Tween Dora? Maybe it’s Time for Mattel to Grow Up
I’m outraged. Mattel has announced that they will be supplement the preschool Dora line with a tween doll. The new doll will sport a thin body, long hair and fashionable clothing. (Mattel will be keeping the doll secret until launch this Fall.)
“As tweenage Dora, our heroine has moved to the big city, attends middle school and has a whole new fashionable look,” Mattel said in a press release. Is this necessary, really? Evidently it is if corporate America is going to hold onto our childrens attention past age eight.
“The doll really taps into a tween’s love of fashion and empowers girls to influence and change the ‘lives’ of Dora and her friends”… Oh, and comes with a retail price of $59.99, because growing up means spending more money. Of course, there will be accessories available as well… because we are playing into (or rather, creating as consumerism always has) a tweenage girls love of fashion and thus, creating a larger consumer base.
My husband fully believes that girls products are significantly more expensive than their male counter parts because our society is busy training females to spend more. I notice these price discrepancies any time we go into a clothing store for the kids.
