Move over, Bratz: here come the Pussycat Dolls

by Karen Walrond (Subscribe to Karen Walrond's posts) Apr 19th 2006 1:00PM

Categories: Money & Work, Media, Toys & Games

Oh, yawn ... aren't you just tired of the Bratz brand of hootchie? It's just so 2005, isn't it?

Well, lucky for you, the Pussycat Dolls (that pop group famous for their profound lyrics: Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me/ Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me) have struck a deal with Hasbro to create fashion dolls modeled on its six members. According to the New York Times, the toy line aims to mimic the group's "playfully risqué style," and is intended for children aged 6 to 9.

Six to nine. Playfully risqué.

Am I the only person that sees something wrong with this?

Source

Comments (27)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

meredith 4-19-2006 @ 1:42PM

these dolls are absolute TRASH! Targeting 6-9yrs girls, come one Hasbro and the Pussycat Doll you should be ashamed! Is this how you would want your 6-9yr old daughter to look/dress--think they should look/dress? I hope they fail miserably! I am disgusted.

ann adams 4-19-2006 @ 1:44PM

Rebecca is ten, Rochelle is eleven and I wouldn't let them near those dolls. I already have enough problems without those role models, thanks.

Joanna 4-19-2006 @ 1:54PM

Ahhh the Pussycat Dolls. Burlesque show turned pop group. Sigh.

bunny 4-19-2006 @ 2:03PM

Great, a toy that looks even more like a hooker than Bratz. Don't tell me, next they are going to put out a Pussycat Dolls "Massage Parlour" to go with it...

We live in a sick society where little girls play with dolls like these but people have problems with breastfeeding.

Sharon 4-19-2006 @ 2:13PM

Just one more tiny seed trying to be planted in their brains, telling them that life would be better if they were older, more mature, more risque maybe?

And to think that my sisters and I played with Hollie Hobbie, Mrs. Beasley, and Raggedy Ann dolls at age 6.

Both of my daughters have asked for the Bratz, but Santa never delivered. I would like to know who the big brain was behind this new series.

cee 4-19-2006 @ 2:15PM

Ya know, if people wouldn't buy these slut dolls for little girls they wouldn't make them. We have nothing Bratz and we won't have these *dolls* in our house either, ugh.

Sharon 4-19-2006 @ 2:17PM

Shame on you Hasbro! I wonder if anyone knows who actually agrees on this stuff over there.

Sharon 4-19-2006 @ 2:19PM

Does anyone know who over at Hasbro agrees upon which toys are marketed?

thordora 4-19-2006 @ 2:40PM

I wonder if the people who buy these dolls are the same people who find it offensive to see breastfeeding in public.

Like someone else said, they won't be made if people stop buying them. I like the idea of Burlesque-FOR ADULTS. Ludicrous.

daddy in a strange land 4-19-2006 @ 2:49PM

Recently saw a onesie, at the kind of hip mom-baby boutique where yummy mummies can buy themselves and their mini-mes matching Seven jeans, that read, "Don't you wish your mom was hot like mine?" Yuck.

Jasmine 4-19-2006 @ 4:04PM

I am disgusted personally. Who in the hell would let a 6-9 year old play with these. And anyone who says that the dolls wont affect the kids is lying. Everyone who played with Barbies wanted to dress just like them, so why wouldnt our first graders want to wear a skirt converted from the left over material of a thong? Do these people just want to be their children to be targets of child molesters and pedophiles? And yes, its probably the same morons who are offended by breastfeeding in public. Absolutely disgusting. I would love to start a movement against them. This is getting out of hand.

Shauna 4-19-2006 @ 5:06PM

Holy crap. What is this world coming to?

Jenn 4-19-2006 @ 5:39PM

This makes me glad I have a son. And it makes me sad that he will one day have to choose a wife from among girls who play with these trashy dolls. Whoever said that if people don't buy this stuff, the toy companies won't make it, was right.

Becky 4-19-2006 @ 5:53PM

Sharon John is Hasbro's general manager for marketing. She's quoted in the article.

Contact information for Hasbro public relations: (401) 727-5318, hasbrotoyspr@hasbro.com.

Contact information for the PR company that distributes Hasbro press releases: Josslynne Lingard / Marni Goldberg, Litzky Public Relations, (201) 222-9118, jlingard@litzkypr.com / mgoldberg@litzkypr.com.

Becky 4-19-2006 @ 5:58PM

jps 4-19-2006 @ 6:04PM

My daughter was given a bratz doll before she was born, at my baby shower! I was worried about the safety issue, but my husband, who is no prude, took one look at it and said that doll looks like a hooker (only he didn't say hooker). It is still "in storage." I hate to throw it away but it is kind of trashy. I think this culture is guilty of societal sexual abuse.

Sharon 4-19-2006 @ 6:57PM

Becky, thank you. I am actually steamed enough to contact these people.

Becky 4-19-2006 @ 7:26PM

Corporate office:
Hasbro, Inc.
1027 Newport Avenue, Mailstop A906
Pawtucket, RI 02861
(401) 727-6899

Sharon, you bet.

Tony 4-19-2006 @ 8:41PM

All I can say- Hasbro must be run by Larry Flynt or Hugh Heffner these days. As a father of a girl, I'm scared and shocked something is going beyond Bratz.

Tamyu 4-20-2006 @ 8:46AM

And people out there wonder why things are slowly falling apart in the United States...
I love the US, I was born there, but seriously though - I would never want to raise a child there. (And I`m not.) It seems like I would be fighting against some horrible influence every 10 minutes. When I visited last October, I even spotted "baby thongs" on sale in some store - and it was even a pretty conservative community. (I`m really hoping that they were a joke, but still... If I recall correctly they were designed to be worn over a diaper at first, then as panties when the girl was potty trained.)

Anyway - I would really really love to know exactly what the parents are thinking when they buy something like this for their little girl. What part of toys like this makes them think "That would be great for little Suzy!"?
Whatever happened to buying toys that help a child be creative? Or that help their development? Or that make them proud of themselves?

I`m so happy I don`t have to deal with toys like that living in Japan. Little girls are little girls - the most popular toys for girls between 6 and 9 are stuffed animals and little cooking sets. For boys - trains and fake bugs.

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 20 Comments

How To Submit Photos:
If you'd like your children (any age will do!) featured on ParentDish, upload photos into the ParentDish Flickr Pool. Be sure to read our main Flickr page for more information.