Apparently Mattel has had enough with its fun-loving, sexually-ambiguous Dora the Explorer, since the company announced last week that they would be changing the character to a more effeminate one, much to the dismay of many parents who were pleased with there finally being a doll on the market that wasn’t the epitome of pint-sized sex. However, I’d venture to say that no one really expected the new Dora to be, well, THIS girly. And now that I’ve seen her, I’m not too pleased with her, either.
Sure, the old Dora had a passé bowl cut, mom shorts and a pudgy stomach. But that’s what made her cute. New Dora, much like Barbie, Bratz, and the like, is thinner, taller, has longer hair, shiny red lips, a feminine shirt, accessories, and sparkly eyes – and is officially just another fake little girl designed to give real little girls skewed body ideals and make them feel bad about themselves.
No wonder all these parents are pissed. What do YOU think about the new Dora?
UPDATE: According to Yahoo! news,
Mattel and Nickelodeon both say there are two major misconceptions about the new Dora, which is not replacing the “Dora the Explorer” cartoon, but will be a new interactive doll aimed at 5- to 8-year-olds.
“People care so deeply about this brand and this character,” Leigh Anne Brodsky, president of Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products, says. “The Dora that we all know and love is not going away.”
“I think there was just a misconception in terms of where we were going with this,” Gina Sirard, vice president of marketing at Mattel, says. “Pretty much the moms who are petitioning aging Dora up certainly don’t understand. … I think they’re going to be pleasantly happy once this is available in October, and once they understand this certainly isn’t what they are conjuring up.”
Does this change your mind, or do you still think the character switch shouldn’t exist in any realm?
The new Dora may be a bit much, but we still love our Barbies. And she’s just had a birthday!
Even makeup companies are eager to board the barbie train.
