Barbie promoting gender confusion?

WorldNetDaily ^ | 1/3/06 | WorldNetDaily

[wagglebee]

A third gender choice available to young participants of a poll on the Barbie doll website was changed after initially offering children the options of "I am a Girl," "I am a Boy," and "I don't know" – eliciting charges that Mattel, the company that owns Barbie, is intentionally promoting gender confusing among kids.

Barbie poll's original options.

Apparently due to the criticism, the third gender option has now been changed to "I don't want to say."

Concerned Women for America, or CWA, believes by including the "I don't know" choice the company was promoting the homosexual agenda.

"It's the idea that well, maybe people aren't born a particular biological sex, or they are but that shouldn't determine their gender identity," Robert Knight, director of CWA's Culture & Family Institute, told the Christian Post. "And that's a very big component of the homosexual activist agenda now."

Knight pointed out the homosexual movement now goes by the acronym GLBT – for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered – and sometimes adds Q for "questioning youth."

"In other words, any kid who's not sure about who he is, he's fair game to try to persuade to have same sex acts," said Knight.

CWA has posted a screen shot of the original poll's options on its website. The poll question itself asked about what activities the respondents participate in during January.

Knight also questioned Barbie's emphasis on material things and physical appearance.

"Some critics have said the Barbie dolls really have convinced American girls that the materialistic way of life is the way to go," he told the newssite. "You have to have the hot cars, and the tropical scene. And Barbie has the perfect figure and the perfect outfits.

"It's really steering girls away from the idea of womanhood as predominantly – in terms of Christians – serving the Lord, getting married, having kids, building a home. You don't see any of that with Barbie – it's all about things."

Left-wing blog Big Brass Blog ridiculed the suggestion that Barbie had an agenda by including the "I Don't Know" option.

Under the heading "Now this is just beyond silly," poster the Green Knight writes:

"I'm not sure why 'I don't know' is there; it might be just a programming mistake, or it might be a reflection of the fact that, yeah, sometimes really young kids might not have thought about it too much yet, but this mostly invisible drop-down item in an obscure section of a web page is not evidence of anything. It's certainly not a promotion of anything, other than, well, Barbie.

"And yet … CWA honestly think that this is some nefarious plot to indoctrinate 4-year-old girls into homosexuality and transsexual surgery. Yes, that's what they really think."

Mattel flatly denies any effort to purposely encourage gender confusion with the poll.

"Whenever we ask a child's gender, we provide her/him with three different answers: 'girl,' 'boy' and 'I don't want to say,'"explained Lauren Bruksch, a company spokeswoman. "Barbie.com always provides children with a neutral or non-response option."

Continued Bruksch: "In this particular case it was an innocent mistake; it should have read 'I don't want to say' as it does now. To suggest anything otherwise is ridiculous and irresponsible."

The spokeswoman said the answer "I don't know" is built into the sample answers of the rotating poll, and the fact it was not corrected before going live was an "unfortunate mistake."

[NEW YORKCITYGOPMAN]

I was at a Christmas party on Dec 25. The one young child there, a 2 year old boy, came in with his DORA the EXPLORER doll.

He then somehow found a broom and started to sweep the floor.

He is being raised by a single mom.

In his book, Ex-Friends, Norman Podhoretz is told by Allen Ginsburg, that 'we will get you through your children.'

[nc28205]

>>>From and ABC News story

But Mattel, which also manufactures Barbie, said the Barbie incident is much ado about nothing. "This was just an innocent oversight," says Lauren Bruksch, a spokeswoman for Mattel. As a rule of thumb, Bruksch said, the questionnaires at barbie.com always try to have a neutral answer or nonresponse option. For gender, this third option should have been "I don't want to say," rather than "I don't know." The Web site has since been fixed.

[Paloma_55]

"Hmmm sounds like a CWA over-reaction. But then I guess they have to keep the base energized..."

Maybe the article is an over-reaction but think about it... look at the image.

I am four years old and don't know if I am a boy or a girl!?!?

How many 4 year olds qualify for that? .0001%

If so, then this is a push poll to tell 4 year olds that they should wonder if they are a boy, girl or something else.

My 5 year old grandson has absolutely no doubt that he is a boy.. but then, nobody has suggested he is anything other than what God made him, which is apparent from his external plumbing.

The only people that have decent reason to doubt their gender are those born with both or neither organs and they are extremely rare.

[CzarNicky]

What is that...thing, in Ken's ... box? Do I even want to know?

[Aquinasfan]

In the world of children's toys, trust no one. A shot over the bow won't hurt in keeping Mattel honest.

[mikrofon]

[sweetliberty]

[stylecouncilor]

lol! I don't think we want to find out.

[MikefromOhio]

I don't know about you guys, but I think that's kinda almost funny....

LOL

[Raycpa]

THe war on Christmas is nearly 2000 years old. Its not going away.

[gondramB]

Since I posted I had another concern - what are they doing collecting personal info from young children anyway?

[Sonny M]

I honestly don't think this was intentional.

I think it was one of those screw ups from the folks designing the web page.

At worst it was a case of a lawyer sticking his nose in.

[Sonny M]

what are they doing collecting personal info from young children anyway?

Marketing information.

You might (or might not) be shocked at how many companies while promoting their prouducts to kids, try to collect information to market to them better and also direct advertising towards them.

Reminds me of something back in the 1980s, during a (that time) WWF angle, Hulk Hogan was supposedly "injured" (actually filming a movie), the WWF had a campaign where kids could mail him get well cards and he would supposedly write thank you cards back (mass produced), they used this info for a mailing list to solicit for events and wrestling promotional material......and that was then, now it would be a hell of alot more high tech.

[little jeremiah]

Allen Ginsberg, the "great" "poet", was not only a homosexual but a member of NAMBLA.

[little jeremiah]

Will be a-pinging later tonight.

[gondramB]

"Marketing information.

You might (or might not) be shocked at how many companies while promoting their products to kids, try to collect information to market to them better and also direct advertising towards them."

I'm not surprised they want marketing info..but I thought there were legal restrictions that would prevent this for kids under 14.

[Holicheese]

I remember when my GI Joe would come back from Nam' and find my sisters Ken doll's car parked in front of the Malibu Dream house.
GI Joe would beat the crap out of that little snivling wimp in front of Barbie. Then have his way with her.
I think Barbie liked it that way!

[Sonny M]

I'm not surprised they want marketing info..but I thought there were legal restrictions that would prevent this for kids under 14.

I thought so too.

Unless there is none, or a whole lot of loopholes, I learned different.....years and years ago in back when I was in High school

During my MBA classes a few years back, I asked about marketing information and kids........ and was laughed at by the teacher.

[NYer]

Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[Hermann the Cherusker]

Mattel is the company that swindled a small German toymaker out of the Barbie product by literally manufacturing it without license for years, then forcing a cheap settlement on him by providing misinformation on sales volume.

Why support a gang of organized criminals?