A British religious group is criticizing Mattel’s new Black Canary Barbie doll, calling it “filth.”
Unveiled in February at the New York Toy Fair, the Black Canary doll is part of a fall line that includes DC Comics superheroines Batgirl, Supergirl and Wonder Woman. Like the character on which it’s based, the Black Canary doll wears fishnet stockings, a motorcycle jacket, gloves and boots.
“Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far,” the Christian Voice is quoted as saying by the tabloid The Sun. “A children’s doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible — it’s filth.”
In true tabloid fashion, The Sun’s headline reads, “S&M Barbie is lashed by the public.”
July 16th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I think labeling it “S&M” is going pretty far off the deep end. The Fonz wore a dark leather jacket, too.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
yes…i could kind of see this…not really s & m, but does it matter given its a barbie?
July 16th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I guess it really matters what kind of distribution this would have…if its for a collector’s market thats fine, but as part of a normal toyline, it is kinda strange, when we view it outside of our little bubble.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Wait wait wait.
The blonde hair isn’t a wig over short black hair?
Man.
DC totally lost a sale there.
July 16th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Finally! A Barbie doll I’d like to stick my Green Arrow into! Man, I’d make her quiver!
July 16th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Somebody needs to read a comic… and get laid.
Yes, even more so than the fanboys and fangirls!
July 16th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Here’s the thing that really bewilders me. If I do a google image search for “Barbie swimsuit” I find lots of different Barbie dolls wearing less clothing than this Black Canary version.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
I wish I could remember where, but a year or so ago I read a blog post by a woman who had worn a Black Canary costume to a convention or to a costume party. At the hotel/apartment building, she ended up in an elevator with someone who was not there for the con/party, clearly not a comics person, and clearly thought she was there for a completely different reason. Naturally, she found this very disturbing, and afterward she found herself thinking about context: within the context of super-heroes, the outfit was empowering. Outside that context, people jumped to the opposite conclusion.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Kelson, that’s an interesting point. On the other hand, if I was in the elevator with a guy dressed as the Flash and I didn’t know there was a con, I’d probably think he was a freak, too. It would be even worse if he was wearing a spandex costume I didn’t recognise.
I can *kinda* see the point of the objection, but it’s a doll. That’s just as much a make-believe world as comics and cartoons. Unless someone’s eight year old daughter is much more familiar with S&M gear than my nieces were, she’s not going to make that association. She’s going to believe what the box says about this being a super hero outfit. If the kid *can* recognise S&M gear, then the doll isn’t that kid’s problem.
July 17th, 2008 at 4:01 am
Christian Voice is – as far as I’ve ever seen – one supremely irrelevant prick named Stephen Green, a man so committed to the premises of Christianity and the love inherent in Jesus’ teachings that when he failed in his attempt to get a court injunction to stop BBC2 airing JERRY SPRINGER: THE MUSICAL, he published the home addresses and phone numbers of the programme-makers and BBC2 directors on his website. Not in the hope that people would hurt them or anything. Oh no. Heaven forfend.
Essentially, he’s Falwell circa 1992, but with practically no money and about three people who take him seriously, one of whom is a Sun journalist, and nobody takes *them* seriously.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:43 am
“Must. Remove. Stick. From. Butt.”
July 17th, 2008 at 10:15 am
For those of us who have been reading comics all our lives, we sometimes forget how characters like Black Canary, Hawkman and J’onn look to the rest of the world, and especially if they were real people.
Imagine a formal diplomatic event, and Dinah attends as the leader of the Justice League.
Not that I don’t personally love the outfit and will be buying the Barbie the day it comes out!
July 17th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
My daughter (3) has tons of Barbies, mostly disney princesses — WITHOUT EXCEPTION they end up “naked” — she pulls the clothes off and takes them in the bath, plays in the sand. Occasionally I have to put the dresses back on. So it doesn’t matter how they’re dressed — “you’re. a. toy!”
(btw, I’m getting my daughter hooked on DC heroes — her big fave is “womber woman” — pretty sure some of these DC heroine barbies are in our future.)
July 17th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Hey, and you know what? These are like $40 a pop — they’re NOT for kids (that said, I don’t know why they’re picking on Canary, the Catwoman doll HAS A WHIP!)
July 17th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Haha oh dear this is amusing. Fishnets apparently equals prostitute. Then again, I was dressed as Zatanna for the NYCC this year and coming back late at night to the hotel with my boyfriend who was dressed normally made me feel like the hotel employees thought I was a prostitute so there you go.
If you don’t know Black Canary I would call this Biker Barbie maybe but not S&M.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:40 am
But if you call her “biker Barbie”, you can’t make the “lashed by the public” joke.
December 1st, 2010 at 10:35 pm
This story was a great read. Thank you for the story. Thumbs up!!!!!
December 3rd, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Religious bigots think everything is filth.
Someone just tell them to shut up!
January 17th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Have you consider starting an email list. It would take your site to its potential.
January 17th, 2011 at 9:26 pm
Wow, that was a great read! Thanks so much for your fantastic writing, i’ll be reading regularly from now on.
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