Queen of the Prom

Here's more amazing science to ponder: Researchers Find Barbie Is Often Mutilated. That was the headline on Yahoo news yesterday afternoon. My immediate reaction was an unqualified, "Duh." What sort of research would you have to conduct to discover that? Ask any prepubescent girl what idle thoughts fill her mind as she gets Barbie ready for her big date with Ken. You might be surprised how often the response will be "I wonder what Barbie would look like without any arms," or something along that line. Maybe they were surprised because they were British. Mutilation (while extremely popular in Britain) does not fall into the realm of "polite behavior."
"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." Again, be thankful that they choose to work out their frustrations on Barbie, on not younger siblings.
The researchers found it surprising that girls tended to view Barbie as an inanimate object - but isn't that the whole point? Girls get it. They don't want to become an object. Good for them. "Whilst for an adult the delight the child felt in breaking, mutilating and torturing their dolls is deeply disturbing, from the child's point of view they were simply being imaginative in disposing of an excessive commodity in the same way as one might crush cans for recycling," said Nairn.
As long as they don't start enjoying it.