Girls, Dolls, and...Sociopathy?
Researchers have found a widespread pattern among girls. It seems that a lot of them enjoy disfiguring their Barbie dolls.
Selected nuggets of information:
"The girls we spoke to see Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity, and see the torture as a 'cool' activity," said Agnes Nairn, one of the University of Bath researchers. "The types of mutilation are varied and creative, and range from removing the hair to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving."
Researchers from the university's marketing and psychology departments questioned 100 children about their attitudes to a range of products as part of a study on branding. They found Barbie provoked the strongest reaction, with youngsters reporting "rejection, hatred and violence," Nairn said.
My guess is that this is a recent phenomenon. The underlying cause is probably fairly complex but I think I have some idea of what could help to promote feelings of "rejection, hatred and violence" from the Barbie dolls:
Selected nuggets of information:
"The girls we spoke to see Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity, and see the torture as a 'cool' activity," said Agnes Nairn, one of the University of Bath researchers. "The types of mutilation are varied and creative, and range from removing the hair to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving."
Researchers from the university's marketing and psychology departments questioned 100 children about their attitudes to a range of products as part of a study on branding. They found Barbie provoked the strongest reaction, with youngsters reporting "rejection, hatred and violence," Nairn said.
My guess is that this is a recent phenomenon. The underlying cause is probably fairly complex but I think I have some idea of what could help to promote feelings of "rejection, hatred and violence" from the Barbie dolls: