Our Dolls,Ourselves

  Thanks to everyone who has sent Fuzzy get well wishes. He's doing fine now. Now Ivy is sick! She hasn't had a fever, just nausea, congestion and sore throat. Hopefully they both have, or had, nothing but the flu.
**For those of you offended by classical paintings and statues, there is artistic nudity below.**
  Last month was Black History Month. You may have read my post about The Doll Test. In the test the researchers gave African American children two dolls, one White and one painted brown. (The tests were originally done in the 1940's, and the researchers were unable to find an African American baby doll. They had to paint a White one.) The children were asked questions, including, 'Which doll looks like you?' The children attributed racist stereotypes to the brown dolls, which suggested to  researchers how the children saw themselves. This month is Women's History Month. In this post I'm going to discuss how women's opinions of themselves are affected by dolls, or if they are affected by them at all. If they're not, what does affect them?
  For years researchers, psychologists, and regular people have complained that Barbie doll's exaggerated body has given little girls the idea that they have to have a huge bust, a tiny waist, and unnaturally long legs to be 'perfect'. Does Barbie's body really have that much influence on a child's image of herself? There are a lot of other things which might influence a child's self image. Television and movies, fashion models, peer pressure, etc., all might contribute to a child's idea of what they 'should' look like. I really think that Barbie and other dolls more likely reflect what society sees as the 'perfect' woman, rather than setting the standard. (Also, I'd like to point out that there were several dolls in the Barbie line that were not built like a brick Barbie doll. Francie, Casey, and Twiggy were all narrow hipped and small busted. More modern times saw Teen Skipper, who had a smaller bust and hips than Barbie. There were also other Mattel lines that featured 'teen' dolls like Starr and her friends, who had more teen-like bodies.)
  So I can't blame the whole thing on Barbie. I think it's much more likely that real women, who have given us ideals way beyond most women's reach, are more to blame. (Rail thin models for example.) But where did they get the idea that being that size and shape was the ideal? Fashion designers want super thin models to wear their clothes because it supposedly makes the clothes look better. But does it also give women the idea, possibly only subconsciously, that the clothes will make them look like the models? I look at the models and wonder why in the world anyone would want to be that thin. To me they look like victims of a concentration camp. But I grew up in an era when women were 'supposed to' be more zaftig. Of course, it was also the era that Twiggy became a style icon, so we're back to that thin thing again.
    When I was growing up the cliche 'perfect woman' was supposed to have the measurements 36-24-36. When Barbie first came about, the 36-24-36 standard was in full effect. In 2020 a woman with those measurements might be considered fat. So where did that standard start? Where do any of them start?
  With all the complaints about body shaming and fat shaming, there are more women who aren't trying to be so thin. But most are still slaves to the idea that they should look like malnourished little boys. Having a 'thigh gap' is still something a lot of women strive for. I watched a movie a couple of days ago and was a bit creeped out by how thin the actress was. I won't say who it was. Maybe she's naturally that thin. But I don't think so.
  But we're still faced with the question, where does the idea of the 'perfect' woman come from? It didn't start with Barbie. Adult lady dolls with mature figures existed long before Barbie,(In spite of what Mattel would like you to think!). Miss Revlon and her competitors had smaller busts, but were indeed curvy, with long legs. (Mind you, most legs look long to me. Mine are very short.) In the 1800's there were dolls with the wasp waist popular in that era, achieved by corsets that changed the very positioning of a woman's innards.

Dolls have always been made to reflect the beauty standards of their time. Those standards change over the years. Not just dolls, but paintings reflected the beauty standards of their times. Ruebens' ladies are considered fat and flabby today, but, in the time they were painted, their figures were considered beautiful.
  

Man, was I born too late. The Three Graces by Peter Paul Rubens

  To quote Peter Cook's 'Pete' character, Ruebens "does all the paintings of fat ladies with nothing on. Great, pink, fat ladies." Cezanne had a painting called Les Grandes Baigneuses. Les Grandes Baigneuses literally translates to 'The Large Bathers'.

 To quote Peter Cook's 'Pete' again, "'Les Grandes Baigneuses'. You know what that means, don't you? Big Bathers." (You may have guessed that I love this sketch, from Peter Cook/Dudley Moore's 1960's TV series. Check it out. It can kill some time in quarantine if nothing else. You can see the sketch HERE. The conversation on the paintings starts at about 5 minutes in.)
Sculptuary also reflects the beauty standards of it's time.

The Venus De Milo is a little big in the hips, but at least she doesn't have to worry about upper arm flab...

   Ancient figures of woman show different forms.

This one is a bit Kim Kardashian-ish.

This one is ancient too. How did they make a sculpture of me way back then?!

This dancing girl, sculpted in 2500 B.C. is quite a bit more slim.

 Maybe they depict the fashionable shape of the day, or maybe they were just modeled after women  the artist found at hand.   
  But where do the standards come from?
  Is it men? Men have obsessions with certain female parts, and that doesn't change. (They 'like big butts and they cannot lie'.)What men like has always been a major influence on everything. But even most men polled say they don't like women to be so thin. So why do women think they have to be so thin?! I'm not sure there's a clear answer to that. 
  And then there's still the question of how much influence dolls have on a child's opinion of themselves and their idea of what they should grow up to look like. I don't remember my kids ever thinking they had to look like Barbie dolls. Ivy explains that she never liked Barbie dolls when she was small because she didn't think they were realistic looking. She did get some as she got older, but she was particular about which ones she liked. They were usually the special ones like 'big dress dolls' or ethnic ones. I never thought I had to, or should, look like my dolls. It's a good thing. I mean, you've seen some of my childhood dolls.

One of my favourites, Little Miss No Name. Ken can't look at her because he says she looks like 'Ignorance and Want' from "A Christmas Carol". You can see her post HERE.

I guess he is skinny... Pixie Brennan, richest man in the world, and one of my first and favourite dolls. You can see his post HERE.

Not my original Beany doll, but one just like him,(without the facial scars and with the tongue! You can read about that HERE.)

Ivy has a red dress version of my green dressed doll. Same face though. You can see this girl's post HERE.

One of  my all time favourites, my childhood Sad Eyes Doll. Ok, I did always want big brown eyes, (which at least I used to have),and dark hair... You can see her post HERE.

This guy recently replaced my childhood Happy Herman Are you starting to see a theme here? I loved dolls that were either extremely sad looking, or extremely goofy looking. Hmmm...maybe I did want to look like my dolls...

  I liked the sad looking dolls because they looked like they needed loved. They needed me. I always had a problem with depression, even as a small kid. Maybe I saw my own depression in the dolls and thought I could give them the help I needed. As an adult I sort of reveled in my misery. My sister had a print of  John William Waterhouse's The Lady of Shalott when I was in my twenties, which she said was me, because, "She has your hair and she looks all miserable."

   I did have a bunch of orange haired dolls, which I guess I related to? They had those goofy faces though. I didn't want to look like them, but maybe I thought I did? For the record, my sister and I did have Barbie dolls, Tressy, Francie, Tammy, (when I was really small), and Glamour Misty. But I never thought about looking like them. If I had striven to look like my Barbie doll, I'd be bald now.
  Ok. I didn't want to look like my dolls, but I did always think I was too fat. I look at pictures of myself when I was 105 or 112 pounds,(Not anorexic! Just a naturally small person.), and wonder how I ever thought I was fat.

Lori, and me, in 1981, when we were about 19, and I was about 110 pounds.

But at the time, I felt my bust was too big, my 34 inch hips were too wide, and my thighs were too fat. (I now realize they were muscley from riding a bike all the time.) What I wouldn't give to be so 'fat' now! Why did I think I was fat then? Why did I think I needed to be so thin? Where does the idea come from?
   In 2006 researchers did tests with little girls by giving them three choices: Barbie dolls, dolls with more realistic shapes, and no dolls. They then asked the girls questions about their body image. The girls who looked at the Barbie dolls 'tended to have internalized a more negative body image than the other two groups of girls had.' But they had just looked at the dolls. Maybe in half an hour they would have forgotten about it. Maybe not.
  Maybe dolls like Barbie do give girls the idea that they need to measure up to her. But maybe if the girls had a good self image in the first place, they wouldn't be so influenced by the dolls. Girls of younger and younger ages are worried about their appearance these days, I don't remember having any image, when I was very small, of what I needed to look like as an adult. At that age my only view of what I needed to be as a grown up was that I wanted to be a mother. My image of what I needed to look like came about when I was a teenager. I tried to camouflage my large chest, and I was most influenced by my love of old movies and old styles. I wanted to look like a  1930's or 40's woman, or even an 1800's woman.

Like Bette Davis...

...or Hedy Lamarr. Way too much upkeep to either of those looks anyway, so that was never going to happen.

Later on in my teens I wanted to look like singer Kate Bush. (But I thought her legs were too skinny, so I wasn't wanting to be that thin.)

  By my early twenties I had developed my own style, which my kids describe, (from photos), as semi goth. I don't think it was anywhere near that. I wore a lot of black, and very long skirts, but my make-up, what there was of it, was decidedly more natural. Nobody I knew of dressed like I did. I just liked it.
 

Me with a bale of straw, Yorkshire, 1985, at age 23. About 110 pounds. Beret, 1930's English riding jacket, my friend's skirt, because mine was in the wash, and those leaky Italian patent leather shoes.

So none of my self image, or what I thought I wanted to look like came from Barbie, or any other doll. I did think I wasn't thin enough though. Where does that come from?!
    I do think it's a positive thing for kids to have dolls they can relate to, or see as positive role models though. It's good that Mattel has recently produced dolls in the Barbie line, of all sizes, shapes, and colours. I think it's great that there are now dolls with prosthesis, and wheelchairs. There was a line of bald dolls representing cancer kids. Mattel has the fairly new Creatable World line, for transgender and non-binary kids,(or just people who like to have options and be creative with their dolls).
  That brings us to the end of this post, and the subject of our next post, which you will hopefully see here soon.

Virtual Doll Convention 2020

  It's already started, but I thought I'd let you all know about the Virtual Doll Convention going on through March 29th. You can go to the web page HERE. It claims to be a fully interactive Doll and Bear convention. Most of the events are over for Thursday,but tomorrow events include a discussion with Helen Kish,Raggedy Ann stories, a program on Francie, and more. Every day has different events. The convention finishes up on Sunday night. Having Facebook helps, but isn't necessary,as they can email you links to the videos. There does appear to be a charge,but it also says the videos will be uploaded to YouTube if you don't want to participate via Facebook. So,I'm not sure how much it will cost you.
  In case any of you are wondering,Fuzz is feeling better. Hopefully it was just the flu. I hope you're all staying safe in quarantine.

Where are those posts?

  I know. I didn't post yesterday. I'm going to short change you today too, because this is about all you're going to get. I have been working on several posts though,which you'll see soon.
  All is not exactly well here. Fuzz has had a fever on and off for the last few days, as well as a sore throat. He seems to be feeling better though. I am paranoid and hey. Fuzz is my kid,so I am worried. The only thing making me feel a little better that this is just a flu, is that I read that with the virus there is a dry cough and no mucus. That's certainly not the case here. Not much of a cough at all, and lots of mucus.
  On a happier note, Debra, over at Dollhouselady's Blog,and her accomplice Mr/ Skellie,have returned to the world of blogging. Welcome back Debra.
  Talk to you again soon.

Daisy Kingdom Rainy Day Wear

  I was recently tagged by a Flickr friend to post a 'Spring coat' picture. What I used wasn't technically a Spring coat,but it sort of fits the bill. Also,I've been wanting to play with it for ages!

 

 Some of you may have seen Ivy's Daisy Kingdom doll and her wardrobe in the post I did back in November. You can see that HERE. Well, way back when we bought that doll and her clothes, we also bought this raincoat and hat. Ivy ended up with a yellow rain slicker and matching hat, and a pair of red rain boots. I'm not sure if she already had them,or if she got them later. In any case, I loved this raincoat set, and kept it for myself. What an awful mom! It's ok though,because when I took these pictures today Ivy told me this raincoat was UGLY. She hates it. So I feel less guilty now!

  This raincoat set is made by Daisy Kingdom. 

When I got it I didn't have a doll to wear it except maybe my Little Miss No Name. After all these years I have any number of dolls that could wear it. I pulled Maru and Friends Jamie out today because I thought she'd look good in it.
 

She's posing with my lilac buds.

  She's a little big for it though. Well, her arms are a bit too long for the sleeves.

  The hat is also a little big for her head.
 

Otherwise it fits her quite well.

She's posing with my poor daffodils. They are trying to bloom, but we had snow again today!

Jamie is wearing her own knee socks and pink boots.

They are faux suede and not made for mud!

There you go! I got another post out! 

It gives you a few minutes of something besides you-know-what to think about. See you again soon!

Mr. Skellie Received His Gift

  Some of you may remember back in January when I showed you the gift I made for a blogger friend, Debra, from Dollhouselady's Blog. If not, you can see that post HERE. Actually,the present wasn't for Debra. It was for her little sidekick, Mr. Skellie. Well I sent an email to Debra to see if Mr. Skellie had liked his present. Just the other day I got an email from Mr. Skellie. Here's what he had to say:
  Hey Tammy! Mr. Skellie here! I snuck into Deb's email to send you pics of me. All I had before was a girly apron...no wonder the minions made fun of me! 

I appreciate something handcrafted...my hat is off to you. 

Thanks so much for the work apron, I think Deb would have made me walk around with the lace trimmed one forever...thanks for saving me from that fate! Right now I am in "Motorhome Central"...sure wish the shop was unpacked! We were going to do it, but guess what...her daughter is getting married tomorrow! He's a widower with three kids so now there will be ten of those little buggers running around! Not sure how I will keep my sanity, but I'm going to use my new hammer to pop anyone's finger if they mess with me...one of them already lost my pliers but Deb assures me she has another set...somewhere in the garage...wish me luck. 

Your friend,

Mr. Skellie

 

  To follow more of Mr. Skellie's adventures you can see Debra's blog at the link above,or Mr. Skellie's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/skeletontales/?ref=page_internal

Another Birthday Present: Mini Zoltar

  How is everybody doing? How are you spending your time in isolation? Or are you still out there braving the world to provide goods and services to everyone? Let me hear from you. Your comments will be available for others to read,so we can all feel like we're in this together...because we are, you know. The world is a community, which is even more obvious these days, with the internet. I hear from people from all over the world, who are reading about my life here on the blog. I feel I know those of you who comment often. I hope you are all managing to keep safe. Marion County,where I live, has just had it's first case of the virus. The man is a 66 year old,who is described as 'recovering at home'. I wish him well.
  I'm managing to get a post out today, and I have several others planned in my head. We'll keep each other entertained as much as possible. Hopefully this blog will also take your minds off your worries for a few minutes. (And my mind off mine too.)
  One of my other gifts that I got a couple of days before my birthday was this cool mini Zoltar.

He came from Barnes and Noble.

He's one of the little boxed things on the spinning racks by the registers.

Sorry it's out of focus.

  Fortune teller figures didn't start with Zoltar. They've been around for ages. As far as I can tell, 'Zoltar' was first seen in the 1988 movie "Big". (Which reminds me of Tom Hanks and his wife Rota Wilson, who have the virus at the moment. I hope they'll be ok.)

He comes with these fortune cards.

Again, I know this is blurry. My auto focus is still not working, so I need three hands,(which I do not have): one to hold the subject,one to hold the camera, and one to focus with. If there was some light in this house I wouldn't have to go stand by the back door and hold what I'm photographing. If it wasn't so cold I could just go outside.

  Olaf Stanton had been making and selling fortune teller figures for years. He'd even wanted to call them 'Zoltar, but was afraid he'd be sued, so he called them 'Swami' instead. In 2005,almost 20 years after "Big", Stanton found that the rights to Zoltar were available. How the movie company/ scriptwriter/ whatever let the copyright on that one get loose, I don't know. I bet now they regret not keeping a tighter grip on it. Stanton bought the rights to the Zoltar name and started producing full size fortune teller figures called 'Zoltar Speaks'.Mini Zoltar is another of the products the company makes. He's pretty much 1/12 scale,as when I sat him on something as a base, he's slightly smaller than full scale for Tammy World. She's 8 inches tall.

Zoltar runs on AAA batteries, and has a little crystal ball,which lights up,as do the lights under the picture of the wall sconces either side of him.
 

Not lit up.

Lit up.

Zoltar himself is a flat picture, as are the wall sconces. The picture is set back a bit behind the crystal ball,which is on a little ledge in front.
 

He has the fortune cards, but he also speaks and tells you something. He's operated by pushing the little fake fortune slot on the front of his case.

There's nice detail on his case. There's some faux wood grain on the front, and 'carved' trim all around.

There are some curtain stickers provided for the sides of his case, but I think it looks better without the stickers,as they don't look very real.

That's today's post. I will hopefully see you again tomorrow, to help take our minds off things. It's not like I don't have enough stuff around here to post every day! Unfortunately, I have plenty of subject matter!

Thrift Store Birthday Trip

 I hope everyone is staying safe and cozy at home as much as possible. Ken isn't working,as I said,since he is a waiter. Ivy and Fuzz are home.Unfortunately Emma,being a district manager, is still required to be out going from store to store. I worry about her. Today is my sister's birthday. Ken and I were planning to take her out to dinner and give her her gifts. But she lives a couple of hours away,so we decided not to travel,even if we weren't eating out. We'll have to delay her birthday party for now.
  As we are all limited in where we can (or should) go, and who we can see,I thought I'd send some reading material your way.
  I told you that the day before my birthday I went to a couple of antique stores and a thrift store. It was an independent thrift store,not Goodwill or Salvation Army.  It was manned,or rather, 'womened' by a couple of very old ladies. I was checking out the shelves and getting pretty discouraged when I spotted this girl.

I recognized her right away as an Ideal Shirley Temple.

You may have seen my post on my other Ideal Shirley's from the 50's. If not you can see it HERE. This girl is the same as my larger one.
She was pretty dirty,with a nick in her nose, and,I noticed later,missing her teeth. But look at her price.

The date is March 3rd. She'd been there for 6 days! And the thrift store is right next door to one antique store and just down the road from another one.

  Otherwise she seemed to be in good shape. A few days later I gave her face a quick wipe and already I could see quite a difference. 

This really was just a quick wipe with a baby toothbrush and Dial soap.  Still, you can see the clean next to the dirt around, (and in), her ears

Her ear has been chewed too,and she has marks or dirt filled scratches on her arm.

  Eventually I gave her a good bath and shampoo,and a scrub with a baby tooth rush and baking soda. I think she looks much better!

She does still have a problem with her hair standing up after being in that hairdo for who knows how long.

But when it is held down she looks good. Now how do I make it stay down?!

She does have one cloudy eye. And of course, she is still missing those teeth!

  I got a pile of cool records for me, Ivy,and Emma at that store too, for 35 cents each.
  I still have a couple of gifts to show you. I can't promise it will be every day, but while we're all in lock down I will try to post as often as possible to keep us all occupied and in a more cheerful state of mind. It's Women's History Month too,and I haven't done a post on that yet. See you soon!