Tattooed Barbie

If either of my daughters determined their self worth, their self perception based on a doll I have failed as a mother.

This also applies to tshirts and ad campaigns.

I think people just like to get their knickers in a twist. Maybe it is that warm snuggley feeling.....

Agreed. This is a Non-Issue.
Do you know when the SuperBowl was in Dallas last year, they had to bring in special task forces to rescue underage sex slaves? They printed the helpline number on all hotel soaps, so the children could have a lifeline to call for help. They were brought in from all over the country, as many as 50,000 young girls and boys to service the SuperBowl fans. Apparently this happens every year. Where is the uproar about that?

Uptighties have to find something to complain about.

I agree with some other posters.... If children develop their perception of real life based on a Barbie or any other marketed toy then they (we) failed as parents.

If you don't like it, DON'T BUY IT. No one is standing at the aisle with a gun to someone's head telling you that you have to buy this toy. It is simply marketing... move on down the aisle.

I totally agree that it's a business tactic to sell more dolls... nothing more. And I couldn't care any more or less about a barbie with tattoos, than one without. People need to get a clue. Like you said, if a barbie with tattoos has more influence on a child than his or her parents, therein lies your problem. And if people are so worried about the effect that a barbie will have on their child, have they looked at the shape/proportions of these freak of nature dolls? Seriously.

On the other hand, with regard to the proportions of these and other dolls... I played with barbie dolls as a kid, and I think I always realized they weren't proportioned like 'real' people, and I don't think I got one iota of what I 'should' look like from barbie... I played with Cabbage Patch dolls too, and I didn't think I should have a fat, overstuffed body, with a huge hard head, either. I mean, give kids some credit here... barbies didn't ruin my self esteem, make me anorexic or bulemic, or distort my perception of what women's bodies should look like. It was a doll, and I don't remember thinking any more about it than that. Now I'm not saying that there aren't some kids who may be more susceptible to those kinds of things, but I think most kids just see toys as toys. But that's just my personal experience.

But the proportions of Barbie are OK with the itty bitty waist and giant boobies? I don't have tattoos and my daughter is 18 but this isn't a battle I would fight at all. People are different and that's perfectly fine with me.

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I think they are super cute! At least, this Barbi has personality. Usually, they just look like bleached bimbos. I grew up with a father who is covered in tattoos. That didn't inspire me to go and and get some. I don't think a doll would, either. Seriously, what person is going to get tattoos because of a barbie? I mean, a 6 year old can't get tattoos, so they are going when they are 18 with barbie in mind? Not likely.

Wow. I would be so much more concerned that my daughter develop any concept of body image based upon Barbie than worry about the tattoos. I worked really hard to get the Barbies, Bratz and other completely unrealistic dolls out of my son's preschool. There are some great dolls out there that won't have my son wanting your daughter to look like Barbie when they get a bit older.

I suspect you could tattoo a Waldorf doll if you so desired. My son LOVES temporary tattoos and I am NOT worrying that he will run right out and get a real one once he turns six.

I saw it - on the Barbie COLLECTOR site. I think she's FANTASTIC and wish I'd had the money to buy it when it was available. It's far more interesting than most of the Barbies out there. But it's also NOT for the kid to play with, unless you let your kids play with collector items. If it's not right for you, don't buy it. What will show my DD that we feel it's OK to have tattoos are the tattoos on her father and brother. I do think that Barbie in general is unrealistic, though I'll buy Barbie over Bratz.

I very much agree, too, that there are much BIGGER issues than Barbie.

It will be a collectors item as a sign of the times. Buy one and keep it in the box, it will be worth money 50 years from now.

If your kid gets a tattoo because of a doll, you're a crappy parent. LOL!

oooooh im going to get my daughter one next time i see it. I have one little tiny tattoo on my leg, i would never get a bunch like this barbie. But i would also never date a man like Ken....want a waist that small nd like to have my head pulled off by little boys....and i certainly dont want toddlers chewing and losing my shoes.

I dont think my daughter will either.

As a kid, I hated Barbie. I despised her and Ken too. Although I did get her horse. Not because they made me feel bad as a not yet budded woman, lol, but because I didn't WANT to play with them. I WANTED to go play softball or ride my bike with my friends or go take pictures with my little camera. I felt like Barbie was something people tried to stick on me like "you're a girl, therefore you must love this or else". I used to stick lady fingers in her heads (my great aunt kept buying the stupid things for me) and I'd blow the heads up. (I was about 10-11 yrs old). Truly, I hated everything about her, even though I was young.
HOWEVER: a doll with a pink bob and tattoos, I would think is Pink the rock star (or closer in those days, would be Jem or Josie), which I would have really liked. Heck, I'd buy that for my child anyday---play rockstar honey. Make the doll dance and sing the music from your parent-approved playlist on your ipod. That sounds so much better than "play with the ridiculously shaped perfect blemish free doll with perfect hair, and practice consumerism with the fake credit cards, mansions, and millions of "designer" clothes and shoes honey". Blech.
I don't have a tattoo on my body. Probably because I played with millions of temporary tattoos from the Cracker Jack boxes----I liked the idea that I could change them on a whim. I don't get tattoos because they don't come off when my mood changes, which is all the time. Perhaps play tattoos shaped my mind. *Gasp!
One thing that HAS stuck with me, and I wonder if it was because of the doll or did I hate the doll because of this: I cannot be attracted to Ken-doll looking guys. They really bother me.
As for the Bratz: yes they are dressed trampy. I wouldn't want my daughters (if I had any) playing with that. But not only the dress. The makeup. It gets on my nerves. REALLY heavy eye makeup on them. Ick.

I googled it to see - and I LOVE it! I'd want it for myself - but wouldn't spend $50. Barbie already came out with the tatoos many years ago - when I saw them, I KNEW there'd be a fit about them - so I ran out and bought two - Barbie and her friend Theresa - I like Theresa because she's a burnette like me :P. I have them in my closet still in the boxes. I didn't pay $50 for them or even $20. I'd give them to my daughter - if she played with the barbies, but she doesn't really, so up in the closet they sit. I start having that Stinky Pete syndrome... what if she's pissed for NEVER BEEN OPENED??????????????

I really don't think any of us are the same girl at 18 when old enough to get a tattoo as we were under the age 10 when most girls play with barbies. I highly doubt that playing with a barbie in the young years are going to get stuck in thier heads that barbie had a tattoo I need to get one also when she turns 18.

Its no different than a girl that had the Barbie dream house and car, I highly doubt thinks they are failures because they don't live in one as an adult...

I was thinking when I saw this in the news, there was a Barbie made back in the sixties with a belly button. Parents threw a fit and it was pulled. Now that Barbie is worth a lot of money.
I don't see what the big deal is. My daughter sees people every day with tattoos, some have one or two others are covered with them. My daughter likes the wash off tattoos, they are usually princesses. I also know that once my daughter is eighteen she will have to make up her own mind about her body and if she wants them. I never got tattoos, I could never think of anything that I wanted to look at for the rest of my life. I also thought about how they look after having a baby or weight gain.
My daughter has quite a few Barbie dolls and princess dolls she likes playing with them just like I did when I was young. I do my best to teach her that she is beautiful just the way she is.

Personally I would not buy the Barbie, but I have never bought any Barbies. I have my SIL and the girls' friends to thank for all 35 of ours.
My oldest daughter never even played with them, my youngest liked Polly Pockets. So Barbie and her ilk are in a Sterilite container in the basement.

I am not against BArbie, I had one and Skipper and Ken when I was little. I have the Marine Ken and a Barbie dressed in a wedding dress on my piano, My mom made her dress exactly like mine, he wears the same uniform my husband wore when we were married.

It's been out for awhile. I ran out and bought one for my older daughter (who GASP has tattoos) and gave it to her for her birthday. She's keeping it in the box; it might be worth a few extra dollars someday.

I thought it was a pretty cool Barbie, to be honest. Barbie has always reflected the times.

It's a collector's edition doll - sells for an obscene amount of money. Kids arent' even the target market.

My only problem with this Barbie is that she is $50. lol I would not spend $50 on a Barbie doll.

Totally agree with Jo W. lol

I think tattoos can be a mistake if done when they are young. If the regret getting them later in life it can be a very hard thing to get rid of. But if they really want one I wouldn't say no to a tasteful one.

I have to agree I would rather see a tattooed barbie in my daughters hands then one that's unrealistic body size. Personally i think its great that there would be a doll like this because it shows that ven barbie can be tattooed and be beautiful, to many people judge tattooed people and think they are criminals, and that we are ugly. I have a lot of tattoos myself so I don't see a problem with them at all. And like others said if a doll makes your child want to get tattooed then ya you might not have done something. But also if my kids want tattoos cause me and my husband are so heavily tattooed i will support them.

its silly to get all twistd up on it... Barbie had 2 other dolls before this one with tats. .

Thie makes me think of the pic I saw on facebook the other day of the doctors in his street clothes... he had full sleeve tats.

Funny my Mother and I were just discussing this... I told her I thought the Barbie was cool looking and how could I say anything negative about that Barbie when my children grew up looking at MY tattoos? Depending on the choice, I may even allow my daughter to get her own tattoo at 16 y/o.

I see nothing wrong with an 'alternative' styled Barbie.

It sounds (and kinda looks) like a friend of ours! Our friend has 30+ tattoos & her hair is bright pink & black...right now, it may change in a week! This friend is one of the best ladies I know & is a strong Christian (for us this is relevant) so I have no problem with a doll that depicts those physical attributes.
Like others, the problem I have with Barbie is the unreal proportions, the materialism that comes with it, and the focus on physical beauty (as portrayed by the media). We don't do Barbie here, mostly cause of those issues & because I'm cheap...not paying that much money for a doll my kiddos will destroy.
As a side note: the poster who spoke about the child sex trafficking in Dallas for the Super Bowl is right on target. This is a huge national issue - I have some dear friends who are very involved in a few ministries/programs that help these young people out of the life. If you want more info just PM me.

MY MIL who HATES tatoos and considers them a sin bought my doll the one that came out in 2005 or 6. It had pink or turquoise hair and colored tatoos on its face, plus mermaid tale. It was the freakiest looking doll and it got lost asap. I could not believe it.

Target market - trailer park, does is come with redneck Ken? Since wal-mart has a layaway now, it will make a great christmas gift. Get this economy going!!!