Over the past several years Scholastic have come under increasing attack for marketings commercial toys and media to children. (You remember Scholastic, right? They probably did all your book fairs and book orders in elementary school.) Most recently they are getting slammed for continuing to sell Bratz merchandise through their book orders and book fairs.
Josh Golin talks a bit about the situation in an article from the journal Mothering in Jan. 2007.
An increasing number of parents and educators are concerned about the products sold at fairs organized by Scholastic, Inc., the nation's leading book fair company. They note the presence of non-book items such as posters, key chains, toys, fashion accessories, and electronic media. It's a little hard to figure out how bracelets, videogames, or whoopee cushions (I'm not making that up) promote literacy.Even the American Psychological Association have sited Bratz as a a source of "societal messages that contribute to the sexualization of girls" and harm both healthy self-image and development.
Especially as the Bratz movie prepares to come out this summer, it's important to work to get such sexualized images out of schools. (Bratz merchandise, in and out of schools, are being marketed to kids as young as four. Dude, six year olds don't need badded bras. Nor do they need books from a brand that says they do.)
To get a taste of what pissed off parents are saying, check out TheMomSquawkBlog.
And to TAKE ACTION, there is an email drive being hosted by CCFC. You can send an online letter to Scholastic asking them to stop selling Bratz merchandise to children.
6 comments:
Oh, yeah, and check out this website: http://www.dancheryl.com/tracy.htm. It's the homepage of a little girl named Tracy who drew her own Bratz illustration. "Awesome," huh? And in case the text is too small... it says "Can't stop. Must shop." Great...
Yeah, I've always found Bratz to be disturbing in some way. I don't know much about them--and I was never one to play with dolls as a li'l one, so I don't know how they differ from Barbie, et al. But the name Bratz itself suggests a sort of childhood disobedience just for the sake of being little pains in the neck. That's not the same as playing dress-up with a Skipper doll.
And yes, the emphasis on shopping is unsettling, as well. Rather than encouraging young girls that there are more important things in life than having the latest fashions and stuff (or at the very least, teach balance in materialism and other pursuits), Bratz seems to be pushing whatever will make more money for the people who make Bratz. How convenient.
I remember the Scholastic book fairs, though I seem only to recall shelves of books. No keychains or licensed cartoon underwear or tiaras or whatnot. Is it really possible that so much has happened in fifteen years? Why is that?
Ridiculous. How hard is it to keep a book fair and book orders about BOOKS?!
No joke this came up in my elementary education course. One of the males in my class was presenting his paper which focused on pregnancy in middle school and the benefits of sports. However, at the end of the presentation, he lamented that sports and other activities had to combat these really nasty trends in consumer products and girls' clothing that were so sexualized! Who are these sick people who have decided that Barbie wasn't a bit enough offense to girls' well-being and now one needs a younger, sluttier version? I am glad to see that we are such an innovative culture.
Mel
I agree! Bratz are awful and just creating mini-consumers and trying to mold girls into worshipping shopping, clothes, and obsessing about an unhealthy self-image. Truly awful.
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