Rantin' and Ravin'

Please pardon this rant, it has been building up for awhile now and I really feel the need to voice my rather strong opinion on this issue.

Recently I checked in on the Pure Freedom website http://www.purefreedom.org/ and their sister site http://www.secretkeepergirl.com/ , as it is an awesome resource for books and information aimed at Christian tweens and teens, and, on their blog, was introduced to Barbie's latest incarnation.

Are you all ready for this?

Tattoo Barbie

That's right folks, Barbie is 50 years old and to celebrate she went out and got inked. But not to worry little girls, she brought enough tats to go around.

How ludicrous is it that Mattell even thought this would be a good idea?! Now, just so you know, Barbie and I have never been close. The few Barbies I ever owned ended up looking like Demi Moore in G.I. Jane due to my frequent and amateur haircuts. I much preferred playing with my imaginary friends, Ponch and Bo Duke. My daughter inherited my ambivilance towards the dolls, so Barbie was not much of an issue for us. Because of our indifference, I guess I kind of lost track of what she was up to these days, so imagine my surprise when I saw how Barbie has changed.

As I was still reeling from Barbie's somewhat extreme makeover, I stumbled upon a reality show called Toddlers in Tiaras. To be very honest, I could not stomach more than 15-20 minutes of the program. Within that limited time frame, I witnessed little girls under 7 years old getting fake hair, fake teeth, fake tans, legs shaved, eyebrows waxed and enough makeup to buy a Mary Kay rep one of those pink cars. It was horrifying. What does this say to girls about self-image, body issues and the true meaning of beauty?

So, between Barbie Gone Wild and the Toddlers in Tiaras Trainwreck, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my daughter's most recent issue of Brio lying on our dining room table - until I picked it up, that is. Apparently, Focus on the Family has made the decision to discontinue Brio magazine in its printed form. According to their website, they made the decision due to economic reasons and discontinued two other publications as well. I have always been pleased with Brio magazine and the quality of all of Focus on the Family's products, which makes me all the more disappointed in their decision to discontinue what is to my knowledge the only Christian magazine aimed at teenage girls available at the moment. I'm still hoping that they reconsider their decision. Raising young girls is hard enough with the world trying to tell them that they have to look and act a certain way, especially so if those of us who believe differently don't take a stand.