With Barbie celebrating the big 5-0 this year, some might say she’s experiencing a mid-life crisis by going out and getting herself inked up.
“Totally Stylin’ Tattoos” Barbie–which comes with small tattoo stickers for Barbie and a “tattoo gun” for kids to stamp temporary tats on themselves–and has just hit shelves and some parents are finding this latest incarnation of the doll a bit too much.
From Sky News:
Jenn Alcayaga, a parent from Sacramento, California, is against the message the new Barbie could send to young girls. “It’s attracting kids too young to want to expose parts of their body to show off tattoos,” she said.
Puh-leeze! Children have been exposed to temporary tattoos for years in Cracker Jack boxes and grocery store vending machines. Go into any toy store in America and you’ll find temporary tattoo packs marketed to boys and girls alike.
And even if “Tattoo” Barbie did cause young girls to grow up interested in getting a tat of their own, hey, what’s the big deal? Tattoos have become so mainstream that everyone from doctors to Christian pastors are rockin’ them.
I think this new Barbie has the potential to be a great creative outlet for many young girls–just like every Barbie ever created has been. When I was a kid, I didn’t care too much for the specialty Barbies like “Enchanted Evening” Barbie or “Navy” Barbie (though I’ll admit I really did like “Barbie and the Rockers” Barbie and I know I would have absolutely loved “Tattoo” Barbie if it was around back then)–I was fine with any old Barbie because chances were, as soon as I opened the box I was going to strip off her costume and put her in a different outfit anyway.
One of my favorite childhood memories was sitting with friends on my bedroom floor, sewing Barbie new clothes with strips of fabric. And, as I grew older–still loving and playing with my Barbie dolls–my friends and I would get more creative with our fashion, sometimes using my dad’s electrical tape to make Barbie some skin-tight, leather-looking miniskirts and tube tops, fit for a dominatrix or prostitute. (Did I mention I grew up in pre-Giuliani New York City?)
Interestingly enough, while looking through some old boxes, my mother recently came across my Barbie RV along with some of my Barbie dolls and outfits and asked if she should throw them away. I told her “no way” and have promised to come and collect them all soon, hopefully to pass along to my own kids one day. I just wonder if I’ll find some electrical tape in the box….
posted March 5, 2009 at 5:42 pm
This is not the first Tattoo Barbie. They had Butterfly Barbie with the long crimped hair and a macrame bikini and she was discontinued in the 1990′s beacuse Parents were also upset.
Your right, I always loved the cracker jack, gum ball machine tattoo’s in the 1960′s when I was a child and I am 49 years old now and never tattooed or dated anyone with them. Not against, just not my preference.
People get too excited over anything these days. Alot of judging going on.
posted March 6, 2009 at 7:08 pm
I have no problem with the new “Tatted” Barbie…she has always been a friend of mine, and always will be…I am 48 years old, and I still love Barbie, as long as they do not go waaayyy out of term by making her look like a prostitute, etc….Barbie’s my girl!!
posted March 6, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Is there a law against opening your mind to something different if you have children? All too often I see these “Mommies” groups up in arms about every thing that happens…Tattoo Barbie is just their latest target. You know, take care of your kids…Stop letting them become a burden to society and you won’t have to worry about what Mattel is doing. Your kids, your responsibility. If it were my product I too would jump on the bandwagon of the latest trend and let the parent do their job and parent the way they see fit. Why should they ban a product because some people have issue when others are perfectly friendly to the idea.
posted March 7, 2009 at 12:03 am
Oh my God! LEAVE BARBIE ALONE!!!(haha sorry just had to throw that in there) The thing I miss the most about Barbie dolls is the way that when you use to go down the Barbie aisle, the ENTIRE ROW was nothing BUT Barbie. One side had the dolls the other side was all clothes and accessiors. Now were lucky if we even find an outfit. Theres not THAT many to dolls to choose from and what the hell ever happened to Skipper, now it’s all Kelly this and Kelly that! I feel like my mom saying this but “They just dont make then like they use too!”
posted March 7, 2009 at 12:41 am
Oh get over it. If you think Barbie is gonna suddenly make your kid want to get a tattoo, you’ve got bigger problems. The law to get tattooed in most states is 18. And as a tattoo artist for 38+ years, no parent has approached me to tattoo their underage kids.
Associating Barbie with a kids urge to get a tattoo is like saying G.I. Joe made little boys wanna go to war. Or Lincoln Logs made kids wanna live in log cabins. Or kids wanting to scarf down spinach cause it made Popeye strong so he could beat people up.
I suppose Harley Davidson Barbie made kids wanna go get leather outfits huh?
posted March 7, 2009 at 4:48 pm
WTF? The tattoo’s aren’t permanently placed in provocative areas… they’re temporary and can be placed on innocent areas like arms or calves. If the kids place them on other areas the parent’s think are inappropriate and then insist on showing them off, I think the parents may need to TALK (heaven forbid!!) to their own children about why this may be inappropriate for their age. Parents need to actually be active in their children’s upbringing and help develop and guide their own child’s moral compass, rather than blaming others for the influence they think it may hold. If you think this doll is inappropriate for your child, don’t buy it… If you think it’s OK but only if they are placed in appropriate areas, discuss this with your child and explain why this may not be appropriate. Step up and be a PARENT rather than sitting back and saying “Barbie made her do it, it’s not my fault!”.
posted March 7, 2009 at 5:14 pm
They see them everywhere else, why would it being on a Barbie doll make any difference? Just say they are just for fun and let it go.
posted March 8, 2009 at 3:49 pm
i agree with you guys. Why in the world should we care what mattel is doing out there. they are just making money. So what if barbie has a tattoo, at least it isnt an ink show to go with it. Sorry Cat, I mean come on, there is Miami Ink and other tattoo shows out there that the kids are watching, and if they think just cause barbie did it then the kids will want one then obviously they have way to much time on there hands, maybe they should get off their butts go in and talk to the kids about said tattoos and quit their harping at mattel and get a freaking life. Or hey heres a novel idea quit looking on the internet and go outside with their kids, oh wait i forgot we dont do a normal concept like that we just sit and think of things to complain about and then get a good company in trouble because we dont want to actually get involved in the kids lives.
Sorry if I went on a tangent this just really irritated me.
posted March 8, 2009 at 9:12 pm
And there is problem with a tattoo? Some kids will grow up and want “real” ones and some won’t.
posted March 9, 2009 at 8:16 am
I have just enjoyed reading all this. The world is sure messed up to get so upset about this.I would just be thrilled if my 13 yr.old grandaughter wanted to still play with dolls.She is boy crazy all ready. If she was still playing with her Barbies my life would be much better.I think her Mother would have to agree with me. 13 to 18 is the worst time. But at least she isn’t driving yet…I hope all the Mom’s out there can start getting there girls to play with Dolls a little longer. Go Barbie
posted March 9, 2009 at 10:41 am
hey guys i have to agree making a stink about this new barbie is uncalled for and childish they should be talking to their kids about tattoos and when they appropiate for them or not i noticed barbie with the temp tattoo’s and i think they make her look gorgious as she always does im a 33 year old with three kids 2 girls and a boy my youngest daughter loves it when i play with barbies cause it helps me come down to her level and also spend time with her that way and also i still play with them even to this day with my sister and shes 24 and mattel also helps with american girl dolls too so don’t be shooting mattel down just because they want to bring barbie out with temp tattoos so let it be alright she is just a doll and mattel just wants to try new things with barbie so leave it alone will ya
posted March 9, 2009 at 10:54 am
You all know the origins of the Barbie doll, right? The creator of the American Barbie had been wanting a “more mature” doll for her daughter, and saw a doll that was just what she was thinking of when she was traveling in Germany. What she didn’t know was that the doll was a copy of a prostitute character in a comic strip in a “men’s magazine” in Germany, and was intended as a gag gift for men, not as a child’s toy. She brought it home, made a few tweaks, and voila! Generations of brainwashed girls as to what makes a woman attractive, and the beginning of eating disorders as an issue (one early Barbie even came with a booklet called “How to Lose Weight” and Barbie advised “Don’t eat”).
Just something for you all to think about when you’re protesting how innocent and harmless Barbie is.
posted March 9, 2009 at 11:06 am
Here’s a link to an article referencing Barbie’s origins.
posted March 9, 2009 at 11:16 am
I grew up with barbie, I loved playing with them and still love playing with them with my granddaugher. I still have my first two, the ones with molded eye lashes and woolly feeling hair. I never got mixed up thinking …”oh I want to look like barbie when I grow up” any more then I wanted to grow up to be like any of my other dolls. People get weird about barbie, what’s up with that?? did they have such a bad childhood that anything that isn’t them is wrong? I grew with with Jane Russel, Miss Monroe, Jane Mansfield… these woman where real life beauties and I didn’t become obsessive to become like them either. My girls played with barbies and my granddaughter has lots of barbies and she is 6 years old and I have yet to hear her say..” I want to look like Barbie when I grow up” She wants to be like Hannah Montana! Barbie is just a doll, not a political statement or life changer, she is a toy. Making her small breasted and wide waisted will not make her any more relateable to girls. Stop hating on Barbie.. she is just a toy not an evil end of girls self esteem.
posted March 9, 2009 at 11:36 am
I have yet to see anyone intelligent, who can spell and punctuate a sentence, defend Barbie. Anyone out there?
Jane Russell was a big girl who always played outspoken, strong women with a mind of her own. Marilyn Monroe was a petite woman with a rounded (sometimes very rounded) figure. Poor Jayne Mansfield was a parody of herself, someone who mainly played characters who made men walk into lampposts. None of these actresses were marketed to little girls at impressionable ages as are Barbies.
Just because you say it doesn’t make it so. Research backs up those of us who see Barbie as a negative influence.
posted March 9, 2009 at 11:41 am
We have “Twiggy” to thank for the eating disorders, I was there I remember. didn’t think we were fat until Twiggy hit the run way and all the under-grown models were splashed all over the magazines. Suddenly skin and bones where the thing. that is where the eating disorders came from, girls wanting be skinny to be beautiful. Barbie had nothing to do with that.
posted March 9, 2009 at 11:49 am
BTW, Hannah Montana is part of the Barbie syndrome. Your granddaughter isn’t saying “I want to be like Miley Cyrus!” – a brown-haired, goofy, nice kid who isn’t always perfectly pretty and whose hair isn’t always perfect. No, she wants to be the cartoonish Hannah Montana, with a lot of make-up and a straight perfect blond wig.
I rest my case.
posted March 9, 2009 at 12:10 pm
IT IS A DOLL A TOY STOP MAKING A BIG DEAL OF IT EVEN IF A KID WANTS TO GET A TAT THEY WILL GET STICK ON UNTILL THEY TURN OF AGE SO DEAL WITH IT FOR GET ABOUT THE TAT THEY WILL TO IF YOU DONT MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT IT
posted March 9, 2009 at 1:14 pm
What is going on here I can not believe what I am reading,Why do we have to make a doll anatomicly exact as far a a tatoo because Hanna Montana has one “WELL” that tells me a lot about Hanna Montana to say the least she is quite a role model.God know, next they will want to alter Ken,should I go any further to allow you to get the picture.We are in terrible time and you must protect the children from the evils that are walking this earth today.Teh entertainment field is alive with pitfalls that if the children are allowed to watch they will think its ok.I’m not going to say any more except your children are your future be careful where your mustard seeds fall.
posted March 9, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Here you go. . .I am intelligent, I can spell and I can punctuate. I played with Barbies from age six until I was 12. I’m really quite well-adjusted, I don’t have an eating disorder, and I never grew up expecting to have two perfectly formed, always-perky breasts. I knew Barbie was a DOLL, and I quickly figured out the difference between a doll and reality.
I’m blessed with two little boys, but I promise you if I had girls, the 20+ Barbie dolls (and Ken and Skipper) would be getting a second chance at life! People need to worry about other things than the “evil” a Barbie can bring.
posted March 9, 2009 at 3:30 pm
kids all ready get stick on tats, always have. or draw them on. Twiggy isn’t to blame for eating disorders anymore than Jackie Gleason is to blame for fat people. Why do people get all worked up about stupid toys, remember teletubbies? Let kids pla, and teach them your values.
posted March 9, 2009 at 7:27 pm
As a professional tattoo artist myself, I view this with very mixed emotions. On one hand stuff like this is good for business because it promotes tattooing to a wider acceptance. But at the same time, I actually hate to see this ages-old folk art become such a mainstream part of pop culture. Tattoos should never be viewed as a fashion statement or a fad.
When I see Barbie sporting tattoos and clothing at WalMart imprinted with tattoo-based imagery, I fear a cultural backlash is not far behind. I wonder how long it will be before tattoos are about as “IN” as mullets and acid-washed jeans.
posted March 10, 2009 at 1:18 pm
at least you can cut off a mullet and leave your acid washed jeans in the closet. I have 2 adult daughters who got tattoos as soon as they were over 18 one is now 39 and the other is 32 and they are so sorry that they did.
posted March 11, 2009 at 9:30 am
IT IS ARMLESS hARMLESS.they are temp tattoos.What is all the fuss about.I would worry more what my kid reads in the newspaper,media and the crap shows on tv like the millionaire bachelor that every little girl is going to want when she grows up etc…thats my opionion and i am sticking to it.
posted March 11, 2009 at 1:32 pm
This is probably the most stupid thing to fuss over! Just because barbie has TEMPORARY tattoos doen’t mean the kids are going to want them! Hell, when I was younger barbie had short hair, that NEVER made me want short hair. In fact I still have extremely long hair. If u don’t want ur kids thinkin about tats….. guess u shouldnt buy them the temporary ones from the stores huh?
posted March 11, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I think there are much worse things in the world to worry about. If you don’t want your daughter playing with a toy then don’t buy it for her. It’s that simple! I am 28 and have 1 tattoo and am getting a new one next month. My husband also has 3 tattoos. Our children see them all the time and I don’t think it’s damaging them. If they decide they want one themselves when they are older I will tell them to pick what they want and put it somewhere where they will see it every day for at least a year to make sure it’s what they really want. I waited 4 years before getting my first one and will have waited almost 2 for this next one.
posted March 11, 2009 at 9:04 pm
please it’s a doll ,she been around forever ,i have a 14 year old girl ,and when she was little i would buy it for her ,when she was little she had fake tatto’s ,so what ,i have a tatto and its not like she wants one please get over it .we have alot more to think about then barbie getting a tatto .i’m getting
more and cann’t wait .its dosn’t make they want one.
i just don’t under stand poeple ,we can have dolls that pee, or cats that have kittens and more ,ITS A FAKE TATTO LIKE YOU BUY YOUR KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted March 12, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Well how cute is this! We can no longer hide the fact tattoos are a form of self expression. Something that is needed for every heart and soul.
It is not the only form but definitely one that has gotten a lot of attention over the last 10 years. A small fragment of time when knowing the history of tattoos.
Also an opportunity to learn about judgment every time you see a tattooed person. Most inked ones have emotion connected to their tattoo so if you cannot smile at it just look away.
Yes kids should respect the guidelines of parents and respect them.
I got my first tattoo at age 30, now 20 years later still a fan.
They express different times of my life and each one holds meaning close to my heart. That is the secret to never regretting a tattoo.
Know your reason for getting it. Do it for positive inspiration or for healing and never get one knowing you can always get it removed… cause it hurts (so i am told)!
So you go Barbie! Express your self cause your spirit is alive and still inspiring lots of future women, inked or not!!
ps.. happy 50th birthday barbie..hmmm inspiration for another tattoo!
posted March 21, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Bravo Mattel for not backing down, and VIVA LA BARBIE for breaking into the twenty first century with the rest of us. I find it extremely amusing the way parents today are throwing tantrums over such stupid things, anything that requires them to actually have to be a parent. I was just reading an article where parents were throwing a tantrum about a tween style Dora the Explorer. Well, if the Rugrats can grow up, why can’t Dora? I think parents, no, MOTHERS, because I’m pretty sure most fathers don’t really care about this issue, need to lighten up. It’s a toy, no one raises cain about toy guns promoting violence in children, why would a Barbie with tattoos promote young girls into dressing like tramps? Wait, here’s another suggestion. Be mothers, and DON’T BUY CLOTHES THAT YOU DON’T WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO WEAR.
posted April 30, 2009 at 6:35 pm
while i dont object to barbie having a tatoo i do mobject to the “KEN” tatoo i think 90% of people w/ tatoos would agree getting the name of a boy/girlfriend partner or even spouse is unwise and i dont think little girls should believe that that is acceptable
posted April 30, 2009 at 6:37 pm
tattoo. sorry
posted November 25, 2009 at 2:09 pm
So now barbie also has tattoo? great!
posted October 11, 2010 at 6:16 am
you know what, at the end of the day, some kids will grow up and have a tattoo, and others won’t.
One of my sons won’t stick a stick-on tattoo on his skin even when threatened with house-arrest, the other one sneaks them on whenever he can.
and at the end of the day, as a parent I want my kids to be happy.
and if tattoo it is, tattoo it is.
I kinda agree with the comment above though, and I’ll warn them about tattooing a name on their arm, at least whilst they’re still young and exploring.
all the best
Mark