The new Black Canary Barbie is pissing off some people because of her BDSM appearance. Black Canary is a DC Comics character. From The Sun:
S&M Barbie is lashed by the public (The Sun, thanks Mac Delaney!)Religious group Christian Voice said: “Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far.
A children’s doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible – it’s filth.”
“Barbie” has always been a sort of “wacked” cultural icon. The culture that makes little girls desire and idolize Barbie is skewed.
(And yes, #3, a nine-year-old girl is going to buy into that, every bit of it, as they have done since the product introduction.)
That this version takes it to new extremes is no more startling than an Alfred Hitchcock eye-pecking version.
This one is comical at least.
Everybody altogether now, 1, 2, 3…
PUH-LEEEEEZ!
This character has been around since the 1940’s, and they’re just now getting up in arms over a Barbie of it? If any of these uptight parental units ever saw a Japanese model of something like Queen Blade, they have a heart attack and lock their children in a closet until they were 40. :P
Man, I guess they haven’t seen the Bratz dolls yet! At least Barbie is supposed to be a grown up.
I bet the complaints are a lot of fun at parties.
#3 “Yes, a nine year old child is really going to be tuned into the sexual connotations of the doll!”
Yes, actually, they will be. OK maybe not BDSM specifically, but if you don’t think that 9-year-old girls are aware of the importance of being “hot” then you haven’t been around any 9-year-old girls lately, or seen any shows or listened to any music aimed at them.
(On a side note, I was an acquaintance with a female BD enthusiast some years ago, and she assured me that her predilections for constraint were with her from a very early age.)
I wouldn’t give this to a young girl, but then I think that there are better toys for girls than the “traditional” Stepford Wife Barbie. On the other hand, I wouldn’t run screaming about it from one end of the house to the other with my arms flung up over my head, either.
I wouldn’t buy this doll, but if somebody gave me one, it would make a great companion for my collectible GI Joe Korean War Air Force Pilot, who has the coolest sunglasses in the history of collectible dolls, and stop looking at me like that.
She looks like an ideal partner for “Earring Magic” Ken. I’ll leave it to someone else to post his acquired nickname.
Spazzm #41: Also: Storm in teacup.
What, they’re doing X-Men Barbies too?
Well I know a number of Dominatrixes that have dressed like this for years… they have been making a reasonable living as strong women, and able to delegate for their lives very well. Not that I ever saw them in a professional sense oh no… that was someone else.
This new Street Walker Barbie is refreshing. What’s next? Crack Binge Barbie? Prison Bitch Barbie? Cannibal Barbie?
Gotta catch ‘em all!
What about a suggestive jesus? Is THAT okay?
http://failblog.org/2008/04/13/intelligent-design/
@19
As for Black Canary, I’m just waiting to see how the fanboys that buy Batman action figures are going to react….
They released a Halle Berry as Catwoman Barbie, a comic-based Catwoman (with a whip!), a Batgirl, a Mary Jane Watson (I own this one — she’s in her wedding dress and it’s totally awesome), a Supergirl, Harley Quinn, the Invisible Woman, Elektra (an assassin! Great role model!) and a Wonder Woman (the original BDSM superheroine, as noted above) a couple of years ago. So probably not with much surprise.
I was really offended by the sensationalist tone of the Sun article. (Not surprised, mind.) Mattel has released many, many adult-oriented Barbies in blatantly sexy outfits before. Maybe I’m just sensitive because Black Canary is one of the oldest and coolest female superheroes?
And really, does the “Christian Voice” qualify as “the public”?
On its own, I don’t have a problem with it. HOWEVER, I have two little girls (3 and 4 y.o.) and it’s incredibly hard to find dolls/toys for them which are not suggesting some sort of sex-up. Bratz, Barbie-types… even My Little Pony once upon a time used to be ‘nice’. Now they look over their shoulder suggestively, with full-on eyelashes, make up and all the rest.
If there was a non-sexed up doll for kids for every otaku wetdream doll, i’d be happy. Otherwise, it seems to be getting harder to keep pre-pubescent girls off the pole.
What’s so BDSM about that?
If she had a whip, handcuffs or even a dog collar I could understand – a motorcycle jacket and fishnets?
I’ll grant that that sort of apparel is often associated with people who enjoy a BDSM lifestyle, but that doesn’t make it ‘BDSM clothing’.
Also: Storm in teacup.
What would we do if nice “clean” women dressed like this to go to church? (More men would attend church.)The value judgements made regarding one’s clothing are so culture bound. What if fish net stockings were worn to represent Christ’s role as a Fisher of men? And black was worn to show the combination of all colors?
I love the fact that there’s a Tippi Hedren Barbie, getting assaulted by murderous crows – and it STILL doesn’t wipe that goddamn smile off her face. There’s such a thing as Too Much Sunny Disposition….
As for Black Canary, I’m just waiting to see how the fanboys that buy Batman action figures are going to react….
Like this is the most sexual Barbie that’s out there, well it is, but there are some runner ups that no one complains about. http://www.sweetdreamscreations.1shoppal.com/i/my%20scene/MY_SCENE_MY_BLING_BLING_BARBIE.jpg
Hrm ……
I wonder what she charges?
Love the headline, “lashed by public”. Heh.
Bikinis are not sexually suggestive now?
I’d hit that.
With a crowbar.
Wow, this must be the first time I’ve heard the word ‘tart’ used as a positive word for a woman. Let see…
Tart (n):
1. A prostitute.
2. A woman considered to be sexually promiscuous.
Yes that is definitely an improvement, lets get Barbie back to her tarty roots as a demure whore.
As a side note, does anyone else think a Black Canary Barbie doll is fairly random & obscure? I don’t think most little girls have even heard of the character.
Heres the argument that no one has made yet
The Origin of the Barbie Doll
“Ruth Handler had noted that her daughter Barbara preferred playing with paper dolls that looked like adults rather than like children. During a trip to Europe with her daughter, Handler noticed a German doll named Lilli and bought it for Barbara.
“In fact, the Lilli doll was based on the character of a prostitute in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for die Bild Zeitung. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955. The dolls were manufactured in Hamburg, where legal, licensed prostitutes are ubiquitous. The doll was marketed to adult men in bars and tobacco shops, not to children. M. G. Lord, in her Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll, characterized the original doll as a ‘gag gift for men, a pornographic character.'”
So Barbie is just getting back to her roots.
Tarty AND filthy? What’s not to like?
“Here baby girl, here’s your christmas present; your very own slutty Barbie, ready to handcuff your brother and ride his pony tail all night long.”
Actually, those of you who think this is not true to Black Canary, you’re thinking of the old costume on the current (current to the Modern Age, because she’s been around for a couple of decades) Black Canary’s mother.
Check out the entry here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Canary
As for Barbie being a “tart”… I think I would go with “bimbo” (remember, she thinks “math is hard”).
Oh snap.
FWIW Black Canary has dressed this way since her debut (well her mom’s debut) in the forties. The Leather Eisenhower Jacket, Fishnets, Pirate boots and Bustier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Canary
This is a high end collectible aimed at the fan boy dollar. I’d expect Mattel to get on the stick and get the Zatanna doll out soon. People really love those fishnets.
If you want a good clean doll for girls look at Mattel’s American Girl line. A bit pricey but they are designed to be wholesome.
http://www.americangirl.com
It is people like the Christian Voice who made me an agnostic. Given their reaction to the outfit one has to wonder about them.
Who here actually thinks a barbie doll based on this DC comics character is actually aimed at young girls, rather than the adult (and often male) collector’s market?
“I’m gonna find you Crow Dickerson” was the only thing that came to mind
“Religious group Christian Voice said: ‘Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far.'”
…As usual, the Bibble Thumpers are speaking in pure ignorance again. The Black Canary is no more BDSM than their parents were towards them, and nowhere near as masochistic as flagellistic monks in the monasteries were/are! Imagine if they’d have released a Hawkgirl Barbie using Hawkman’s costume instead? Then *maybe* they’d have something to bitch about, although I suspect it’ll be the biggest selling special Barbie in the line’s history.
…What the frack do the Bibble Thumpers want, anyway? Are they wanting a doll for girls that’ll exemplify more “Christian” ethics? Do they long for a return to the “June Cleaver meets Jackie Kennedy” look, or are they wanting something more fundamentalist, more representative of women as depicted in the Holy Bible? Can’t do Eve because no young girl in their right-wing mind would ever beg Mom and/or Santa for a clothing set consisting of just a fig leaf, an apple and a snake! How about Barbie as either of the two Marys? Ruth? Esther? Outstanding women, but too boring to sell playsets.
…And that’s the problem – women in the Bible who aren’t boring tend to be women that are either held up as examples of what happens to little girls who grow up to become bad women – Potiphar’s Wife, Jezebel, Bathsheba and especially the “Adulterous Woman” come to mind – or are women even the Bibble Thumpers tend to forget about because they show not the legacy of the Original Sin, but how retarded some of the authors of the Bible and the people they wrote about were towards their own people – the stories of the Daughters of Jephtah and Jairus are a prime example of this!
…No, sorry, dressing up Barbie as one of the women depicted in the two Testaments is either going to be a sales disaster or something that’ll make Dinah Lance look like Mother Teresa. Oh, wait! That’s it! Dress Barbie as a *NUN* Howabout that prime example of purity herself, the Singing Nun! Yeah, that’ll work! And then we can get a dress set for Skipper that’ll turn her into the Flying Nun, and one that’ll turn Ken into Jesus, cross, crown of thorns and all!
[Shakes head in utter dismay at religious stupidity]
Note to Barbie Hackers: We need Barbie nailed to a cross post-haste over this one, kids!
They have clearly never seen the infamous Catwoman Barbie which is substantially worse (or better, depending on your POV).
Catwoman Barbie even has a whip! There is absolutely no ambiguity about how she spends her nights and weekends.
On a related note, I always wondered why female superheroes never get cold in those skimpy outfits. Even homoerotic boy-toy Robin doesn’t show that much leg.
Well, they make thongs for young girls. Can’t get any stupider than that.
Best thing to do with nine-year-old girls is get them involved in sports.
That way, they’re hot – and sweaty.
If all my childhood Barbies had been dressed like nuns, they still would have eventually ended up naked in filthy Barbie orgies.
She will be the first Barbie I ever buy (and probably the last).
Amusing thing is, Wonder Woman was the actual B&D superheroine. Take a look at the original comics in the 1940’s, and do recall that her creator was into the rope and spanking scene.
Christian Voice are the pieces of shite that threatened to picket the offices and cancer caring centres of Maggie’s, http://www.maggiescentres.org because Maggie’s were going to accept a much needed donation of £10k, raised by the cast of Jerry Springer, The Opera.
These bastards were actually going to hassle recovering, and dying, cancer patients and their families, all because they were offended by a comedy musical. They are a really nasty bunch of fuckers.
“sexually suggestive”?
She just looks like a (wannabe) biker chick. What’s the problem with that?
“Here baby girl, here’s your christmas present; your very own slutty Barbie, ready to handcuff your brother and ride his pony tail all night long.”
…Oh, come on now! Everyone knows that Barbies only frack GI Joes(*). Ken’s perpetually in the closet and/or doing Skipper, and the only other male doll available – Captain Action – doesn’t come out of retirement often enough to satisfy her needs, if you thought the Bibble Thumpers going apeshit over her wearing Black Canary’s fishnets, you should see how they react when she fracks someone wearing a Batman costume!
(*) Not all of them, mind you. The John Glenn commemorative GI Joe Mercury Astronaut reportedly still won’t mess with Barbie or any of the other cookies. Verily the right stuff at any size! :-)
Has anyone ever done a hillbilly barbie? Or trailer trash?
They stole the idea from my flatmates about 6 years ago
Bondage Barbie on flickr
This is being reported in the The Sun – a paper that has for thirty years or so had a topless girl on page 3.
My irony meter just melted.
When I think of the times that I’ve seen “Christian” TV that involved a male and female host, most of the time, the female has been a buxom blonde with done-up hair, a tight red dress, and very very red lipstick. (That was very common back in the late 80’s anyway, I don’t know what they’re up to these days.)
The height of irony would be one of those shows having the female host hold up this doll so that the male could expound on the “tart.”
@Quantax #23: If you’re going to criticise a British article, at least use the UK connotations of the words. From the Oxford dictionary:
tart2
• noun informal, derogatory a prostitute or promiscuous woman.
• verb 1 (tart oneself up) informal, chiefly Brit. dress or make oneself up in order to look attractive. 2 (tart up) decorate or improve the appearance of.
— DERIVATIVES tarty adjective (tartier, tartiest).
— ORIGIN probably from SWEETHEART.
Notice the verb definition? That’s how we use it here for the most part – it doesn’t just have the connotations you’re thinking of…
Trailer Trash Barbie:
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e158/ohiomisti/trailer_trash_barbie_jpg.jpg?t=1215186739
Trailer Trash Barbie plus ‘Joe Dirt’ Ken:
http://studentorgs.umf.maine.edu/~ripple/march01/Image9.gif
after going out with ken for 50 odd years barbie decides to spice things up in the bedroom
I just looked at the toysrus website and the manufacturer’s suggested age is 12 and up. It is being marketed to young girls and not just adults. Greed never ceases to amaze me.
I wouldn’t pay much attention to Christian Voice, they’re one of those rent-a-quote mobs The Sun has to turn to in order to find anyone raising a complaint. Christian lobby groups in the UK don’t have anything like the sway they do in the US. As Tim notes above, The Sun has run pictures of topless teenage girls on page 3 every day since the early Seventies, courtesy of Rupert Murdoch’s ownership.
Is it too much to ask now for Ken in a fully-stuffed jockstrap? I can arrange a date for him with the Tom of Finland Rebel doll (“features a ball-jointed and flexible penis”):
http://www.qgiftsonline.com/store/tom_of_finland_rebel_doll.html
Please keep in mind the source of said quote before, you know, caring too much.
I’ll take six
My Barbies growing up were perfectly respectable in every sense. That still did not stop my friends and I from creating elaborate scenerios regarding the sexcapades of said dolls. Too bad though that the only male doll that we had was the Micheal Jackson action figure…
London, July 16 (ANI): Barbie’s new kinky collection that has the S and M look has come under fire – with protesters dubbing it “filth”.
The cute and pretty doll’s image has been transformed with kinky fishnets, motorcycle jacket, black gloves and boots.
Makers Mattel say Black Canary Barbie, out in September, is based on a DC comic superhero of the same name, reports The Sun.
However, religious group Christian Voice said: “Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far.
“A children’s doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible – it’s filth.” (ANI)
Yes, a nine year old child is really going to be tuned into the sexual connotations of the doll! Get real people!
D.
Do little girls really “play” with these ‘collectible dolls’?
I see the audience for this being much older.
And male.
Looking forward to the Dr. Manhattan Ken.
‘Barbie has always been on the tarty side’. That’s taking doll bashing to brand new depths! D.
It’s a collectible. Are they also going to get up in arms about the Alfred Hitchcock eye-pecking-out doll?
Meh, non-issue.
Though I will say, compared to the art I have seen from the actual Black Canary, the doll has been skanked up.
Why does this outfit offend anybody? Barbie has just gone back to her roots. In case you don’t know Barbie was modeled after a sex doll to begin with.
I don’t know what it is about this doll that suggests to me she is dressed EXACTLY like a successful British-Govt.-official’s-Blackberry thief. Just can’t pin it down. Have to think about it some more, and of course, examine the picture more closely…
Wow.. so that’s what Barbie looks like when she’s not wearing a pretty dress, hard at work in the kitchen baking Ken some cookies.
I think this outfit would be more appropriate on Ken.. assless chaps and all.
Hurrah for pro-sex third-wave feminism, I say.
is it true that Barbie started life as a male?
Wow. Best-looking Barbie ever.
Anyone who thinks this is too racy for pre-teen girls hasn’t been to a mall lately and noticed the clothes they wear themselves.
Welcome to the 21st C, where 13 is the new 23.
“These bastards were actually going to hassle recovering, and dying, cancer patients and their families, all because they were offended by a comedy musical. They are a really nasty bunch of fuckers.”
…Same kind of inbred hypocritical trash that pickets the funerals of Gulf War casualties because the US Military allows Gays and Lesbians to serve their country. Wht nds t hppn s tht th rngldr f ths bnch f dcrpt schmcks nds t smply hv hs hd blwn ff, ths ndng th prblm.