Strollerderby : doll

New American Girl Doll Shares Name With Fugitive

Brett Singer — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:00:00 GMT

You've heard about the new American Girl doll. Rebecca Rubin. Nice name.

But it turns out there's another Rebecca Rubin out there. She's a fugitive.

Not just any fugitive. One of the FBI's most wanted fugitives. An eco-terrorist, if you will.

The real-life Rebecca J. Rubin was part of a group called the Earth Liberation Front. Perpetuators of "the biggest act of eco-terrorism in U.S. history," according to some. Here is a video report of one of their more notorious acts:

So why pick the same name as a suspected terrorist? (What's next? Barbie Bin Laden? The New York Times quotes American Girl spokesperson Julie Parks as saying that, “Rebecca was one of the most popular names for Jewish girls in 1905, when Rebecca [the doll] would have been born. When researching last names, Rubin was on a list of a handful of other names that would have been appropriate for a Russian-Jewish family but, honestly, Rubin rose to the top because we liked the alliteration and knew that girls could easily pronounce it.” (As opposed to one of those really Jewy names, like Schlemielowitz.)

To be fair, "the company originally applied to register the name [Rebecca Rubin] with the United States trademark office in 2004," according to the Times. Suspected eco-terrorist Rebecca Rubin was indicted by a grand jury in 2006. Still, maybe the next time American Girl is about to launch a new doll, they might want to Google the name. Just in case.

Source: New York Times

Image: FBI (first time that's ever been an image source for me)

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Creepy Old Japanese Pregnant Dolls (with Attached Creepy Fetus Dolls!)

Cole Gamble — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Apparently used to teach 19th century Japanese midwives, these pregnant dolls not only included placenta and stretch marks, but also interchangeable fetuses of different stages. At least, I hope that's what they were used for. It's kind of weird for a novelty item.

Crocheted Doll Gives Birth

More Good Stuff:

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6 Reasons Why it Sucks to Be a Kid Today

Disturbing Baby-Swinging PSA

Eating Your Baby's Placenta

10 Great Books For (Traumatizing) Children

Mazel Tov! Meet Rebecca - The New ‘Jewish’ American Girl Doll

SunnyChanel — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:24:00 GMT

It’s a mitzvah! On May 31st a brand new American Girl doll will be available for purchase. Meet Rebecca, the Lower East Side dwellin’ Jewish-American girl who is the newest addition to the doll company’s historical roster. Rebecca Rubin is a 9-year-old living with her family in New York City in the year 1914 and whose debut has been much anticipated.

Rebecca’s coming out party will be held at the New York American Girl superstore and will include tie-ins with the Lower East Side’s Tenement Museum, paying tribute to the doll’s history. There are six books that compliment Rebecca and cover her back story which includes issues such as labor conditions, immigration into the U.S., the beginning of the film industry and includes Manhattan history as the backdrop.

An American Girl spokesperson stated to the Chicago Sun Times that, "A Jewish doll has been a top request from customers for a long time…our goal has always been to choose the pivotal periods that shaped the history of our country.” She continued to say, "Two million Jews from Eastern Europe immigrated between 1880 and 1915. Most came to New York City…this is an opportunity to talk about how this influx shaped us. We wouldn't be the country we know if not for their contribution."

Rebecca is the first American Girl doll with a strong religious affiliation, although the doll company’s spokesperson points out that Catholicism plays an important roll in the background of their Josefina doll (from Colonial New Mexico).

As with all the American Girl characters you can purchase era appropriate accessories such as a wood sideboard with a Sabbath Set. And although she comes from humble beginnings, her price isn’t. She goes for $95 for the doll and the first book in the series. Or $114 for Rebecca, the first book and her hat and scarf.

Would you buy Rebecca for your little girl?

Full review of the doll coming soon.

The Little People Turn 50!

SunnyChanel — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:30:00 GMT

I just had a wicked flashback. Suddenly I was three again and happily playing with my Fisher Price Little People Farm House. As a little person myself, I spent oodles of hours with the simple cog like limbless figures, farm animals and their home, the portable barn. I can recall vague memories of clutching the blue handle in my hand as I would take along my Play n’ Go farm to visit grandma’s. Those were the days.

What brought on this flood of memories? The current celebration of Little People’s 50th Birthday. Man, they are old! This past March 21st marked the 50th anniversary of the first Little People release, the Safety School Bus. Since that day, more than one and half billion, yes billion, Little People figures have been produced. Originally a wooden peg like character, the modern Little People are poseable figures with actual features rather than just simple lines to represent the face. “Parents and children alike have been playing with Little People toys for half a century,” said Bruce Fox, Fisher-Price toy historian and author. “Toys with longevity that bridge the generational gap are rare these days. We’re very proud of the fact that the Little People brand has stood the test of time for 50 years and foresee that the brand will continue to inspire creative, imaginative play for generations to come.”

The big people who make the Little People will be celebrating 50 years of play in a variety of ways. One of the things they’ve done a Limited Edition commemorative release of The Little People 50th Birthday Play ‘n Go Farm and School that reflects “the classic look of the original farm and school introduced in 1968 and 1971, respectively. The playsets feature retro-styled Little People figures and nostalgic, collectible take-along tins.” Along with the toys, they’ve released a Limited-Edition 50th Birthday CD that includes fifty popular sing-a-long classics that have been released throughout the years. And they’re also taking the Little People on the road. They’ve produced a Little People Live show which will be debuting on April 18th and will makes stops at the San Diego zoo, Zoo Atlanta, Brookfield Zoo, Tampa ’s Lowry Park Zoo, Toledo Zoo and the San Francisco Zoo. Plus they’re doing tie-ins with Loews hotels and the Royal Caribbean International Cruise line.

Yeah, they know how to party. You can check up on all the events, specials and celebrations here.

And if you wanna have your own flashback, just check out this old school ad below.

Caylee Anthony Doll, the Worst Toy Idea Ever

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Can you imagine buying a doll of a slain toddler you’ve never met for your child? Well, a Florida company whose humanity has clearly been entirely eclipsed by dollar signs hopes the blond-haired Caylee Sunshine doll (only $29.99!) will be a great addition to your child’s American Girl dolls and teddy bears.

One can only imagine the pain Caylee’s grandparents have been in over the last year, due not only to the horrific tragedy of Caylee’s death, but to the ubiquitous sensationalist news coverage of it. It’s terrible enough to know that perfect strangers are getting some morbid enjoyment out of reading about the greatest tragedy of your life, but then to find out that perfect strangers are seeking to make a cheap buck out of it? I can’t even fathom the outrage Caylee’s grandparents must be experiencing.

According to their lawyer, the company never sought approval from Caylee’s family before going on a media blitz about the new doll. Fortunately, an outraged public has sufficiently spoken out against the shockingly ill-conceived Caylee doll that the manufacturer, Showbiz Productions, had no choice but to listen. They have decided to hold off putting the doll on the market.

In the meantime, they are sure to come up with other shockingly ill-conceived merchandise.

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The Doll Island of Dr. Moreau

Brett Singer — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

I know that this is an innocent service to those with dolls that are ~~injured~~ broken. But this photo is just plain creepy. It brings up too many memories of Chuckie movies. To paraphrase the great Bart Simpson -- can't sleep... doll will eat me...

I mean, look at this picture. The loose appendages, with wires sticking out... the shadow eerily cast by the completed doll, whose hair seems bizarrely long... thank goodness I have boys. They just like to play with guns and swords. Nothing as creepy as DOLLS.

Diane (as in Dolls By Diane) -- nothing personal. I'm sure you do excellent work. Please don't send your evil army of plastic nasties to kill me in ways too horrible to imagine.

image: dollsbydiane.com

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Target Sells Boys Powertools, Girls Purple Crap

Madeline Holler — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:51:00 GMT

I'm in the middle of "Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes," which I know is sooooo last year (I'm behind on my reading). So perhaps my knees had been primed to jerk just as this half-catalog/half-circular from Target, featuring all their new spring stuff for kids, showed up in the mail today. I had initially thrown it aside, but then I noticed a $5 coupon. I started flipping.

By about Page 4, I get perturbed. There's a girl watering flowers on the front cover, which is no biggie. Fifty-fifty chance, right? Someone has to water the flowers. On the inside front cover, there's a boy flying a plane. Fine. A boy can like planes.

Next page is sports equipment: the boys are playing on a green field. Girls are cut out on white background -- one's fake-swinging a pink tennis racket, another fake-flinging a pink lacrosse stick, the third is standing up straight and giggling, a pink softball glove perched awkwardly on her hand. ("Gah, what am I supposed to do with this thing?")

Next page: boy flying a remote control helicopter, girl standing across from him with her hands up in surrender, her mouth a perfect circle as if she is saying "ooooooo, Jack, you're really good at that!" Lower on the page, a girl is freaked out by a remote control spider, which takes its commands from a capable but fun-loving (you guessed it) boy.

Flip! A rousing game of something called swingball. Only boys are swinging at the ball. The girls stand in their precious spring dresses and watch. But they're smiling, so they must be having fun anyway.

Flip that page and there's a girl! In an activity! A jumping thing! Way to go, sister!

Annnnnd, the next page: a boy on a cool tear'em up bike, a girl on a super pretty purple bike (with delicate butterflies snapped on to the spokes ... looks too pretty to ride, Mom!)

Then: T-ball, boy. And a next page of character crap. No kids pictured.

I know, quit your bitching. And I can! Because girls are finally represented in the crap-a-log. The next six pages are loaded with girls in all kinds of activities: playing with dolls in a perfect. girly appointed room, taking a stuffed cat out of a pet purse, mixing drinks at the Hannah Montana surf shop, going online with Bratz dolls, having a combined camp-out/princess tea party in the pink tent and dressed in Disney princess costumes.

Awwww, look at that little girl feeding her baby, and now there's a page of girls crafting out! The boys pages come next, with pirates, Spiderman kites, cowboy sheets, Hot Wheels, Pokeman and video games (though the gender balance on video games is equal, if you count using a bionic eye to look at a butterfly not too girly -- at least she wasn't searching for unicorns).

Flip and flip: A boy plays the guitar, a girl works on her letters. A boy loads the race car, a girl wears fake jewelry. A boy plays with trains. A girl, well, she vacuums. Boy has workbench and fake power tools. Girl has melting polar ice-caps, the alphabet and a cute-but-vapid stare.

And on, and on, and on. Not a single gender-role swap in the entire 51-page piece. Not even a token boy in a girl thing, girl in a boy thing. Any "gender neutral" toys mostly didn't have a boy OR a girl interacting with them. Only the item was pictured.

The message is this: boys play, girls watch, unless boys aren't around, then girls play -- but only with soft, sparkly purple/pink things they can nurture, beautify or use to tidy up the house.

Hey, I'm not saying girls don't play with dolls. Or boys don't like power tools. But does it have to be to the exclusion of everything else? Can't Target just pretend to placate moms like me? Can't they even try? Maybe a girl holding a train and a boy watching a girl swing a pink tennis racket? Out of 51 pages, just one such picture will do.

Photo: princessproduction.wordpress.com

When Mama Has Cancer

Adrienne Martini — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:30:00 GMT

As if having cancer weren't enough of a kick in the head, parents who are also patients then have to explain to their kids what having cancer means. It's hard to know which would be worse -- facing your own potentially close-by mortality or figuring out how to drive that information home to your kids without breaking them.

How do you tell someone whose entire world wrapped up with yours that you might not be around forever? Some parents, Atlanta's Cindy Hurst, start with a simple haircut.

For those who aren't quite ready to trust a 4-year old with scissors, there are a few other options, like the Kimmie Cares dolls, which transform from long-haired to bald and back again. While they physically explain what changes mama will go through, the Hurst piece linked above provides other online and IRL options.

Photo credit: Kimmiecares.com

Naughty or Nice? Who Cares? Lingerie Dolls Are A Perfect Holiday Gift

Madeline Holler — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:03:00 GMT

I am super excited about the just-mailed Victoria’s Secret holiday catalogue because it’s going to make “Santa’s” job so much easier when it comes to gifts for my daughters. I have been wondering how to get my older one more interested in her appearance and the sexy, sexy things that are out there for her to experiment with, feel pretty in, those things that will help her upgrade from just girl to an even better girly-girl.

I mean, right now her response to bras is giggles, maybe a rousing chant of “boobs, boobs!” with her little sister, so I’d like to find a way to get her to take it more seriously. After all, she’s going to be seven years old soon.

Enter: the VS Pink label, and especially these plush dress-up dolls!

Described as “plush and pretty plaything for the ultimate girly-girl. Comes with two interchangeable outfits: lingerie and a dress,” interchangeable, I suppose, because when you’re wearing one, surely you’re not wearing the other! Sizzle.

Just get her a Barbie, you say? She has those. Whatever. Barbie isn’t going to get her celebrating her (non-existent) sexuality any more than Mattel’s other pink and purple toys, you know? How’s Barbie going to get her comfortable in a AAAA push-up and tiny-heiny thong in time for school pictures next year? (Yes, she'll wear something over them, I just want her to feel scandalously pretty.) See, I figure interacting with her plush girly-girl VS doll -- slipping on the tiny bras or stripping her down for a late-night tickle fight -- she’s opening her mind to the Victoria’s Secret brand, a company that works to demonstrate how girls really look and how they love to (mis)behave (wink!). Having fun with the soft, happy dolls -- with their youthful hairstyles and adolescent proportions -- could help take some of the “for women only” notions surrounding Victoria’s Secret, and skimpy bras and underwear in general, out of her pretty (and pre-sexy) little head. Together, they’ll usher her into the tender, mysterious phase that, seriously, has been put off far too long. Why wait for actual breasts when you can create them with push-up gel bras in fun, party colors? Quit revealing your high-waisted, floral, combed-cotton spanky pants! These low-rise, high-cut bikini’s will lengthen those 6X legs better than any pair of stilettos. When she’s a little bigger,she'll eat up the panties packaged as lollipops and ice-cream cones! Lickably sweet!

If girls just understood that underneath it all, they’re fun, playful, sexy, girly-girls who love nothing more than putting on and taking of big satiny microfiber undies, I wouldn’t have to spend $15 each on the Victoria’s Secret dolls. But I will, because I get it.

Whatever it takes, you know? Whatever it takes.

Care Bears Movie Returns; Millions Gag on Sugar Clouds

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:03:00 GMT

I always wanted a Cabbage Patch Doll. I begged and pleaded and whined until, eventually, I got a Care Bear instead. WTF parents? Do you know how embarrassing it was to cart around a little green stuffed bear while all my playmates had adorable little people by their sides?

As you can see, I've never recovered from the trauma. So I'm not particularly thrilled about this -- the return of the "Care Bears Movie." It premiered in 1985, telling the story of those little disfigured bears and inflicting upon the world a lethal dose of gumdroppy goodness.

The DVD comes out Tuesday for anyone who's interested in a return to Care-O-Lot. And for those who have an altogether different view of the bears, there's this video.

I'm Thwarting My Daughter's Imagination

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:46:00 GMT

We have no dolls in the house. Not one. There are monkeys, sure -- and frogs, monsters, trolls and bears galore. But I can't find one stuffed or plastic anything that in some way resembles a human. And I'm afraid that's thwarting my daughter's imagination.

You see, I just read Lilianna's great post at Mother Talkers about when imagination might begin. Her daughhter, about the same age as my own, was given a doll and began "caring" for it -- or at least treating it like the little girl has been treated, with lots of love and kisses. I'm wondering that by not giving my girl a doll, I might be crippling what appears to be latent instinct?

Bratz are out, obviously. I don't want to raise a prostitute. Barbie as well. We don't want to fall into the American Girl money pit. But I'm beginning to think we need a human doll -- a human baby doll. Anything to get that imagination going.

Bratz Dolls Have Something on Barbie: Lip

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:30:00 GMT

In the "epic catfight" between Bratz dolls and the ever-popular Barbie brand, the scantily clad ingenue has a secret weapon. According to one distraught mother, the Bratz she purchased for her own are dropping more than IQ's and necklines. They're dropping F-bombs.

"At 5 a.m., I wasn't sure what I was hearing," the mother said, according to the video at MSNBC.com. "I didn't believe what I was hearing."

And if you watch the video, you won't be sure either. The segment doesn't actually play the word, letting a 5-year-old stand in instead.

"It said bad words," she said. But how would she know?

The mother claims they don't use words like that in her household -- although it seems like the only logical expletive when your kid runs screaming into your room at 5 a.m. to tattle on her new plaything.

"It said what? Fuck, go back to sleep."

Has anyone actually encountered a cursing Bratz doll? If so, where do you get them?

Little Mermaid Doll Calls Three-Year-Old a 'Slut'; Girl's Mom Goes Batshit

Dad Gone Mad — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 23:15:00 GMT

Despite claims by Mattel that it couldn't possibly be true, a woman in San Jose, CA has completely lost her shit because her three-year-old daughter claims her Little Mermaid doll called her a "slut." No word yet on whether or not the girl is actually a slut.

Normally, the doll says, "Your sparkles are so beautiful," "Life is the bubbles" and "You're a wonderful friend." (And I think we can all agree that the term "Life is the bubbles", while exceptionally naive, is tantamount to saying "I smoke rocks and it gives me a distortedly positive outlook. Sometimes I give handjobs for crack or let winos rub their junk against my fin for five dollars. But I'm high almost all the time so I still think life is like a big Pop Tart. Text me!")

Mattel is adamant that this doll doesn't even know the word "slut." But a third party -- Stephanie Oppenheim, who publishes the independent toy guide Oppenheim Toy Portfolio -- told the San Jose Mercury News that she put Arial to the test. "After pushing the buttons on another Shimmering Lights Ariel doll ($24.99), she said she heard the naughty word but had to listen really closely to get an earful."

(Wait. "Slut" is a "naughty word" now? Not where I live. Find me a doll that calls kids a "shit-eating cockmaster" and then we'll talk.)

Mattel has asked the "shocked" mom to return the doll and has offered her a voucher for a toy of equal value. Perhaps she'll buy the Elmo doll that says "Go fuck yourself, brat!" and "I thought I told you to make me chicken pot pie, bitch?" in that familiar high pitch.

As for the child, this is a perfect learning opportunity. If I was her parent, I would sit her down, perhaps over a piece of cake, and tell her, "Listen, honey: don't listen to what that deep sea whore says. Who is she to be calling other people a slut?! That bitch better rekinyze before I put my foot her her ass."

"Mommy," the girl will say sheepishly, "I don't think mermaids have an ass."

And the mom will have no choice but to say, "Shut up, slut!"

Teen Driver Crashes When Fake Baby Loses Its Shit

Dad Gone Mad — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 12:00:00 GMT

In the ridiculously named town of Pleasanton, CA, they give high school kids "realistic-sounding baby dolls" to teach them what it's like to be a parent. This represents a quantum leap from when I was in high school in the late 80s. We had to carry around a raw egg for a few days, pretending it was our baby, and if the egg broke, the kid was a goner.

But up in Pleasanton, the "realistic-sounding" doll thing wrought major havoc on one 17-year-old girl: she swerved her car into a freeway guardrail and slammed into a pickup truck after the doll in her care suddenly began to cry.

"The teenager had just picked up the doll as part of a school project on responsible parenting minutes before the accident occurred Tuesday on I-580, said Steve Creel, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol."

"No one was seriously injured in the crash, but the CHP will pursue charges because the girl was driving without a license, he said."

I'm fascinated by this story because I wonder exactly how realistic this doll could have been to make the kid crash her Mini Cooper. According to the story, "The educational doll cries and wets itself and has a recording device that monitors how long it takes the doll's "parent" to respond to its crying."

Cries and wets itself? That's it? Hardly realistic. If they wish to show these high schoolers what being a parent really looks like, they should add the following features:

When the baby is in the car seat, make it poop. And make it one of those loose baby shits that pour out its diaper and drench the whole onesie in Hershey Squirt.
Make the baby fascinated by everything dangerous, like electrical outlets and small shiny things and steak knives.
Make the baby want to watch Sesame Street every waking minute of every god-damned day, so much so that the teenager will develop a white-hot hatred for that Elmo motherfucker and fantasize about scooping out his furry red trachea with a spork.