"The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism." - Sir William Osler

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Someone was blaming Disney for propagating the princess mindset in women, so I dug and transcribed this gem up from my archive:


Bratz Dolls May Give Young Girls Unrealistic Expectations Of Head Size

"If you have a daughter, it's likely you're familiar with Bratz, the must-have doll for the under-10 set.

But could these toys be promoting an unhealthy body image among young girls due to their unrealistically large heads?

Here's Jean Anne Whorton to take us - Beyond The Facts.

Since their launch in 2001, Bratz dolls have been flying off the shelves. They're fun, they're fashionable - and their heads are enormous.

*Dangerous Heads: Facing The Bratz Ideal*

According to gender equality advocate Melissa Waters, even though these dolls can't talk, they're sending young girls a message about their bodies.

'What girls are taking away from this is that in order to be beautiful, you need to have a head that's twice the size of your torso'

*Pediatric Analysis: Head Size Perception in Females Age 7-14*

Melissa isn't alone in her concerns. Yvonne Gray gave her daughter Shayla her first Bratz for Christmas last year.

Now, she wishes she hadn't.

'I want to be a good parent. I want her to feel good about herself, about her head. I mean, we all want to be the woman with the head out to here *gestures*, but at some point, you have to say that you're okay with your little head, and be okay with having a nose'

Shayla says nearly everyone her age owns a Bratz doll.

'So Shayla, tell me, what do you and your friends like about Bratz dolls'
'Well. we think that they have really cool clothes and that they're pretty'
'And do you think that you're as pretty as them?'
'No I don't, because I have a really small head'

The Bratz are depicted as having fun lives. Shopping, dancing and playing sports. But what isn't shown is how difficult it would be to do any of those things with an enormous cranium.

'If you make a Bratz doll a human height, the circumference of her skull would be 5 1/2 feet. She wouldn't be able to lift her head, and the sheer weight of it would crush her spine, rendering this so-called 'cool girl' bed-ridden for life'

*Poster: 'All head sizes are beautiful!'*

Waters' organisation is spreading their message through school programs and a national ad campaign.

*Poster: 'Beauty comes in all head sizes'*

*Pamphlet: No Such Thing as the Perfect Head Size*

Their goal is to reach pre-teen girls now and avoid dangerous consequences later

*Pamphlet: Bigger Head or Dead? Dangers of *something*hy Head Size *something*ntion*

'We really have to teach girls that any size head is beautiful. Otherwise they're going to be in a plastic surgeon's office at 23, asking for cranial implants or collagen injections in their scalps'

Regardless of Waters' warning, the demand for Bratz Dolls continues to grow, along with parents' concerns.

'I've actually seen Shayla trying things. Just the other day I saw her hitting herself in the face with a book to try to try to get her head to swell. Am I going to walk into her room and find her with a hammer to her head? I just don't know anymore. A doll shouldn't make a girl feel bad about herself.'

But for millions of girls like Shayla, that message isn't getting through.

From Beyond The Facts, I'm Jean Anne Wharton.

Thank you Jean Anne, for that. Sad, how our society is so focused on the size of - women's heads."