I feel I need to make some confessions before I sacrifice another doll. I do not own any of these mannequins, and never have. Perhaps my fascination is rooted in deprivation as a child, when I was forbidden such a "vulgar" toy. Instead I played with the dolls of my friends and secretly lusted for my own.
I gave my daughter one when she was old enough not to be in danger of choking. She preferred bears and promptly decapitated poor Barbie, thus ending the experiment. Someone gave her the accompanying house. Children are famous for discarding the toy and engaging with the packaging: my sweetie took a fancy to the detachable lamp post complete with battery and working light. This implement became her wand, her walking stick, her bear's reading light, her torch, her ultimate defence.
My more recent encounters with the star of the toy world are all mediated through the internet, almost exclusively inspired by news reports in otherwise respectable papers. I am continuously amazed by her publicity department: I am sure many of the flesh-and-blood world would give their (bendy, detachable) right arms for her global profile. Ethically I worry that I may be pandering to this commercial giant, which I think is clear, is never my intention. Nor is it my intention to infringe her copyright, trademark or damage her in anyway.
I gave my daughter one when she was old enough not to be in danger of choking. She preferred bears and promptly decapitated poor Barbie, thus ending the experiment. Someone gave her the accompanying house. Children are famous for discarding the toy and engaging with the packaging: my sweetie took a fancy to the detachable lamp post complete with battery and working light. This implement became her wand, her walking stick, her bear's reading light, her torch, her ultimate defence.
My more recent encounters with the star of the toy world are all mediated through the internet, almost exclusively inspired by news reports in otherwise respectable papers. I am continuously amazed by her publicity department: I am sure many of the flesh-and-blood world would give their (bendy, detachable) right arms for her global profile. Ethically I worry that I may be pandering to this commercial giant, which I think is clear, is never my intention. Nor is it my intention to infringe her copyright, trademark or damage her in anyway.
Barbie, O Barbie, now we are fifty
they are writing about you in the paper
I get to age in private
poor you
they say you would have back pain
yup, me too
they say you would have osteoporosis
girl, let’s keep the blinkers on and drink more milkshakes
they say you would wear glasses
I’ve worn them for years, very sexy ones
they say you would have grey hair
a girl like you, no problems with the dye
me, I’m relishing every strand of earned silver
they say you might be shorter
darling, I’ve spent my life down here
they say you would have trouble standing up
what with your impressive breasts and waist
they just don’t know do they?
my tits have shrunk and sunk into my waist
fast-growing to support them
but, Barbie
you’re still kicking ass, right?
still in love with lust?
still no fulfilment – the eternal virgin?
poor you
March 2009
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