Barbie breast feeding her baby
Mom-of-three creates breastfeeding Barbie doll to erase stigma
Mom-of-three creates breastfeeding Barbie doll to erase stigma×
news
lifestyle
ADVERTISEMENT
The Australian custom doll maker creates breastfeeding Barbie dolls in a bid to show that nursing is just a typical part of life.
Cover Image Source: Instagram/allthelittledolls
By Jisha JosephJuly 1, 2021ADVERTISEMENT
Stay-at-home mom and custom doll maker Betty Strachan firmly believes that the key to erasing the stigma around breastfeeding is education. "It's a completely natural and normal thing to do. There's no other way to put it," the 28-year-old told PEOPLE of her efforts to help the Normalize Breastfeeding movement. "Women were given the amazing gift of being able to carry and nourish children and being shamed for doing so is just wrong. " In a bid to show that nursing is just a typical part of life, the Brisbane, Australia, native came up with the idea to create a breastfeeding doll for kids.
ADVERTISEMENT
Strachan, who is a mother-of-three, revealed that the idea came to her when she started modeling dolls after fellow moms from her parenting support group. "The decision to make a breastfeeding doll didn't come consciously," she told The Huffington Post. "I'm a member of a mothers' group that's comprised of very lovely and supportive women. I remember one day, I was drawing the new face on a Barbie doll, and she just seemed to be the embodiment of the entire group. So I mimicked the positioning of a latched baby with an old figurine I had and called her the 'Mamas Worldwide Barbie.'"
ADVERTISEMENT
After Strachan posted photos of the dolls online, other moms immediately reached out with requests to make a few for them. "Everyone in my mother's group thought it was great, so I posted [the 'Mamas Worldwide Barbie'] on my Instagram page," she explained.
"After that, I received a few requests to make more, and I realized that it was really something that should be available ― because, like most things that society deems unacceptable, educating children is the way to erase the stigma behind it." Strachan also listed the mother and baby dolls and their accessories on her Etsy shop, allthelittledolls, where they sold out in no time. She has also offered pregnant dolls for sale in the past.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I make a few sales here and there, but it's really only enough to buy the materials to make more and sell them on again," Strachan explained. "Most of the sales I've made have gone to mothers with children, and I've received a few pictures of happy customers playing with their dolls." The doll-maker also revealed how she became a passionate advocate for breastfeeding after facing discrimination for nursing in public as a new mom.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Like a lot of young mothers, I was already conditioned to believe that breastfeeding in public was something to be ashamed of and shied away from doing so in public," she said.
"I remember one occasion when I was out shopping with friends and my oldest who was about two weeks old at the time became fussy. The shopping center we were in was very busy and the parents' room they reserve for taking care of babies was too full to sit and feed there, so I was left with no other option but to do it standing in the secluded corner of a store."
ADVERTISEMENT
"Even then, the disgusted looks I received from passers-by were quite jarring and marred the experience for me," she added. However, Strachan is optimistic that the stigma surrounding breastfeeding will change as people become more aware. "I think and hope that with time, people will grow to accept that it’s a normal and natural thing," she said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Recommended for you
Breastfeeding Barbie Joins The Fight To Normalise Breastfeeding
As you’re probably well aware, the popular doll millions of girls have grown up with, Barbie, is infamous for having disproportionately large breasts.
Finally, they now have a purpose, thanks to an Australian mother’s invention: Breastfeeding Barbie.
Meet Breastfeeding Barbie!
Breastfeeding Barbie is joining the fight against breastfeeding stigma and it is hoped she will help to encourage kids to see breastfeeding as normal from a young age.
Betty Strachan, a mum of two from Brisbane, Australia, first started making the dolls for her children.
The creative mama repaints dolls to give them a more realistic look. She first started doing this for her own children a few years ago but soon realised other parents were keen to have more realistic dolls for their own children to play with.
Betty says, “Growing up, it always struck me as odd that there wasn’t as much diversity in the doll world as there could or should be. Not every child is born with blonde hair and blue eyes. Some have freckles, some have gaps in their teeth.”
Breastfeeding Barbie is the latest doll added to her collection of diverse dolls.
In fact, there’s a whole series of dolls to celebrate motherhood. Breastfeeding Barbie comes with a newborn doll but there’s also pregnancy Barbie who comes with a sizeable bump.
Children learn through play so toys like this can have a huge impact on a child’s perceptions of the world. Not only do toys help to shape your child’s world view but they also allow your child to explore and learn through play.
Unsurprisingly, the dolls have proved popular amongst parents searching for something other than the traditional heavily made up beauty queen dolls on the market.
Betty’s dolls give dolls a new lease of life, allowing the dolls to appeal to a new generation of parents who want more for their children. The breastfeeding doll is just part of that, encouraging children to view breastfeeding as normal. Breastfeeding Barbie would make a great gift for a soon-to-be-older sibling.
Normalising breastfeeding for children
Breastfeeding was once seen as the norm and children grew up surrounded by breastfeeding women.
Nowadays, it’s more common for dolls to be sold with bottles of toy milk. In books and on tvs, representations of bottle-feeding are much more common than those of breastfeeding.
Toys like breastfeeding Barbie have an important role to play in helping to normalise breastfeeding not just for children but for parents, too.
You may need to request a custom order to purchase one, and be prepared for a little bit of a wait, as the positive media coverage has increased demand. They sell out fast, so you might be lucky to snaffle one up!
The dolls can be made to order so you can choose what your finished doll will look like.
Recommended Reading: Take a look at these 5 Awesome Breastfeeding Ads From Around The World.
History of dolls. Barbie's predecessor was for men | History | Society
Alexander Melnikov
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
2165
Weekly "Arguments and Facts" No.
8. Happy Defender of the Fatherland Day! 18/02/2009 www.globallookpress.com
Child of vice
Sellers were afraid that parents would not give their daughters a doll with such obvious feminine charms. But Ruth Handler , the owner of a toy company, specially created the doll not as a baby doll, but as an adult lady. She noticed that her daughter Barbara is very fond of cutting out adult dolls from paper and cardboard and magnificent outfits for them. And I decided to make this flat toy voluminous. So there was a doll with an hourglass figure, which she named after her daughter. But this is the official version of the "birth" of Barbie. But in reality, everything was much more interesting. Traveling in Europe in the mid-50s, Ruth Handler saw an unusual German doll that embodied all men's dreams of female beauty - a thin waist, a magnificent bust, long legs, a perky face with a funny bang.
The doll's name was Lilly , and she was offered a choice of peignoirs, lingerie and some clothes. It was such a toy for men. There were no sex shops then, and it was sold in tobacco shops.
Before becoming a doll, the image of Lilly was the hero of cartoons and comics in the famous yellow newspaper Bild. A sexy, cheerful secretary "without brakes", who is in the eternal search for rich life partners, she simply conquered German men. Lilly's jokes were popular as jokes. “I can do without rich men, but my budget cannot!” When she was one of the first to appear in a two-piece swimsuit and a policeman told her that two-piece swimsuits were prohibited, she immediately retorted: “Which part do you want me to take off?” nine0005
Ruth Handler immediately took a liking to Lilly and bought a patent for her. The features of the depraved doll were slightly softened: the chest was made smaller, the head more childish, and the look less defiant.
But this did not help, adult businessmen involved in children's toys still considered Lilly's daughter too sexy.
Engine of progress?
“The creator of Barbie was ready to remove her breasts,” psychoanalyst Alexander Genschel tells . - But I decided to consult the marketing guru Ernest Dichter: he studied in Vienna with Freud and was the first to use psychoanalysis in advertising and product promotion. Dichter studied the problem by talking with a lot of girls and mothers, and gave paradoxical recommendations: to increase breasts, and to convince mothers that Barbie would, as it were, teach their daughters good taste in clothes, cosmetics and in general. And it worked. Mothers still remembered their harsh military childhood and dreamed of a better life for their children. nine0005
At that time, the era of consumerism was beginning in the decaying Western world, and Barbie turned out to be not only its symbol, but also the engine.
Many do not even realize how much the fashion industry, show business, glamor and the cult of the body in all its manifestations - from cosmetics to plastic surgery and fitness - owe this doll. She helped change the consciousness of women, adjusting it to this era. Playing with dolls is very serious. They are always role-playing: when girls feed, swaddle and rock the baby, they go through the school of motherhood. You can’t play with Barbie like that, you need to dress her up, bring her out into the world, groom and cherish. And this is a completely different school. Interestingly, Barbie never became a mother. She had girlfriends, sisters, and one day either a brother or a boyfriend appeared Ken .
Ruth Handler named this doll after her son, and its status was not very clear. By the way, like the fate of the son. Being an exemplary husband and father of three children, he died in 1994 from HIV. Only shortly before his death it turned out that he had a non-traditional sexual orientation.
Just some kind of mysticism
Barbie is hard to imagine fifty. It looks like we are attending the last anniversary of this doll. In recent years, its position has been shaken. And of course, it is difficult to expect that after the current crisis, she will be able to survive a second youth. Changes in life will require new dolls. nine0005
Of course, she could prolong her youth with the help of hormones - in recent years, tens of millions of women in the West have taken them. And this hormone replacement therapy also owes a lot to Barbie, who personifies the cult of eternal youth and success. But the terrible crisis in this area happened much earlier than in the economy. It turns out that hormones dramatically increased the risk of breast cancer. And thousands of women who took "youth pills" went under the surgeon's knife. An amazing coincidence, but in 1970 the creator of Barbie also underwent such an operation. We don't know if it was due to hormone pills or something else.
People who are inclined to mysticism will associate this with the manipulations that Ruth Handler performed, changing the breasts of Lilly and Barbie. And they have reasons for this: dolls are often used for magical manipulations, and playing with them has long been considered by Christianity as real magic. nine0005
Plastic to follow: the evolution of the Barbie doll
The first Barbie doll was introduced in 1959. She was presented in two versions - blondes and brunettes. © Commons.wikimedia.org
The very first Barbie cost three dollars, but doll dresses and accessories had to be purchased separately. © www.globallookpress.com
At first, the doll caused a wary response in society - many considered Barbie vulgar, but she quickly gained popularity among schoolgirls. © www.globallookpress.com
In 1961, a Ken doll was released to pair with Barbie. Later, she also had "relatives", and Barbie herself turned from an adult woman into a teenager.
© Flickr.com / Freddycat1
In the wake of the doll's popularity, manufacturers are releasing several sets of outfits for Barbie, who could now dress up as a singer, nurse, stewardess or astronaut. © www.globallookpress.com
In 2000, the structure of the doll's body was significantly changed. This happened in connection with Cindy Jackson, an American woman who underwent 55 plastic surgeries to look like Barbie. © www.globallookpress.com
As a result, Barbie became a cult doll. FIAT even introduced a special model of its car - 500 Barbie, painted in pink. The event was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the doll. © www.globallookpress.com
Today, Barbie is one of the most popular children's toys in history. The character is used in cartoons and advertising campaigns, a number of children's magazines, and in China there is a themed Barbie cafe, opened under license from the doll manufacturer.
© www.globallookpress.com
Plastic to follow: the evolution of the Barbie doll
The first Barbie doll was introduced in 1959. She was presented in two versions - blondes and brunettes. © Commons.wikimedia.org
The very first Barbie cost three dollars, but doll dresses and accessories had to be purchased separately. © www.globallookpress.com
At first, the doll caused wary responses in society - many considered Barbie vulgar, but she quickly gained popularity among schoolgirls. © www.globallookpress.com
In 1961, a Ken doll was released to pair with Barbie. Later, she also had "relatives", and Barbie herself turned from an adult woman into a teenager. © Flickr.com / Freddycat1
In the wake of the doll's popularity, manufacturers are releasing several sets of outfits for Barbie, who could now dress up as a singer, nurse, stewardess or astronaut.
© www.globallookpress.com
In 2000, the body structure of the doll was significantly changed. This happened in connection with Cindy Jackson, an American woman who underwent 55 plastic surgeries to look like Barbie. © www.globallookpress.com
As a result, Barbie became a cult doll. FIAT even introduced a special model of its car - 500 Barbie, painted in pink. The event was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the doll. © www.globallookpress.com
Today, Barbie is one of the most popular children's toys in history. The character is used in cartoons and advertising campaigns, a number of children's magazines, and in China there is a themed Barbie cafe, opened under license from the doll manufacturer. © www.globallookpress.com
Next article
You may also be interested in
- Barbie doll dressed in Muslim clothes
- Instructions for the donor.
How to make a baby happy? nine0099 - What to put under the Christmas tree for the baby?
- It's hard to be a donut: how a fashion model of non-standard sizes lives nine0099
- Elena Semenova: "The Body of Taste"
Media news2
"Barbie Funeral" and 24 more weird toys for kids
Last time we got acquainted with toys with which something was wrong: bad gluing, an error in the calculation of the eyes, terribly sewn muzzles.
This time, the manufacturers planned everything that way, and that's the trouble. Because personally, we don't know what kind of kids can't wait to play with a pregnant Barbie, soft poop and cat entrails? nine0005
Today we have a review of the top 25 strangest ideas for children's toys.
Miji's pregnant doll delighted children from 1963 to 2002. And why was it removed from production?
And Cameron offers girls a baby doll to breastfeed. You can't imagine more exciting!
This is just a design project, there were no toys on the store shelves. Because few people would be interested in a game called "You can shave the baby." nine0005
If you and your children enjoyed breastfeeding your baby doll, we have another toy for you. You have to milk a cow here.
We continue to study animals. And best of all from the inside with the Japanese toy "I stepped on the cat."
And if you are raising not a flayer, but a maniac, we offer the same game, but with people.
Let's take out the kidneys together!
Just another toy for young maniacs.
Bloodthirsty narwhal is the best present for Christmas. nine0005
And for the more dreamy, we offer a bloodthirsty unicorn game.
So that children know what to do with dead narwhals and unicorn toys, we recommend that you first give them a Barbie Funeral set.
Barbies are not only pregnant and dead, they generally have a fairly large variety of models. I wonder how a child should play with this Ken?
And this toy is called Beautiful Death. nine0005
Or with a Hitler toy? This girl seems to be quite happy playing with him.
In general, toy manufacturers often make sure that children learn about different professions from childhood. This doll can be easily bought in Asia.
And this toy with the telling name "I'm like a dad." How to play clearly?
Japanese children's game "Russian Roulette".
Deadly exciting!
If your child is not going to college, you can give him a tattoo machine from Spin Master Toys. This profession is at least profitable. nine0005
In general, the main thing is that a child knows how to butcher fish from childhood. And this toy will help you in learning.
And this is a fun toilet game that will shoot poop at the baby.
By the way, both poop and a drop of urine can be bought separately for a baby, in the form of a soft toy, if he liked the last game.
Let's move on to very unusual animals. It's just a horse with a human head, for example.
And this is a centaur toy that you can put on your fingers.
And this is… Em. Well... Let's announce a competition for the most original name of this Giraffosebroleoslephant.
And this is... No, sorry, we don't know what it is and how to play it.
To save your child from all these toys, just put him in a cage.
