Does That Doll Come in the Beheaded Version?
Boycott Burqa Barbie
by Phyllis Chesler
What will they think of next? A be-headed doll?
That’s right. I am talking about the new Burqa Barbie [1]doll which is now on display in Florence, Italy, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Barbie doll. As my colleague over at weaselzippers [2] wonders: Will clean-cut Ken now come (pun intended, ‘tis mine) with four burqa’ed Barbie doll wives?
Ah, I am such a Grinch. After all, the Burqa Barbie is being auctioned off for the Save the Children charity.
Save the Children? Surely, you must be jesting. I would like to save the children from this as well as from every other Barbie doll. (Yes, I know Barbie has diversified and now comes in every color and profession). But naked, even Doctor Barbie is still a pagan goddess or fertility figure but one with absolutely no relationship to female biology or reality.
Barbies are always anatomically impossible: their feet are pre-shaped for high heels, their breasts are high, firm, and perky—like Playboy dolls or surgically enhanced Hollywood stars. Bikini Barbie.
These dolls were so retro—or so I always thought. Well, shut my mouth, those were the good old days of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. Now, Barbie is swathed, shrouded, in a burqa; now, she is even more hopelessly retro.
A woman, a girl, in a chador, chadari, burqa, cannot see that well. You cannot hear what she is saying. She cannot hear you. A woman in a burqa can’t run, or even walk that well. She stumbles. Inside, she has to balance a baby, a shopping bag, maybe a pair of glasses perched on her nose, slipping. If it’s hot, she is sweltering. If it’s sunny, she is still deprived of sunlight and Vitamin D. The burqa violates a woman’s human rights. It poses a danger to a woman’s health, both mental and medical.
The bikini and the burqa: What ever happened to women’s freedom?
I’ll tell you. While the bikini (especially as a symbol of pornography, prostitution, and promiscuity) was nevah (I say this with my best Barbra Streisand Brooklyn accent) a symbol of freedom, the western secular state never forced any woman to wear one; nor did her family. And, if a woman refused to wear a bikini, no one flogged, stoned, or honor murdered her. These things are happening to girls and women today all over the Islamic/Islamist world. They are happening in the West as well when young Muslim girls refuse to wear a modest headscarf.
A wonderful Muslim feminist hero just stayed with me for a week. She is a lawyer and an author. Her name is Seyran Ates, she is a Turkish-German, and she lives in Berlin. Like Algerian-American professor Marnia Lazreg, whose book about the Islamic Veil I’ve previously discussed, Ates absolutely opposes the veil in any form. She will not wear a headscarf. Ates is a religious Muslim woman.
Mattel: take Burqa Barbie off the market.
Parents: Boycott it.
Calling all Charities: Save the children from it.
This just in from Marcia Pappas, President of New York State NOW:
SOURCE
Copy and Paste this letter into your email and send it to the following:
foundation@mattel.com,
prowl@pumapac.org,
info@team-csd.com, twebster@savechildren.org,
info@sothebysinstitute.com, info.ny@sothebysinstitute.com,
Dear Mattel,
As an American woman [optional: and a member of Puma PAC, People United Means Action], I have a couple of questions about your marvelous new Slave Barbie Collector’s Item:
The Burkha Slave Barbie is an outrage. My family, friends, and I will be boycotting ALL of Mattel’s products this holiday season, including, of course, Barbie, but also Hot Wheels, Fisher Price, and American Girl.
We will DEFINITELY NOT BE BUYING any toys from Mattel for girls ever again after this outrageous insult to women and girls and to the women who fight for women’s freedom and rights worldwide.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Do the PROWL. Tell your friends.
SOURCE: Thanks to FLBarbara and BJ Kling.
IF YOU'RE ON AN AGGREGATE AND CAN'T SEE THE ABOVE VIDEO - CLICK HERE.
VIDEO HAT TIP: Uppity Woman
by Phyllis Chesler
What will they think of next? A be-headed doll?
That’s right. I am talking about the new Burqa Barbie [1]doll which is now on display in Florence, Italy, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Barbie doll. As my colleague over at weaselzippers [2] wonders: Will clean-cut Ken now come (pun intended, ‘tis mine) with four burqa’ed Barbie doll wives?
Ah, I am such a Grinch. After all, the Burqa Barbie is being auctioned off for the Save the Children charity.
Save the Children? Surely, you must be jesting. I would like to save the children from this as well as from every other Barbie doll. (Yes, I know Barbie has diversified and now comes in every color and profession). But naked, even Doctor Barbie is still a pagan goddess or fertility figure but one with absolutely no relationship to female biology or reality.
Barbies are always anatomically impossible: their feet are pre-shaped for high heels, their breasts are high, firm, and perky—like Playboy dolls or surgically enhanced Hollywood stars. Bikini Barbie.
These dolls were so retro—or so I always thought. Well, shut my mouth, those were the good old days of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. Now, Barbie is swathed, shrouded, in a burqa; now, she is even more hopelessly retro.
A woman, a girl, in a chador, chadari, burqa, cannot see that well. You cannot hear what she is saying. She cannot hear you. A woman in a burqa can’t run, or even walk that well. She stumbles. Inside, she has to balance a baby, a shopping bag, maybe a pair of glasses perched on her nose, slipping. If it’s hot, she is sweltering. If it’s sunny, she is still deprived of sunlight and Vitamin D. The burqa violates a woman’s human rights. It poses a danger to a woman’s health, both mental and medical.
The bikini and the burqa: What ever happened to women’s freedom?
I’ll tell you. While the bikini (especially as a symbol of pornography, prostitution, and promiscuity) was nevah (I say this with my best Barbra Streisand Brooklyn accent) a symbol of freedom, the western secular state never forced any woman to wear one; nor did her family. And, if a woman refused to wear a bikini, no one flogged, stoned, or honor murdered her. These things are happening to girls and women today all over the Islamic/Islamist world. They are happening in the West as well when young Muslim girls refuse to wear a modest headscarf.
A wonderful Muslim feminist hero just stayed with me for a week. She is a lawyer and an author. Her name is Seyran Ates, she is a Turkish-German, and she lives in Berlin. Like Algerian-American professor Marnia Lazreg, whose book about the Islamic Veil I’ve previously discussed, Ates absolutely opposes the veil in any form. She will not wear a headscarf. Ates is a religious Muslim woman.
Mattel: take Burqa Barbie off the market.
Parents: Boycott it.
Calling all Charities: Save the children from it.
This just in from Marcia Pappas, President of New York State NOW:
“As feminists we believe that women must be able to make their own choices and that includes choices about the clothing they wear. But the burqa is more than a choice. Women are forced to wear the burqua or risk being murdered. Mattel should be ashamed. Making a profit by selling a doll that is clearly wearing a symbol of violence is not acceptable and there should be a public outcry to take this doll off the market.”And, I love the comments on this piece. What next? A Jihad Ken, etc.
SOURCE
Copy and Paste this letter into your email and send it to the following:
foundation@mattel.com,
prowl@pumapac.org,
info@team-csd.com, twebster@savechildren.org,
info@sothebysinstitute.com, info.ny@sothebysinstitute.com,
Dear Mattel,
As an American woman [optional: and a member of Puma PAC, People United Means Action], I have a couple of questions about your marvelous new Slave Barbie Collector’s Item:
- Does she come with stones?
- Does her head come off?
- Does she come with a tiny vial of acid?
- Does she need to be accompanied by a man in order to leave the store?
- Who gets flogged if she takes her Burqa off in public? Doll? Or child?
- Who arranges Burqa Barbie’s marriage?
- If Burqa Barbie is “honor killed” do I get a refund?
The Burkha Slave Barbie is an outrage. My family, friends, and I will be boycotting ALL of Mattel’s products this holiday season, including, of course, Barbie, but also Hot Wheels, Fisher Price, and American Girl.
We will DEFINITELY NOT BE BUYING any toys from Mattel for girls ever again after this outrageous insult to women and girls and to the women who fight for women’s freedom and rights worldwide.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Do the PROWL. Tell your friends.
SOURCE: Thanks to FLBarbara and BJ Kling.
IF YOU'RE ON AN AGGREGATE AND CAN'T SEE THE ABOVE VIDEO - CLICK HERE.
VIDEO HAT TIP: Uppity Woman
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