When Mattel Toy Company and Nickelodeon released a joint statement earlier this year announcing a new tweenage version of Dora the Explorer, an uproar arose from soccer moms across the nation the likes of which hadn't been seen since the Tickle Me Elmo Scandal of 1996.
And really, who can blame them? What was once a bilingual androgynous little explorer, teaching the youth of the nation about the power of imagination and the perils of stealing ("Swiper no, swiping!"), has been transformed into everyone's worst nightmare: yet another Bratz doll.
Back in the day when she could say "Let's go!" and it not be construed in a vaguely sexual way, Dora's future seemed pretty clear: she was going to go places with her cargo shorts and her map, bringing fresh water to 3rd world countries, finding a cure to AIDS and refreezing the ice caps, thus saving the polar bears.
The new Dora's future is not so clear. Will she end up feverishly searching her apartment for the money needed to buy her next fix? Will she sell her children into slavery to pay the rent? Will she and Lindsay Lohan become friends?
The real question being asked is of course broader than just the new Dora doll. It has to do with all of the new dolls being marketed for children today. Dolls on shelves now have tiny waists and long flowing hair, a completely unattainable aim for a seven-year-old girl who will undoubtedly aspire to be just like her. Unless she has anorexia, then she might be able to pull it off. It's not even the same as back in the day when Barbies were popular on the shelf, at least then we had the option of other dolls out there like the Cabbage Patch Kids. Today you'll be hard pressed to find a toy with semblance to a normal, elementary aged kid.
I find myself nostalgic for the days when a backpack and a monkey were enough to fulfill Dora's friendship quota. Now she needs to call up the MyScene dolls whenever she "goes exploring" around her local mall. Why are toymakers attempting to push adulthood so forcefully? I can't remember days better than playing outside with the imaginary Power Rangers jumping over lava fields and weathering storms in my tree house while making mud pies.
Kids should remain as they are, young and innocent of future they're going to live through eventually anyway. There should be no rush.
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