Tattooed Tokidoki Barbie Doll Raises Parents' Ire

[AsahinaKimi]

She’s got pink hair, high heels, leopard-skin leggings, a heart-and-crossbones logo on her shirt, tattoos, and goes by the name of Barbie.

She's also the centerpiece of the Tokidoki x Mattel collaboration, which this month released a limited edition of the iconic doll that is probably the funkiest version yet in her 52-year history. Called Tokidoki Barbie, it sells for $50 and is an homage to Tokidoki, the Italian-based, Japanese-inspired brand, and also features a related collection of women's clothing and accessories.

At $50 a pop, Barbie’s latest makeover is aimed at Barbie and Tokidoki collectors more than kids, but it's already got some parents' knickers in a twist, according to the UK's Daily Mail.

One commenter on the Ms. Twixt website, which is designed for the parents of tween girls to share and virtually shake their heads, wrote, “Encouraging children that tattoos are cool is wrong, wrong, wrong. Mattel why not put a cigarette and a beer bottle in her hand while you're at it!”



more...
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/Tokidoki-Tattoo-Barbie-Controversy.aspx

[The Straight Story]

1. "Mattel why not put a cigarette and a beer bottle in her hand while you're at it!”

[xchrom]

2. ...

[Blue_Tires]

4. uhh...why is that dog dressed as a cactus?

[HappyMe]

10. I don't think it's a dog....

:shrug: or maybe it is.

[KurtNYC]

55. my objection would be to the dog

Thanks to Paris Hilton and the like, hundreds of small dogs are now abused as fashion accessories.

[AsahinaKimi]

9. Thanks for posting that..

I tried to but it kept saying it was an illegal code, what ever that is.. I would buy one, cause collectables are cool.

[xchrom]

11. i think she's awesome. nt

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Odin2005]

5. Oh lord, people are still getting the vapors over tattoos?

Talk about 30 years behind the times. :eyes:

[HappyMe]

6. Ffs!

It's a collectors item. People must stay up nights hunting for things to be outraged over.

[Ikonoklast]

7. "What about the CHILDREN???!!?!"

If you don't like it, don't buy one, stupid.

Retailers sell liquor in the same stores that sell cookies, doesn't mean your kids will go home with mandatory Bourbon in their sippy cups.

[seabeyond]

13. "What about the CHILDREN???!!?!"... talk about stupid. a toy. for kids.

"What about the CHILDREN???!!?!"

?

really?

surely, when it is about the children, well, it is about the children

cant believe the absurdity

and as far as this doll goes, it is mellow to the other shit selling to kids. hey, pole dancing doll. no issue there. fuck the children

oh, adults are doing that, too

[Ikonoklast]

15. Not everything is about sexually abusing children.

That was a real stretch, even for you.

[seabeyond]

17. what a wonderful dodge of the point.

what about the children.

[Ikonoklast]

18. How many children you know have $50 to spend on this doll?

Parents nowhere in sight?

[seabeyond]

19. again... what does that have to do with anything? that is not the point of parents speaking out

the company has the right to make them. parents have the right to buy for their kids. and parents have a right to call out a company if they feel they are being inappropriate.

see how it works?

companies can put out trash. parents can buy. AND parents can call out a company

[Ikonoklast]

20. Censorship for all, the tyranny of the loudest.

If I don't like something, should I have the right to keep you from enjoying it?

THAT is the point you missed completely.

[seabeyond]

21. so there is only freedom of speech for some, not all?

sounds to me like you are the one with the issue.

[Ikonoklast]

35. OK, you win.

Speak out all you want over stupid, inconsequential moral issues such as this fabricated by right-wing loons who hide their issues over all things in society that they cannot control behind 'what's best for the children'.

[seabeyond]

37. ya. it was a pretty easy argument.

hey... you did pick up that this is not my issue. freedom to speak out, though, is.

and again.... an inadaquit argument for you to the end.

[HappyMe]

22. It's a collector's item.

I believe I heard that they are a limited edition.

I guess the children should be hearing the word 'no' in this case.

[seabeyond]

25. as they should hear "no" with the pole dancing doll. regardless, the parent still

has the right to bitch to a company.

and i will say again, i dont really care about the doll. but, i was addressing the stupid.... what about the children, when discussing a toy.

[HappyMe]

26. What 'pole dancing doll' ?

It isn't being marketed as a toy. It's a limited edition collectors item.

As far as a parent's right to bitch, they can bitch all they want. If it gets taken off the market because of the bitching, then I will have a problem with that.

[seabeyond]

28. and you are allowed to have that problem and can bitch to the co. lol

are tehy advertising on cartoon network, disney and nickelodean? or history chanel and a & e. that will clue you in.

[HappyMe]

41. I don't know if they are advertising

on the kiddie networks, since I don't watch them. I saw the dolls & info on a early morning news show.

[a la izquierda]

31. If I ever have kids...

and folks see me and my husband with them, people will probably say "But what about THEIR children???" My mom always asked what I'd do at a PTA meeting with all my ink (most of which is hidden anyway, because I do like my job). My response was "Be a mom with a PhD at a PTA meeting. With tattoos."

[seabeyond]

36. damn straight. and not a problem at all. a lot of the parents, pta and otherwise have tattoos

i have not seen a single form of ostracizing or ridicule or judgment. not a single moment in all the years in the system with my kids.

it has nothing to do with the parenting.

and that has nothing to do with what we give our young girls to play with.

[a la izquierda]

71. Right.

;)

[seabeyond]

79. there are too many parents with tattoos. it just is not a big deal.

i was on pta. i fit all of the role, and didnt belong at all. some liked me. some didnt. and i have no tattoos.

in okl you will get it more cause you don't vote repug.

it just is not that big of a deal and if you parent your kid and are connected to the school, you will be appreciated.

or

you can go in with a preconcieved idea and create the very experience you expect

[a la izquierda]

82. Well, I'm in Ohio now...

but who knows where I'll be when I have kids. Academia takes one all over :) In some places, the Dr in front of my name would probably turn people off more. It's means I'm am intelligent person.

[LadyHawkAZ]

39. No it isn't, it's a collectors item for adults. Not a toy for kids

I object to Barbie for the obvious reasons, but this is not a child's toy unless the parent is very, very stupid.

[seabeyond]

42. do you know how often barbie has their limited collectors? all the friggin time.

it is just another marketing scheme to suck the consumer in. with all the accessories it is priced in teh same range as every other doll with all the accessories adn the supposed collectors item.

[LadyHawkAZ]

43. And...?

Your point is? It's still not a child's doll.

[seabeyond]

44. and?

i dont agree.

thought i do agree with your post below. all the things to bitch about barbie, it wouldnt be the tattoos.

[LadyHawkAZ]

54. Indeed

This one was designed for collectors i.e. adults. The ones they design for children are wrong on all levels without having a single tattoo, beer bottle or cigarette.

I'd question the sanity of a parent buying any Barbie for their child, tattoos or no.

[uppityperson]

86. Like this one, for sale on Amazon for $24.18. "Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie"

http://www.amazon.com/Mattel-N4758-Totally-Stylin-Tattoos/dp/B001NXO1YE

[stevenleser]

58. I don't think you understand. There are a ton of collectors Barbie dolls out there aimed at adults

only. There are a lot of adults that collect these Barbies. There is a website geared toward them http://www.barbiecollector.com/ Many of these collector dolls are several hundred dollars, several are in the thousands of dollars. In fact, I did some quick research, the resale value of these particular dolls is already several hundred dollars.

[seabeyond]

64. and yearly they come out with "collectible" with accessory pricing t about $50

which is in fact, aimed at the kid.

[stevenleser]

69. Perhaps, but that does not include this particular doll. nt

[seabeyond]

70. says them, now that parents are pissed and they see it as a flop. nt

[uppityperson]

75. Found this online for $300-350. That isn't "aimed at the kid".

If you see one for $50, please let me know. Otherwise I am NOT shelling out $350 for an adult friend who collects things like this.

[seabeyond]

80. everyone else said it was $50. nt

[uppityperson]

85. Originally, it was. Limited edition @ $50, now can be bought for $300+

IF you were one of the lucky ones to be at the whatever it was where they released it, it was $50. Search shows me now, for the rest of the world, they are being resold at $300+

[HappyMe]

53. So what?

They can bang out as many collectors items as they want. Nobody is forced to buy it. No even the collectors.

[seabeyond]

65. true enough, which we have all agreed on. the only disagreement is IF these parents have freedom

of speech, like everyone else does.

[Puregonzo1188]

60. Wait, what is actually wrong with the doll?

[seabeyond]

66. if you read my post, you see i dont have an issue with it. are you saying, you dont

know what the parents are complaining about? re read the OP.

[Warren DeMontague]

62. Barbie is supposed to be an adult, right?

Don't some adults have tattoos?

She's got pink hair, too... I bet that's not her NATURAL HAIR COLOR!!!

please! think of the children!

:o



Honestly, I don't think it's that big of a deal. A lot of people have tattoos. (full disclosure? Not me.) If you need to get this doll for your kids AND are terrified that they may run out to the tattoo parlor because of playing with it, tell them they're temporary. Or henna.


"problem" solved.

[seabeyond]

67. and again, i did not address tha appropriateness of the doll, but the right of parents to complain

if parents want to hold a higher standard for this TOY company, then it is their right

are you really going to argue this with me?

i said the doll was mellow compared to a lot of the shit. so where are we in disagreement.

i was addressing the "think about the kid" snarky, when talking about a TOY

'nough said.

[Warren DeMontague]

73. and why don't you respect the right of the snarky people to THEIR opinion?

Round & round we go...

[seabeyond]

81. i didnt tell anyone to shut up. i guess we stop going around. nt

[negativenihil]

8. WTF

"One commenter on the Ms. Twixt website, which is designed for the parents of tween girls to share and virtually shake their heads, wrote, “Encouraging children that tattoos are cool is wrong, wrong, wrong. Mattel why not put a cigarette and a beer bottle in her hand while you're at it!” "

But tattoos *ARE* cool.

[Javaman]

12. tats were cool 5 years ago...

now it's nothing more than doing what everyone else is doing and claiming it's cool.

if tats were still cool then there wouldn't be a noticeable rise in tattoo removal clinics.

and if tattoos are not marketed to kids, then the whole "cool factor" has come and gone.

[seabeyond]

14. agreed. came to realization 6 months ago. use to enjoy the tat. now?

overkill

[negativenihil]

32. sorry you feel that way

I am proud of and enjoy the heck out of my ink :)

[Javaman]

57. Glad you enjoy your tat...

but I'm just an observer of typical societal trends.

new and exciting, interest peaks, same old same old, has been trend.

all trends, fads and hobbies follow this cycle. It's nothing new.

There will always be people, such as yourself, who will enjoy it, but for the majority of society, it has moved on.

[Major Hogwash]

38. Yeah, when dolls come with their own tattoos, I would say the cool train has left the station.

Some were neat, and some were nice, but most of them were just plain miserable looking.
I wonder if this Tokidoki Barbie doll comes with her own "tramp stamp."

:rofl:

[Javaman]

56. "tramp stamp."

My first thought as well! LOL

[Irishonly]

16. If they weren't 50 bucks I would get one for my daughter, 22

As much as I didn't want her to like Barbies when she was a child, she loved them. It would be a great gag gift.

[TlalocW]

23. Not as good as my idea

Years ago when my Barbie-collecting niece was still young enough to get presents at Christmas from her uncle, I accompanied her mother into a Toys R Us to get a Barbie, and I discovered something important - adults hate Barbie because the kid always wants a specific one, and your eyes glaze over trying to find it in that row of pink boxes. To embarrass my sister, I loudly asked, "Which one is she wants - is it Phone Sex Barbie or Shoplifter Barbie?" The 10 other people in the aisle, who looked to be dead in the eyes, all laughed heartily while my sister unsuccessfully tried to shush me.

TlalocW

[BoWanZi]

24. Good grief, if you don't like it, don't buy your kid one, its not rocket science to avoid them

I think its silly as all get out that people get the vapors over a doll (love that phrase btw) just because it might have tats or whatever.

Its like tv, if you don't like something, don't let your kids have/watch it. If you feel that is a hardship to not allow your kids the doll or watch certain tv, then you have bigger problems like being an inattentive parent.

[HappyMe]

27. Bingo!

People seem to have forgotten how to parent. Easier to whine and howl than tell the kid 'NO'.

[seabeyond]

29. i guess one can argue that companies need to be reminded of their responsibility to the consumer,

at times.

[BoWanZi]

30. They aren't making the dolls out of baby seal skins and spotted owl feathers, what more do you want?

If the toy meets safety standards and isn't obviously an offensive toy designed purely for its offensiveness, such as making a welfare mom doll or something like that, then what is the big deal? If the market doesn't like the toy, then they won't buy it and it will disappear.

[HappyMe]

45. Just because a company makes a product,

that doesn't mean people have to buy it. People have the right to express their angst over every little thing. Companies have the right to make whatever the hell they want. Keeping your money in your pocket is better than hysterical poutrage.

[seabeyond]

47. and your usage of hysterical and poutage is about par with what you are discussing

you dont have to agree with them. but the have the right to speak out reminding a company they are dealing with kids, hence... there are lines.

new coke.

coca cola decided to change the product. but, thru your hystical poutage, the company nixed the plan. cost them tons. a lot of people liked the new coke. it was the reason they changed the product.

hysterical poutage won.

and that has NOTHING to do with a social responsibility.

it is what running a business is about. take risks. some pay off. some don't

[HappyMe]

49. But they aren't dealing with kids.

It is being marketed as a collectors item.


As far as coke is concerned there was no 'hysterical poutrage' on my part.
I merely didn't buy any.
If a kid wants one of those dolls, the parent with the $50 says no.


I wonder if those bitching about this doll give a single thought to the hungry kids and homeless out there. A better cause for social responsibility.

[seabeyond]

50. post 42. and since i know none of these people, i am not going on a rant spending $ on world hunger

we all spend our money on things we want, not need, that we could give to the poor and hungry.

[stevenleser]

59. Post 42 shows your continued lack of understanding on this. nt

[seabeyond]

68. no. it shows i disagree with you. nt

[Quantess]

33. Tattoos are a topic for fashion police.

Tattoos have absolutely nothing to do with morals.

[FirstLight]

34. at least the tats are pretty...

not like a tramp stamp :rofl:

http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.kunstler.com/img/3C88D4E7-ECBD-431A-8355-CDEB1C54EA77


ohhh the fun we can have with BARBIE! google some of the worst things you can think of...

"crack whore barbie" complete with spoon and needle!



ohhh! or ZOMBIE BARBIES!!!!

[LadyHawkAZ]

40. Oversized breasts, undersize body, permanently crippled

feet with high heels, but yeah, let's whine about the tattoos! Because perfect skin on women is IMPORTANT!

Sheesh.

[redqueen]

46. Excellent point.

These moms have some strange priorities.

[one_voice]

48. Of course...

bitch about the tattoos. Never mind the fact that every freakin' Barbie doll is "perfect" in every way...hair-check--body--double check--clothes-check...

This is where many little girls get their image of what a woman is supposed to be. God forbid she be different--must conform...

My daughter is gorgeous..she's got a masters degree--a very good job. She wears a small diamond stud in her nose and has a beautiful tattoo on her shoulder.

Glad she's who she is..

[Skidmore]

51. Just the notion of Barbie raises my ire.

[NuttyFluffers]

52. some of these "parents" would complain if you fart sideways. fuck 'em.

sometimes toys are for adults. deal.

[Bucky]

61. Times change & Barbies change with them. I suppose "baby bump Barbie" isn't far off

Seriously, I don't see how Barbie can further damage the body-images of the girls of western civilization. I wonder when we'll see a "college-bound, focused-on-her-career Barbie." Now that would be shocking.

[LadyHawkAZ]

63. Been and gone

http://www.amazon.com/Barbie-Happy-Family-Pregnant-Midge/dp/B000083E0C

[uppityperson]

72. that is very cool. thanks for sharing this doll. Found them online for $300-350. 0-0

Need to see if can find one for a friend who'd love it.

Edited to add, looks like I can buy one for between $300 and $350. Nope. No present for my friend.

[AsahinaKimi]

74. I love all of TokiDoki stuff

But I think she is especially cool. You are welcome!

[uppityperson]

76. Not going to spend $350 though. Dang. have a friend who collects stuff,

lots of dunys, other random "wtf stuff" for non-geeks like me. This doll is very cool. Too bad it costs so much, too bad limited edition. Very cool

[AsahinaKimi]

77. I have two Rare PuffyAmiYumi dolls

They are still in the packages unopened. I used to collect a lot of stuff..mostly Anime DVDs and Asian Drama Dvds. I really enjoyed watching them. I have collected other things too but in this present economy its not good to collect stuff.

Thing is, I had some stuff in storage, and one year.. I couldn't pay for it, so they sold it all in auction and I lost it all. Oh well, easy come, easy go.

[uppityperson]

78. awwwww, that's too bad.

I've lost stuff and decided rather than being pissed, would think "lost in a fire". Nasty divorce thing. Not sure why he wanted the stuff he kept, but oh well. Moving on.

The "think of the children" thing with this doll is quite amusing. Anyone who can come up with the money isn't a little kid.

[Norrin Radd]

83. It's laughable that people are upset by this, considering how many

kids have parents with tattoos.

Anyhow, my girlfriend collects dolls and likes to custom paint and dress them; there are far more sophisticated and creative dolls than Barbies for sale out there:

http://www.angelicdreamz.com/DOLL-MAGAZINES_c_1195.html

[seaglass]

84. I wonder if any of these parents let their kids get temporary tattoos at a birthday party

or face painting at a fair.