Libertarian Librarian

Kids grow up too fast today. I know, I know, might as well sign myself up for The Old Fogies Reeducation Center now. Maybe do something useful with my tired old bones, like making some bling for these "lovable" pooches. But really. Are homie dogs necessary? More importantly, and the impetus for this old person rant, are these really necessary? Lord. I want my daughter to be hip. I want her to be cool. I want her to have many friends and enjoy these formative years.

I do not want her wearing three-inch stiletto heels or thigh-high f-me boots. Not when she's 16, not when she's 12 and especially not when she's a newly minted seven-year-old. What an old duffer I am.

My daughter had her 7th birthday last week, and she had a party at Chuck E. Cheese's. And believe me, as much as I find the noise and mayhem of dozens of children blissfully screeching and yelling and laughing a bit on the overwhelming side, I will happily take "Where a kid can be a kid" over "The girls with a passion for fashion" any day of the week. But unfortunately, one of the girls invited to the party thought the soccer brat would be a nice doll for my daughter.

Wasn't it not so long ago that all the feminists were up in arms about Barbie, and how unrealistic the dolls were, and how it taught our daughters a feminine ideal that was impossible for real flesh and blood women to attain? Where are they now, and why aren't these, as James Lileks calls them, 'Ho's in training' smack dab in the middle of their cross-hairs?

On the plus-side, the doll in question was not one of the worst of the group, but rather part of the new Bratz sports line. Why exactly my daughter's new soccer brat doll is wearing that much make up, much less a skirt that short, is a mystery, but it could be worse. She could be trying to golf in these boots.

Aye carumba.

Fortunately, the party was very nice, and most of the presents were much more... traditional. Polly Pockets were in attendance, and several My Little Ponies were unwrapped. Sidewalk chalk and a startlingly wide variety of jewelry making kits. Even some accessories for her American Girl doll-- and believe me I'm willing to pay the exorbinant prices for AG products now that I've seen the Bratz alternative up close and personal.

It's a fast-paced, fashion-crazed world we live in. That doesn't mean I have to like it. Thank God summer is here and we can spend most of the next four months outside.

Labels: Politics