Getting inked Barbie-style

Ever wondered if you’re “too old” to get a tattoo? Well, Barbie just got one and she’s 52!

The latest incarnation of Barbie, manufactured by Mattel, is a “rock chick” with pink hair, leopard leggings and tattoos on her neck, chest and arm. The skin art has some parents in an uproar about what kind of message a tattooed Barbie doll sends to young girls.

Controversy is familiar territory for Barbie though. Her unrealistic body proportions have drawn criticism for years. If she was a real person, she would be 5’ 9” tall, measure 36-18-33 and weigh 110 pounds. Her body mass index would make her anorexic. She might even topple over from her disproportionally endowed chest. Despite these physical challenges, she has managed to become an ambassador for world peace, paleontologist, plastic surgeon, air force jet pilot and astronaut. Not bad for someone who once uttered, “Math class is tough!”

Now she just wants to be a “funky fashionista” according to Mattel. And tattoos are part of that look. She’s already been a cheerleader, cowgirl, model and princess. Is this latest version really so much of a departure from what we expect from Barbie?

I think there are several questions here. First, what do we think tattoos say about a person? Not that long ago, getting a tattoo was pretty risqué - a counter-culture statement suggesting a rougher element. A person with a tattoo, especially a woman, was categorized in a certain (negative) way. Now, tattoos are much more mainstream. Moms have butterfly tattoos on their ankles or their children’s names on their arms. I once saw a woman with a rather large Tweety Bird on her calf – not very menacing. Is a Barbie with body ink suggesting or endorsing anything to children that they don’t already see in everyday life? Or is it the fact that a tattooed Barbie is a toy marketed to children that gets under our skin (no pun intended.)

Second, how seriously do we consider the effect of any version of a Barbie doll on our girls? Do her positive traits, like being an astronaut, really make girls feel like they, too can become an astronaut? Or are her negative traits too overwhelming, like her idealized body proportions telling girls their own bodies don’t measure up? Whose message carries more weight about image and accomplishment – parents or society?

Finally, if Ken had tattoos, would anyone care?

Column originally appears in Current in Fishers http://currentinfishers.com/