Iranian children must be protected from, not by, Batman and Superman. These Western superheroes, along with Barbie and Harry Potter, are alarming Iranian officials.
Iran's prosecutor general spoke out against the fictional figures last weekend saying: “These toys, which do not respect the required norms, present dangers for the health of children and affect the survival of toy factories in this country."
Barbie specifically is guilty of disobeying Iran's rule against showing curves — women, including plastic ones, must hide all their contours. A while back, police raided toy shops, hiding Barbie's body with black stickers. The prosecutor general is again pushing measures to stop the smuggling of these toys, which have been banned for six years.
To counter Western influence, Iran has its own version of Barbie and Ken dolls— Sara and Dara — two siblings that respect Islamic rules, and turn to their parents for guidance. The government hopes that these dolls will become more popular than the well-liked American version.
Is it commendable that the Iranian government is promoting toys that promote their cultural and religious values, or is it an affront on freedom? Is it so bad that they are pursuing an alternative to a scantly clad, busty- skinny blond role model?
Phi
By Caprice
Pratt's
Iran is clearly taking a stand against all eyebrow plucking.
1These Iranian dolls aren't covered from head to toe. Of course that's sinful and disgusting
2Actually, the dolls' characters are under the age that triggers the head scarf requirement.
I find differences in morality and culture so fascinating. Is there an objective standard? Is there a line where cultural preferences cross into universal human rights? How do we know where the line is?
3I think having a Barbie is a human right!!
Barbies don't cause problems, parents cause problems. I had a million Barbies and I didn't think I needed to lose a bunch of weight or anything like that...
All my Barbies were corporate executives and they went to work at 9am and came home around 7pm... and I didn't even bother buying a Ken, my Barbie didn't need one!
4Dara has a unibrow!
5oh wait they all do. and verily already said it. DOH.
6lol cab. We only had one Ken doll, so he was a major pimp. He dated each barbie like every night (10 dates in one night, nice!)
7We didn't have a Ken. We used a big "Santa" as ken, before that "Ken" was a big comb, a can of hairspray, or a funny little doll I think my sister got from Zozobra in Santa Fe. We also used shes for cars and my dog was one those things that you pull staples out of papers.
And hey, there's nothing wrong with me!
8That is debatable harts...
jk.
9I think all men want to be your Ken doll Syako!
10Our Barbies lived in a dresser, each drawer was a different room (no need to buy an expensive barbie mansion!)
11
that's right harts!
12
13Well I think on the one hand that it's really great that they have dolls that specifically agree with their cultural ideals, but on the other hand, there is obviously a demand for these toys- and I can't believe that that's because the children are buying them for themselves. There have to be parents out there that are willing to get the American toys for their children. If that's the case, it's not a matter of preventing vile Americans from corrupting the children, it's the parents deciding they want to do it themselves. (Unless of course all the Barbies sold are to perverted grown-up men who like her looks
) It seems like the parents are making a
choice here, and should be allowed to do it if they want.
14
15that's a good one...
16They have toys that respect and promote their values (in theory, anyway--it's definitely not like every young Iranian girl is going to grow up a devout and modest Muslim woman
, just as not everyone who played with Barbies as a child grows up to be Pamela Anderson),
and we have ours. I see little problem in this.
17I don't think there's anything terribly wrong with country's trying to ensure toys fit with their culture & values - as long as they don't start executing people for Barbie smuggling. As an American, I'd be uncomfortable with the idea of the government stepping into the doll issue, but what Iran's people expect from their government is different.
18I think universally, little kids should be able to play with dolls, but even here we don't agree on appropriate dolls - someone once gave my daughter a 'mammy' doll and I was shocked but the person grew up in the 50's in the South and claimed not to understand my concerns.
What's wrong with Harry Potter, or is it a Daniel Radcliffe from Equus doll?
I would say Barbie is more housewives of orange county than pam anderson.
19@ verily - The unibrow thing is an Iranian traditional image - the "khorshid khanoom" or beautiful woman. Traditionally, Persian women were allowed to shape their eyebrows before they were married, but not remove any of the hair in the middle. (Of course, that rule has largely gone out the window of late, but the IRI seems to be pushing it as a sign of Islamic modesty.)
But I think these dolls are a bit silly - and it should be taken into consideration that a good portion of Iranians don't actually take their government very seriously. There's a reason Ahmedinejad and Co. are having to attack Western influences - it's because a lot of Iranians are very much attracted to them.
20Yeah, I personally like other cultures. I would have no problem with my daugther having any of these dolls. I do think it's quite hilarious that toy stores are being raided for Barbie.
I remember in my Babtist school that I was "sent" to, they had a sermon about rock music and ALL OF IT was devil worship! I had a Kenny Rogers album at my desk and it was taken from me because he had a beard and mustache. Oh well he did have a song about gambling too.
This reminds me a lot of that.
21"Daniel Radcliffe from Equus doll?"
Hey, are those on eBay yet? I'd like one
"I would say Barbie is more housewives of orange county than pam anderson."
I'll give you that, syako.
22It takes me forever to get things posted! There's three comments here since my last one. Geeze! I am toooo slooowww.
23Five, I can't count. I can't spell. I can't type fast. Worthless and weak!
Actually I can type fast, it's my computer that's slow.
24I never had a Ken Doll Either, I used He man. He was alot shorter but he made up for it in the sack.
25I love Harry Potter! My son has been playing with all my daughters old barbies. My husband, is so funny about it too. I keep telling him it's natural. My son also ALWAYS undresses them too. That is why my husband thinks it's ok.
26lol. We used to dress up my little brother and make him be model all our dance costumes. Good times. He rarely played dolls with us though.
27The image of a black rectangular sticker over fake, plastic, nipple-less doll boobs just made me giggle. (Yes, I'm 12). I think it's good to have an alternative to Barbies (I hated dolls when I was a kid myself) but just as long as it doesn't get to the point where you'll need to get a Barbie on the black market...
28Maybe I should order a Pope John Paul II doll and mail it to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
He's covered up, neck to shoes, long sleeves and even has a little cap on his head. No facial hair though.
That's it: Sister Barbie, Brother Ken, and Father John Paul II in Iran.
(I often crack myself up. This is one of those times.)
29OH you guys crack me up!
30@ Auntie Coosa - I think you have something of an incorrect idea about Iran and Iranians. Clearly, the only reason that the government is having to crack down on Western-type dolls is BECAUSE Iranians have them. And like them. My best friend is from Iran, and the amount of American stuff that she and her family smuggle into Tehran and Isfahan when they go to visit - little things like Bic pens, music, and, yes, Barbie dolls - is absolutely unbelievable. It's not the Iranian PEOPLE that have a problem, on the whole. It's a very small group of people in power, the small group that still believes in "revolutionary values." The rest of the population is pretty well jaded.
31Well put, bailaoragaditana
And
at such bigotry.
32I love the real housewives! its a great way to ignore the real world for a while!
i'm sure there will be black market barbies...
33nothing makes a toy cooler than knowing your parents don't want you to have it!
34Cab, you just made me think of my Mom! When she didn't like a boy I was dating, she would say, she loved him. If she did like a boy I was dating, she would say she doesn't like him!
35OH, this is scary! You're the voice in my head AND you think like my mom.
36I have heard that the Barbie Doll prototype was actually created in Nazi Germany and then marketed here in the US. Is this true or an urban legend?
37Then there should have been a barbie that said, "We have ways of making you talk."
Say that with a German accent.
38bailaoragaditana, I think you're completely right about most Iranians. I met a guy on a train once who had been born in Iran and he said that in public many women actually want to be covered and follow all of that stuff, but at home they were as into makeup and clothes as any American woman and that it's just the fundamentalists that are pushing all of this on everyone in the country.
As far as Barbie goes, my sister and I had a billion of those things and neither of us felt like we had to look like them, so I guess never really understood parent's objections to them. Now, those Bratz dolls on the other hand I think are totally innapropriate and I don't think I'd want my future child playing with those.
39Rac, for what it's worth, Wikipedia says that the Barbie doll itself was created by an American businesswoman named Ruth Handler, but that the design was influenced by the German Bild Lilli doll first produced in 1955.
I looked at snopes.com to see if the Nazi thing was an urban legend. I didn't find anything on the first search results page, and I was too lazy to go on to the second.
40All I had was a couple of battered My Little Pony dolls (one with its mane mangled after a bad attempt at a haircut), a Spirograph, and a bunch of books. No Barbies were allowed in my house. But I think that's just because my mom thought they were stupid.
41Yea Bratz are really bad... My Little Ponies rock though!
42harts your mom is a smart lady!!
43Yeah, I know.
My mom b-t-w is going to be 80 this year! She is a spry 80yo woman!
44Well we saw what scantly clad skinny busty role models did for our society. They should do wodners for Iran.
45I would decorate my barbie house, pick out their outfits, and have them make out with Ken. Then I would get bored and go climb a tree or something.
I was much more into paper dolls. I had a princess diana one...I wish I still had it!
46Everyone should get a blythe doll anyway. They are the best!
47As a boy who had a twin sister I enjoyed playing Triangle Shirt Factory fire with her townhouse.
48
rac
49LOL!
That makes me think of my own brother who used to burn all his army men.
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