For the last few days, the interwebs has come alive with the sound of parental indignation — all because of this grainy camera-phone snapshot:
Oh, look, Mommy! A stripper starter-kit for the pre-K set! The pic’s originator, Gizmodo.com, can’t definitively verify that the doll is in fact real, or available in the U.S.
But either way, are we really so surprised? The scene in 2004’s Mean Girls when high-school queen bee Regina’s little sister pumped her tiny grade-school booty to Kelis’s salacious hit “Milkshake” was meant to be satirical; these days, it feels increasingly real.
From Miley Cyrus’s infamous pole-assisted gyrations at the recent Teen Choice Awards to club-ready clothing lines for grade-schoolers like Beyonce’s Dereon Girls, it seems that pop culture is constantly fighting to shorten or even obliterate an ever-briefer age of innocence.
But you tell me, PopWatchers, do I sound like a consumer-advocate Andy Rooney here? Or is this doll really so inconceivable?
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You know what I say….. get ‘em while they are young.
WHAT THE??
Yesterday I read an interview with Chris Rock. He said that you know that you are a good parent if you make sure that your daughters can make their own money, just as long as they are not on the pole. So this toy company thinks that this sets a good example??!!
That’s terrible. And shame on the parents who envy “cool” over “childhood”. And anyway, when did strippers become something to emulate, no matter what age?
I’m not convinced that’s real…yet.
That reminds me of that boston Legal episode where a mother sued a brand for marketing dolls that looked like sluts (short skirts etc). Now, it’s really prostitutes, great for women’s image.
Talk about things that make me die inside..guess we gotta get the youngsters ready for alternative careers, they can’t all be Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, etc.
We consumers of the media and pop culture SHOULD be outraged by this, but of course we’re not. “No big deal.” Miley does it, Britney does it, so who cares, right? WHO CARES about the sexualization of young girls? WHO CARES that boys -and men- view women as mere sex objects; slabs of meat? WHO CARES that pedophiles like that psycho kidnapper in the news lately salivates over stuff like this? This is where it all begins-with garbage like this. Where is the outrage??!! Something like this doll SHOULD NOT see the light of day, and if parents love their kids, they’d raise hell and shut this company down ASAP. But of course they are too busy buying their wee ones iPods and video games to give a sh*t.
This is ridiculous, but not surprising. I know I’m outraged by this (and Britney and Miley), but I can think of over a dozen parents of preteen or younger girls who think it’s cute. What a shame.
This was posted on a feminist blog, and the furthest back anyone could trace its origin was World Weekly News. So, I think we can rest assured that it’s more hoax than cause for concern.
Comon people open your minds! Pole dancing is an art form. All their mommy’s are taking pole dancing to keep daddy interested, I dont see the big deal. Ha, sorry I couldn’t keep a streight face sticking up for this one..
Woah. I hope that’s a joke! I’m pretty socially liberal, but a pole-dancing dolly is out of bounds. And the whole thing just looks weird…it looks like she’s wearing a proper little party dress or something.
Vince,
There are certain things that are meant fot adults not kids or teens. Pole dancing while it might be an art form to some, is not meant for kids or teens.
It looks fake to me. Here, in the Aleutian Islands, we would never sell such a thing.
Is this some kind of hoax? I hope so.
because miley is a big celebrity everyone picks on her. disney put this on, i don’t think she was trying to look like a slut.