What kind of 'Doll' do you think you are? Are you the ever popular Barbie? Perhaps a Bratz? How about an action Figure like G.I Joe or a Transformer? Cabbage Patch Kid? American Doll?
They come in so many varieties and an even wider price range. But they all still have the basic major parts including a head complete with a face, a body, arms, legs, hands and feet. Optional parts may include ears, fingers, toes, belly button, boobs or a butt. Apparently, these 'optional ' parts are not an essential component to all dolls as they are to a real human.
Some are super model thin, some chunky like a butterball, others muscular, and others resemble a bobble head. The higher end dolls talk, sleep, cry, pee, drink, or sing while others convert into modern day super heroes. We all played with some type of doll as a child regardless if we are boy a girl.
As we grew older and more curious, we began to search for those 'missing parts'. Barbie was well endowed and admired by both sexes. G.I. Joe held his own with the ladies as did Ken. They, too, seemed to be missing some very key body parts. However, as kids, it was a fleeting thought for the most part. We were intrigued with the 'slutty looking' Bratz dolls. What is cooler than a doll with a set of double D's and lips that cold suck the chrome off a bumper? Transformers drew in the slightly awkward boy who could actually transform the sports car into a stealth robot in a mere 100 moves. In his world, he could provide Miss Bratz with a cool ride and be a studly action hero!
So who did you align with as a child? Did that change as you became an adult? Have you ever thought about why and when it happened?
When I was a kid my mom refused to buy us Barbie dolls. She said they were degrading to women. Well, as a mother of five girls, she fought a losing battle. We won. We never did get a Ken doll as she certainly did not want Ken violating Barbie in any form. Instead of using visual aids with Barbie and Ken, we had a big thick "Me and My Body' book to read on the shelf whenever we wanted. Because that is what every 9 year-old wants, real-life photos of the human body going through puberty sprouting hair and bumps in areas that we were scared to even look at in the bathtub.
Yet, we played with Barbie for hours, combing her lush golden hair, dancing her around on those wonderful pixie-stix legs and dressing her in outfit after outfit like a runway supermodel. But the novelty wore off, her legs didn't bend, she didn't talk and she certainly didn't have any talents to speak of. Barbie became a disappointment. She was all fluff. She was boring. We wanted more.
Wonder Woman, G.I. Joe, Superman, and Bionic Woman dolls all caught our eye. They served a purpose, they looked great and helped people. They had substance to them. We didn't know necessarily why we liked them, even though they only had one lousy outfit! We dressed like them for Halloween and ran around the house in our capes. Barbie didn't have a cape. She had a great car and even a dream house, but no cape, no powers. Great hair and boobs only go so far. Soon, you left her lying naked because it was just too hard to get that shirt over those double D's and that golden mane became a rat's nest - too much maintenance.
So again, which doll are you? Are you a shallow, high maintenance doll like Barbie or are you a life- saver caring doll like the super heroes? Are the car and dream house more important to you than how you can help others?
Most of us are not one extreme or the other, but maybe a mix of both and then some. We all have our own needs which need to be filled but also have that inner desire to help others. It can be an internal struggle at different stages in our life. We all want success and happiness and how we achieve that is a very individual path. But sometimes we need a reminder that there are many others out there who have come to a fork in the road or a hurdle they need help getting over and we must decide - are we willing to give up something of ourselves to help another succeed? What will we sacrifice if it means the one in need will overcome? Barbie or Wonder Woman? Ken or G. I. Joe? Which one are you today? Which one will you be tomorrow? Will your choice cause you to be cast aside or pulled in tight? Because it is a choice, a choice that only you can make. Friend of Foe? Selfless or Selfish?
Dolls are plastic and you have the ability to be nothing short of fantastic - cape or no cape. Seek out the super hero within and you may even surprise yourself at just how strong you are.
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