so i wont be taking that chance. Even when you find out I'm the only one who ever put up with your bullshit. Tell me you can't be friends with me because I told you when you were being a bitch. How many times have you called me a bitch! Is this a one-way street and I am missing road signs. Signal. Ahhh.
I did not mean for this to be a rant... but erasing wouldn't be any good now.
9.10.07
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