Well, It Has Happened...The New Barbie

The newest Barbie doll to hit store shelves is sparking controversy.The doll sports several tattoos, and some parents say it’s sending the wrong message to their kids, reports CBS 2’s Kathryn Brown.

Meet “Tokidoki Barbie,” the newest addition to the iconic doll collection. She’s edgy — with pink hair, sky-high stilettos and a cactus-covered pet named “Bastardino.” But it’s her body art that has some parents on edge.

For years, Barbie has done its job of making little girls unhappy with their God-given beauty and now this…

You know, I have always wondered at why over the course of a few years, tattoos have suddenly become cool and common place in society with every day Joes. It used to be that only biker-dudes, sailors and the odd cook at a greasy spoon diner somewhere had tattoos, but now the most ordinary guy and the most plain Jane woman are getting them. What’s changed? Where was the psychological barrier broken?

Anyway, now we have this to contend with. Not only will the girls of tomorrow be facing the daunting task of achieving the “perfect body, but now it will be coming with a bunch of ugly tattoos as well. God help the women of tomorrow…will any of these who bought this Barbie be able to be a real mom? Only time will tell.

HT: Reformed Biblical Studies

Boys Adrift

Last week I posted a review of The Death of the Grown-Up by Diana West, a book that takes a hard look at our cultural obsession with immaturity. That review garnered quite a bit of attention, so I thought it might be interesting to go into the archives and pull out a review of another book I read some time ago, one with a fair bit of overlap—Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax. It takes a look at what may well be some of the background to some of this immaturity.

Something strange is going on with boys today. My memories of boyhood revolve around the great outdoors—running through fields with hockey stick guns, climbing trees, playing any and every sport, getting sunburns, heatstroke, ticks, sprained ankles and all the other bumps and bruises guaranteed to come to an active, rambunctious boy. Though today I live in a neighborhood filled with boys, rarely do I see them out and about; rarely do I see them engaging in the activities we’d expect of them. Something has changed. So many boys are inactive and unmotivated. Continue Reading>>>