So now that Barbie’s gotten all tatted up and Dora the Explorer has suddenly outgrown animal rescue, opting instead for adventures at the mall, I’m starting to feel nauseatingly out-of-control. As the mother of a wee female, I’m especially aware of her budding self-image. And naturally, toy manufacturers are my new nemeses. These corporations have a special talent for sexualizing inanimate objects. Peruse the aisles of Toys R Us and you will see thousands, nay millions, of pairs of Angelina Jolie eyes beckoning in the guise of newborn babies, candy-colored ponies and those bite-sized “Sex and the City” wanna-bes that call themselves “Polly Pockets.”What was the conversation that spawned the updated “My Pretty Pony?” They wear toe shoes and windblown skirts. There is something prurient about them. These toys are designed for 3 year old girls, remember. Back in the day, the heavy-lidded, bullet-chested Barbie was to blame for warping our ideas of beauty. Hell, Barbie looks positively chaste compared to the miniature floozies — of every species — elbowing each other on the toy store shelves today.
