How do you say "Lolita" in Mandarin? A writer for Slate found a billboard in China in which some pubescent lovely is modeling Mickey Mouse underwear:
I was walking from my Beijing bed-and-breakfast to a nearby subway station when I was stopped in my tracks by a billboard that made the controversial 1990s Calvin Klein underwear ads look artistic by comparison. Staring down at the throngs of shoppers on Beijing's Xinjiekou Nandajie Avenue, a busy commercial thoroughfare about a mile west of the Forbidden City, was a white girl who looked all of 12, reclining in a matching bra-and-panties set adorned with Disney's signature mouse-ear design. In a particularly creepy detail, the pigtailed child was playing with a pair of Minnie Mouse hand puppets. In the upper left-hand corner was the familiar script of the Disney logo.
Check out the Slate story to see the softcore pedo billboard. A female friend and colleague of mine who is a diehard liberal Democrat pointed this out to me today as an example of how corporate America recognizes no boundaries in merchandising its wares.
UPDATE: I changed the title to more accurately reflect the story. Disney corporate HQ said they didn't approve of this billboard overseas.
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Eleazer, I think a lot of us understand exactly where Rod comes from.
Do you?
WRC, please don't feed the troll. "Eleazer Williams" is the latest pseudonym for Kim Margosein, who was banned from here a long time ago but keeps coming back out of some strange compulsion. I delete his stuff as soon as I see it.
Rod there are nice people like you there too, y'know?
http://howetokruse.blogspot.com/2008/02/orthodox-parish-in-shenzhen.html
It looks like they even airbrushed the model's chest to make it look like she has more "development" than she probably does.
I agree, it's a ridiculous ad.
OTOH, I don't have the same opinion about tattoos. I would not get one; I wouldn't sign for one for an under-18 child of mine. However, kids do like henna and stick-on tattoos; IMO there's nothing wrong with those, or with decorated dolls.
Forget the billborad. Why is Disney licensing Mickey Mouse's ears to make plunge bras for twelve-year-olds in the first place?
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