This Just In ...
Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
Be on the lookout for a blonde woman, tall, thin, built, and extremely dangerous
I began writing This Just in on January 27, 2007. Over 4,500 posts later, I never, ever, thought I’d blog about Barbie.
Why now? Political reasons, of course.
A state lawmaker in West Virginia, a Democrat, of course, wants to ban the famous doll who just celebrated her 50th birthday. Apparently every major crisis in the Mountaineer State has been addressed and rectified. Doofus!
You see, that no good Barbie only makes young girls think about having great bodies. That’s odd. So does Barack Obama.
Girls, you shouldn’t try to look and feel your best. Barbie bad. Very bad.
Internet stories report that if Barbie was a real woman, she would be 6 feet tall, weigh 100 lbs., and wear a size 4. Her measurements: 39-19-33. The average woman is about 5’4”, 145 lbs, and wears between a size 11 and 14. Her measurements are 36-30-41, and she’s probably on a diet.
My wife and I are expecting very soon, and if we are blessed with a girl, she will have Barbie dolls. The theory that Barbie corrupts tiny little girls is preposterous.
Here’s a great commentary from, of all people, an editor at feministing.com:
"I've had the opportunity to speak at colleges and parenting groups across the nation with mothers. More times than not, a well-intentioned mother asks: 'What can we do about Barbie and those terrible Bratz dolls?!' The answer? 'Forget about Barbie or the Bratz. Worry about what you say at the dinner table every night.'
The truth is that none of these dolls has ever held or will ever hold a candle to how much power our own mothers' lives have to influence our ideas about femaleness, bodies, and power."
Here's the entire piece by Courtney Martin.
Happy birthday, Barbie, and here’s to 50 more.
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