20.4 C
Byron Shire
March 19, 2024

Mandy Nolan’s Soap Box: Real Dolls Are a Game Changer

Latest News

Ballina burnout workshops to support local community

The Northern Rivers community will have an opportunity to learn from leading burnout experts across March and April in a series of free workshops presented by Ballina Shire Council.

Other News

Prime agricultural land to be rezoned for development in Lismore

Last night's Lismore Council meeting unanimously passed a voluntary planning agreement to rezone 70 hectares of prime agricultural land at 1055 Bruxner Highway. 

NSW bans offshore mining and exploration for gas and oil

The NSW Labor government has now banned offshore mining and exploration for gas and oil in NSW waters. NSW...

Demands for increased housing in Byron Shire raise significant concerns for CABS

Serious concerns have been raised over the Byron Shire Residential Strategy 2041 by the 12 Byron Shire-wide associations that make up Community Alliance for Byron Shire (CABS).

Big family Kaleido fun day May 5  

Following the success of Blue on Burringbar Festival in Mullumbimby last year, the Mullumbimby Chamber of Commerce and Creative Mullum are putting on a fun, interactive community event this year on Sunday, 5 May.

Nationwide marches for forests this weekend

On Sunday 24 March people from across Australia will march to call for an end to native forest logging. Bob Brown Foundation’s nationwide March for Forests is calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to end native forest logging and securely protect native forests.

Water meter outrage

The Echo’s article about the Rous County Council (RCC) water meter flowback prevention device was very timely. We are...

BeetleBottomsWhy don’t girls like their bodies? Body hatred is the dominant theme of most popular magazines re-inforcing the fact that our perpetual state of discontent moves content. Actually it is the content. This one got fat. This one got too thin. This one got a hot post-baby body. This one got butt implants. This one let herself go. This one has cellulite. This one isn’t wearing makeup. This one is hot. This one is not.

I can’t imagine a rack of magazines boasting pictures of blokes in the same scenario. It’s no wonder women don’t like their bodies. If they did, there wouldn’t be a market for cosmetic surgery or eating disorders. Or lip plumpers. Or $5,000 handbags. Women who hate themselves make much better consumers than women who love who they are.

As a mother to four girls I have always been super-sensitive to the strong gender-identifying messages we unwittingly reinforce by simple clothing, video or toy choices. The other day my 6-year-old Ivy came home from school wanting a deep-and-meaningful about pink. ‘Mum, girls don’t have to like pink do they?’ ‘No, of course not.’ ‘I don’t like pink. All the girls always pick pink. But I like blue.’ ‘Blue is a great colour.’

Wow, my budding feminist is already questioning gender typing and feeling ostracised because she picks blue. It’s not that she’s been teased or ridiculed; it’s just that she is aware that the act of picking blue makes her different.

What is perplexing is that in a world where we supposedly have equality, the oppressive messages of the dominant culture still remain. Why do girls still pick pink over blue or green or red or yellow? Why do we still worry so much about being beautiful and hot as a measure of our worth? The burqa is often criticised for its oppressive nature, but isn’t over-sexualisation and the constant bombardment with idealised images just as damaging to the positive expression of a woman’s body? In fact I’d say the negative impacts of the objectification of women has got worse in the last decade rather than better.

Poor body image is one of the top three issues listed in a Mission Australia survey of young Australians, with girls as young as five reporting weight concerns and wishing they were thinner. If you are wondering where these messages are coming from, then have a good look around the playroom. Barbie is still public enemy number one. Good old Barbie: she’s been smashing self-esteem for more than 60 years! With her flowing blond locks, her flawless skin, her large super-firm breasts and a waist so thin it’s surprising the weight of her tits doesn’t cause her spine to snap, this nipple-less hairless siren continues to set unattainable goals for our little girls. No-one will ever look like this without significant financial outlay on implants, lifts, brazilians, and three-monthly Botox sessions.

Why do our little girls play with miniature versions of idealised adult women? And why are they always so perfect? Has there really never been a market for the Fat Mandy doll? Wheelchair Barbie? Socially Phobic Wendy? Multiracial Mary? What about Dwarfism Daisy? Why don’t little girls play with dolls that look like them?

If we want them to grow up with positive body images then maybe we need to give Barbie a hotness reduction. Make her more like the doll my mum bought me, called Jenny. Jenny was a flat-footed sandshoe-wearing short-haired small-chested Amazonian flight attendant. She smiled contentedly and was perplexing. She was too big for Barbie clothes and when they did fit she looked stupid. She wasn’t really the type to go to pool parties with Barbie so it was hard to know what games to play with such a sensible and practical looking woman. She totally intimidated Ken. He wouldn’t get out of the Jeep.

Eventually Jenny got her pilot licence, teamed up with Action Man and became an explorer. Breaking the stereotypes in kids’ toys changes the games they play and when you change the games, you change the way they think. A local family has created a wonderful new range of dolls called Beetle Bottoms with toys that aim to ‘keep kids kids’ by showing them it’s okay to be exactly who they are. For more info go to beetlebottoms.com.


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

How fungi and theatrical performance can tackle the problem of PFAS contamination

When scientists first discovered the chemistry of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, PFAS, in the 1930s, they didn’t know we’d be struggling to remove them from the environment and human bodies nearly a century later.

Disaster recovery needs to meet children’s needs: report

Children and young people living in the region’s temporary emergency pod villages have been exposed to community and domestic violence, drug-affected residents, and arguments between neighbours, a year long study has found.

Nationwide marches for forests this weekend

On Sunday 24 March people from across Australia will march to call for an end to native forest logging. Bob Brown Foundation’s nationwide March for Forests is calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to end native forest logging and securely protect native forests.

Lights will always be on at Main Arm’s Kohinur Hall

After being badly damaged during the 2022 floods, the much-loved Kohinur Hall is once again starting to live up to its reputation for being the arts and cultural hub of the Main Arm community.