All I want for Christmas is some self-esteem.
I read recently that one of the top 5 “careers” of choice for young women in Britain was “lap dancer.”
So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when I heard on NPR this morning that Tesco, a top British toy retailer, has created a pole-dancing kit for little girls.
Pressure from various groups (many of them the “family values” type) has forced Tesco to remove the item from the toy sections of stores, though whilst doing so they have staunchly claimed: “It’s clearly marked as being intended for adult use.”
Clearly marked as being intended for adults. By what? Its “Peek-a-boo” product name? Its initial placement in the toy section? The pink and green foo-foo colors? The cartoon on the front?
We may be diametrically opposed on many things, the conservative groups and me, but in this we agree (though probably for very different reasons): What the FUCK were they thinking?
I’m pretty sure they were thinking the same thing the cigarette companies think: Get ‘em started early. Give ‘em a boost onto the cultural band wagon of the sexualization of girls while they are at their most impressionable. Reinforce the idea that for women, being objectified is what it’s really all about, sweetie, so you might as well get used to it, and the sooner the better.
Seein’ how Christmas is comin’ up, I think I’ll send my idea to Tesco (or maybe Mattel, to be patriotic) for a new toy for boys: Corporate “Men’s Club” Trash.
Sure to delight prepubescent boys everywhere, this “kit” will feature strap-on pot belly, stringy comb-over, Viagra bottle, plastic glass with realistically sloshing “Scotch” in it, and of course, a Britney– er, I mean, Barbie doll wearing a g-string, what to practice tucking sweaty peek-a-boo dollars in. I’ll put it right next to TMX Elmo for maximum, uh, exposure.
Technorati Tags: lap dancer, Tesco, pole-dancing toy, misogyny, gynophobia, sexualization of children, sexism, Men’s Club, Barbie doll
Filed under Gynophobia, Rib Rants |One Response to “All I want for Christmas is some self-esteem.”
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Have you ever looked at the Hello Kitty product line? Carefully looked? Lots of child-friendly, cutesy-poo items, and then you get to the Hello Kitty personal vibrator… say what?