Re: GEN:Barbie magazine

[Richard Moore <RichardGuy@AOL.COM>]

Confession time - I can't let this Barbie thing go by without comment - My
daughter, now 15, didn't like Barbie, collected Heart family instead - liked
the family values - but her brother is named Ken, is tall and skinny, and
she's blond, so comparison's were made.  She wound up defending Barbie as a
lifestyle choice - actually many lifestyle choices, just to deflect the nasty
comments that came her way.  Now that she has her music awards, varsity
letter, and straight A record, folks know better than to dis her, but the
memories of prejudice are strong.  Her best friend is a "Barbie" and a
delight to everyone who knows her.

Confession part:  whenever McDonald's runs its promotion, I eat Happy meals
until I have the next eight Barbies - I have over thirty now and they
decorate my desk, show up in book displays with Catwoman, Ariel, Marilyn,
Minnie, Belle, and other heroines of children's lives - my students love it.

Judgement balances censorship against selection, but it also allows for kids
to make their own choices without that judgement coming down like thunder.
 Let them be kids who can grow up to be who THEY want to be.

Richard Moore