November 20, 2014

Children at St. Edmund's Academy in Pittsburgh pass the doll test.

They resist societal pressure and indoctrination....



... or do they?

(For comparison: The doll test that figured in the Brown v. Board of Education case.)

ADDED: My Barbie:

DSC_0003

28 comments:

gerry said...

The Brown vs. Board of Education article was really depressing.

Moose said...

So much of kids play is fantasy based - why are they trying to remove fantasy from their dolls?

Henry said...

Barbie needs to use her speed and arm reach to keep Lammily from grappling and hope that she can tire her out in the later rounds. But if Lammily can take Barbie down, it's over in seconds. Barbie lasts two rounds, tops.

Pelkabo said...

If you saw that name, Emily Wax-Thibodeaux, in a parody article in The Onion, you'd laugh.

Jake said...

It takes a village...

bleh said...

"I already have this one, so ..."

They still prefer Barbie, despite knowing the "right" things to say to the adult asking them questions.

Henry said...

Lammily has much better hair. Nickolay Lamm has figured out how to source hair. Don't think that Mattel isn't paying attention.

Deirdre Mundy said...

I thought Barbie's body had to do with seam allowances so the Ball Gowns will look right?

Does the other doll even HAVE ball gowns?

Todd said...

Deirdre Mundy said...
I thought Barbie's body had to do with seam allowances so the Ball Gowns will look right?

Does the other doll even HAVE ball gowns?
11/20/14, 8:57 AM


Likely not. I suspect the extended wardrobe contains flannel shirts, hiking boots, maybe a welder's mask, and Birkenstocks. Not that there is anything wrong with that...

dustbunny said...

Yes BDNYC, they weren't choosing the new doll over Barbie, they already had her so they just wanted the new one. I'm surprised the producers left that in as it undercut the argument they thought they were making, which is what Althouse was asking, I assume.

Ann Althouse said...

"which is what Althouse was asking, I assume."

Actually, my final question was intended to make you think about whether these children had been subjected to pressure and indoctrination against the glamorous, slim doll and tried to give the adults what they thought they should.

By the way, I think the test was also rigged by giving the "normal" doll very thick long hair that was surprisingly "soft" (as many of the kids commented).

And I thought it was funny that the "normal" doll had obvious highlights in her hair -- the kind that do not occur naturally.

What annoys me about these supposedly normal variations on Barbie -- which I've seen many times over the years -- is that they never explain that the waist needs to be super-narrow to make the clothes look normal. It's a fashion doll, meant to wear clothes, and tiny doll clothes get bulky at the waistband because of the layers and seams.

Birches said...

Oh brother! Don't all these SJW types realize that Lammily looks like a quarter sized version of an American Girl Doll, which is about $120. Of course the kids want one. It's a status symbol among girls in the right socioeconomic bracket to own multiples of those dang things and to lord over their friends who don't. The hair is also how you can tell a real American Girl doll from a knock off.

And what's the matter with being a make up artist?

Why didn't they show the clip of the little blond girl answering who looked most like her, huh?

Jim said...

8:06 Henry made me laugh. Winner of the thread by a KO.

BrianE said...

I wouldn't let my daughters play with Barbie growing up, offering the rationale that Barbie was too superficially fashion conscious and I wanted them to learn to look at the character of the person.

I have too beautiful, accomplished grown daughters now-- who are very fashion conscious. But with them, it's not superficial. It's sincere.

I also wouldn't let my son play with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. No, he's not now a turtle.

It might explain why he became an accountant, though.

Anonymous said...

Does the typical 19-year-old girl really have stretch marks? I've been out of touch.

Lammily Ken is going to be a pure waste of effort: Mattel Ken already does whatever the girl tells him to, which is the thing that matters.

When the pint-sized SJWs get around to taking over this academy, the girl who said "more human-like and whiter" is in for one hell of a public shaming.

BarrySanders20 said...

Paul, I think it was "wider," not "whiter".

She's good since that's the right answer.

Anonymous said...

Actually, my final question was intended to make you think about whether these children had been subjected to pressure and indoctrination against the glamorous, slim doll and tried to give the adults what they thought they should.

They certainly sound like they've been led on - especially obvious with that little boy: "She's not like other dolls...she isn't, like, very thin". Lol, yeah, typical boy doll analysis.

Deirdre Mundy: Does the other doll even HAVE ball gowns?

Exactly! The ball gowns were the whole point of Barbie.

I remember being deeply peeved one Christmas when my older sister got the glamorous Barbie, and then when I tore off the wrappings of my package I found...that frump Midge. Midge! What were the adults thinking? Sensible-shoes freakin' Midge. Damn, I was pissed.

(But I knew they meant well so I kept my mouth shut and pretended to be pleased. But...Midge! I think I'm still traumatized.)

ELC said...

I got the impression that either (1) a lot of coaching of some kind had been going on, or (2) very leading questioning was edited out, or (3) both.

Freeman Hunt said...

Based on the music and voice over, I was expecting satire.

Freeman Hunt said...

I would like to hand a bunch of uncoached kids both dolls. The comments were so similar that it was obvious the class had been having teacher led discussions on the topic.

Freeman Hunt said...

Oh brother! Don't all these SJW types realize that Lammily looks like a quarter sized version of an American Girl Doll, which is about $120. Of course the kids want one. It's a status symbol among girls in the right socioeconomic bracket to own multiples of those dang things and to lord over their friends who don't. The hair is also how you can tell a real American Girl doll from a knock off.

Yes, this too.

Additionally, I don't see it as a positive that children would be trained to assume that the doll that looks like a model would have a lesser job.

dustbunny said...

When I was young, every girl I knew had only one Barbie. You got the doll and then for birthdays etc you got the fashions. But when my daughters were small their grandmother would buy lots of Barbies at garage sales so they had a pile of them. They would cut their hair and put the bad ones in prison. Some died on the Oregon trail. Little girls are ruthless.

ron winkleheimer said...

I could only take about 30 seconds of the treacly music.

But what I did see leads me to agree with the professora.

It's a private, most likely very expensive, academy in the Northeast, no chance of kids encountering any PC there.

Coupled that with the fact that you don't actually hear any of the "series of questions" and I get a might suspicious.

"Tell me Bobby, how is Lamilly different from Barbie? Is she less thin? Does Lamilly look like anyone you know?"

Todd said...

dustbunny said...
Little girls are ruthless.
11/20/14, 12:44 PM


Not so little ones too! They just learn to hide it better!

Todd said...

Not my wife though (in case she is following this)...

Todd said...

I mean not ruthless, not the hiding it part...

Deb said...

Additionally, I don't see it as a positive that children would be trained to assume that the doll that looks like a model would have a lesser job.

I think one little girl said the Barbie could "do any job."

Nobody thought Lammily could be a librarian?

Ctmom4 said...

I too thought they had been coached. They all said "wider" not fatter, which seems odd. I like the boys answer. He wasn't about to say " Hell no, I don't play with dolls." That is what my sons would have said - well, not hell, not in school anyway. Poor fella's a Beta already.