OMG! We're having a girl!

We recently found out that "Happy," the current name for our unborn child, is a girl. Those four letters (g-i-r-l) scare the heck out of me. I am more relaxed with boys given my tomboy nature and general lack of fru-fru-ness. I get acid reflex just thinking about the possibility of raising a cheerleader. Ugh.

I also feel a greater responsibility having to bring up a girl in today's society. Even with the career, political and societal accomplishments of women over the last fifty years, we are endlessly bombarded with negative messages affecting our self-image. Not only do I have to interpret the outside messages reaching my daughter, but I also have to be aware of the image that I portray to her on a daily basis. The latter is much more daunting.

To make myself feel better, I find myself trying to fixate on a smaller, more conquerable problem within this larger issue. This exercise led me to Barbie. I never really played with Barbies. They weren't of much interest to me, so I cannot claim firsthand knowledge of their positive or negative impact. I find Barbie's figure to be quasi-vulgar for little girls. It’s kind of ironic that the original Barbie’s appearance was inspired by a German prostitute. I doubt Mattel will be issuing a retro hooker Barbie anytime soon. When I see little girls playing with naked Barbies, I get the same queasy feeling when I see a toddler girl in a bikini. On the positive side, I like that Barbie has excelled in many professions. But, if I want to show my daughter that she can be anything she wants to be in life like a doctor or an engineer I don’t need Barbie for that. I can take her to see my friends Kayla and Mindy. The idea of Barbie as a professional role model is obsolete for my family, because I can show her real women with the same accomplishments.

During my mental debate, I sought the “internets” to learn more about the potential impact of little girls playing with Barbies. The best article I read was from a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. You can read it here. The author doesn’t single out Barbie as a primary offender but rather an accomplice in our culture’s distorted depiction of women that leads to negative body image in girls as early as five years old. Thankfully, the author says that parents have more influence than passive media messages and can help foster positive self-images for our little girls.

So, will I ban Barbie from our house? No, but I will, however, monitor how both my children play with their toys to express their thoughts. And, please don’t buy her a Barbie.