Do Bratz dolls teach girls to be like Paris Hilton?

[Huckleberry Pie]

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Controversies

[edit] Dads And Daughters against "Secret Date"

The parental group Dads and Daughters was outraged by the release of the Bratz Secret Date collection. The dolls were packaged with a Bratz and matched with a mystery Boyz doll behind the door on the left. A window showing the doll's feet would provide a clue to which Boyz doll it was, especially important in the quest for the rare Bryce doll, available in only 1 of every 24 boxes. The group complained that the dolls sent a negative message, and that they were forcing young girls to grow up too soon, and allegedly promoting the idea of sneaking out of the house to go on blind dates with complete strangers. They also took issue with accessories that appeared to be champagne bottles and glasses, and called for MGA to remove the dolls from the market. MGA claims to have the bottles as non-alcoholic sparkling apple cider. MGA held fast, and the Secret Date collection (later renamed Bratz Blind Date) continued to sell. MGA was not held accountable.

[edit] Bratz Babyz

The Bratz Babyz have also been the target of complaints, especially the "Babyz Night Out" fashion pack, the "Brattoo Parlor" playset, and the fact that the Big Babyz have a piece of fabric under their skirts that some feel looks like a thong. MGA Entertainment claims this piece serves the functional purpose of keeping the doll's skirt from riding up over her hips. Later releases of Bratz Babyz skirts had the "thong" converted to full coverage bottoms.

[edit] Alleged Profanity

On Christmas Day 2006, Miami resident Kristina Arce received the Bratz Big Babyz Crazy Karaoke Jade doll as a gift. According to her father, Luis Arce, Kristina made him aware of the fact that the doll was saying "lots of bad words." According to Luis Arce these include "the f- and b-words."[10]

In response to the allegations, MGA Entertainment responded saying, "[t]he lyrics in question do NOT [original emphasis] contain profanity and have been used thousands of times over on TV, Radio, and in many other Bratz Big Babyz products sold over the past few months."[11]

Although, according to the CBS affiliate who ran the story, "the similarities to these obscenities were clear enough that we opted to bleep out what the doll was saying."

The official lyrics, which do not contain profanity, are posted on the Bratz's website.

[edit] Culture confusion

May Lin sparked a bit of controversy because her name is Chinese, yet the doll was portrayed as Japanese. This made it appear that the design team had not properly researched appropriate names for the doll and merely picked a name that would be perceived to be Japanese by the general public, thereby perpetuating misconceptions about the Chinese and Japanese cultures being one and the same. In addition, this name is often considered a rude stereotype of Chinese women. May Lin was only produced once, and had been discontinued for a short time and then reappeared in 2006. Similarly, the Style It Jade doll's alternate shirt featured a Chinese take-out box with a Japanese flag on it. It was rumored that May Lin will appear in the Ice Champions collection, but only her animation was shown.

[edit] Labour conditions

On December 21st, 2006, the National Labor Committee announced that the factory workers in China, who make Bratz dolls, labor for 94½ hours a week, while the factory pays only 17 cents an hour, $4.13 a day- much less than the Bratz dolls actually cost.

The allegations in the report describe practices found at many Chinese factories producing name-brand products for export. They include required overtime exceeding the legal maximum of 36 hours a month, forcing workers to stay on the job to meet stringent production quotas and the denial of paid sick leave and other benefits.[12] The report shows copies of what it says are "cheat sheets" distributed to workers before auditors from Wal-Mart or other customers arrive to make sure the factory passes inspections intended to ensure the supplier meets labor standards. It said workers at the factory intended to go on strike soon on January 2007 to protest plans by factory managers to put all employees on temporary contracts, denying them legal protection required for long-term employees.[13]

After the announcement, the CEO of MGA Entertainment, Isaac Larian sent a statement on 12/24/06 via e-mail to a fan site of the doll line, Bratz World, and another two days later to Playthings Magazine stating that the information is false and the company is not familiar with the company named in the report and MGA uses first rate factories in China to make its goods, like Mattel and Hasbro does. Larian said that he never heard about the news or of 'the organization who is behind this negative and false campaign immediately prior to the last holiday shopping weekend.'"[14]

Verified full text of statement:[15]

MGA is not familiar with the company named in the report. MGA uses first rate factories in the orient to make its goods. The same factories make products for the world's biggest toy manufacturers including Mattel and Hasbro. I personally have not seen this alleged video in regards to the circumstances, as well as ever heard of the organization who behind this negative and false campaign immediately prior to the last holiday shopping weekend.

– Isaac Larian, CEO, MGA Entertainment, e-mail to Bratz World

[edit] APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls

Fresh concerns over the body image and lifestyle the Bratz dolls allegedly promote were raised by the American Psychological Association when they established their "Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls" in February, 2007. In the report that was published in accompaniment to the Task Force's founding they cited concern over sexuality the Bratz dolls allegedly portray.[16]

Bratz dolls come dressed in sexualized clothing such as miniskirts, fishnet stockings, and feather boas. Although these dolls may present no more sexualization of girls or women than is seen in MTV videos, it is worrisome when dolls designed specifically for 4- to 8-year-olds are associated with an objectified adult sexuality

– APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls[16]

Bratz were not the only dolls to be criticized in this report,[16] which highlighted not only toys but also other products and the wider media; including the Bratz animated series.[16] In the United Kingdom a spokesman for Bratz defended the toyline by saying that Bratz are purchased by over-eights and are directed to the preteen and teen market,[17] and that the focus on the dolls while on looks was not on sexualization and that friendship was also a key focus of Bratz dolls.[17]

The Bratz brand, which has remained number one in the UK market for 23 consecutive months focuses core values on friendship, hair play and a 'passion for fashion'.

– Bratz spokesman, The Daily Telegraph[17]

The spokesman quoted Dr Bryan Young of Exeter University as saying "parents may feel awkward but I don't think children see the dolls as sexy. They just think they're pretty".[17] Isaac Larian, in comments given to the BBC, voiced the opinion that the report was a "bunch of garbage" and that the people who wrote it were acting irresponsibly.[18]

[edit] Materialism

Another adverse effect claimed by critics of the Bratz line is the high level of economic materialism that the characters, and even the name "Bratz" itself, seem to promote. [1] As with many other children's toy and entertainment companies, Bratz has been accused of perpetuating a sort of bland, mind-numbing route of cultural presentation lacking in reverence and intellect. Along these same lines, many say that the variance in characters is provided only as a means to sell more dolls, and not to diversify the product customers receive. An arguable example of this may be found in the construction of the character May Lin, as discussed above. The character's personalities are said to stem collectively from objectives of fashion hunger and manipulation of the opposite sex, two popular marketing routes in the global economy for deterring human beings from exploring their own existence, and instead prioritizing based on the prevalent mass media content at the time.

Is this enough to convince people not to buy Bratz, aside from the misspelled title? As in, why spell "Brats" as "Bratz", much like the word "warez"? Anyway, I found out that the game Bratz: Rock Angelz uses the same RenderWare engine, and since Rock Angelz also has a PC version, you might find some time making fun of that game, by modding the TXD and DFF files for the game - how about putting Tommy or CJ in the game, huh?