What's Wrong With This Picture?

Hmmmm, Indeed, what is wrong with this pic? Maybe nothing, Maybe everything. You decide.

• The gal on the left is the average American woman: 5'4, size 12-14. Nothing wrong with that.
• The gal, Barbie, on the right is about 1 in 100,000. Wrong? Definitely not average. But then, I'm not an average size. Does that make me an inappropriate example? Maybe that seems a bit of a stretch, but let's be fair.

Seriously, have you ever envisioned Barbie being 6 ft and her bust 38"? I know, I haven't. And she and I used to hang out for years, so you'd think I would have noticed! To me, she was just a "friend." Nothing more, nothing less. Did I notice that she was pretty? Sure. But then seriously, what doll wasn't? Well, until Cabbage Patch Kids came on the scene in the 80s. And they were so desperately strange that they were just as desperately cute. Right?

OK, so now we know Barbie's not the average American gal. Again, what doll is???? Then why convict and shoot the dagger at her? Because she's been around the longest, sold the most (est one billion), and or been the best friend to so many little girls since 1959?

Some have not only dragged her through the dirt over her unrealistic figure (which Mattel changed in 2000, making her bust smaller, hips and feet larger, to correspond to the complaints), but contended:

• She had too many unrealistic careers for one person.
• She had unrealistic life styles for one person.
• She had been divorced (never mind that she stuck with the same guy for how many years, and they are back together, you know!).
• And the gripes go on.

OK, what is wrong with this picture? SHE IS A DOLL, not a person. Uh, she doesn't have a beating heart, she doesn't bleed, she doesn't do anything, not even Pilates, EXCEPT bring delight and imagination to an immeasurable amount of children, who by the way, don't OD on/over her body. They just enjoy dressing her up and pretending and using their individual imagination with whatever "career" choice they so desire.

So is there anything that concerns me about Barbie being an American staple for our children's playtime? I will tell you what does concern me for our precious children is NOT her influence, BUT rather the lame examples of adults, government, and oft times peers. Along with the onslaught of lies from the media about how we should or should not look (movies, tv, mags, etc.).

Honestly, don't give her credit for destroying a generation.

I don't know of anyone who has lost an ounce of integrity over owning/playing with a Barbie doll. Am I saying that NO one has ever crumbled into some kind of dysfunction over her? I would say like in anything, including the Bible, there are PEOPLE who distort the meaning behind the message. And, by the way, their confusion originates from something other than the object itself.

I do believe there was a great apostle who once said, all things are not necessarily bad, it's what we do with them that makes the difference.

So the next time we buy a little girl a doll, I guess we should ask for a guarantee that it will come fully equipped:  With complete gear for being the "average" human (what is that anyway?), so that we won't have any worries that it will damage the minds and lives of our children.
Updated: From 11/21/09
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