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<DIV><FONT size=4>From: <!--StartFragment --><FONT size=3> </FONT><A
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<P class=story><FONT size=5><STRONG><SPAN class=storyhead>Children turn to
torture as Barbie loses her sparkle</SPAN><BR></STRONG></FONT><SPAN
class=storyby>By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent</SPAN><BR><SPAN
class=filed>(Filed: 19/12/2005)</SPAN></P>
<P class=story>Barbie dolls have become so ubiquitous that they have lost their
value to children who maim, burn or microwave them to show their disgust, an
academic study claims today.</P>
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<P class=story>In a finding that will astonish many parents, academics at Bath
University concluded that girls attack their Barbie dolls as a symbol of their
rejection of the consumer society. "Barbie provoked rejection, hatred and
violence," said Dr Agnes Nairn, who led the research for the university's school
of management.</P>
<P class=story>But Roland Earl, of the British Toy and Hobby Association, said:
"Kids have always pulled things apart and dolls are still as popular as they
ever were."</P>
<P class=story>Dr Nairn said the research, which cost £2,000 and was funded by
the taxpayer, studied how advertising influences children, who spend an
estimated £3 billion a year in pocket money and have a "pester power" worth more
than £30 billion.</P>
<P class=story>Researchers divided 100 children aged seven to eight and 10 to 11
into mixed and single-sex groups. </P>
<P class=story>By asking them about their likes and dislikes, they found the 12
most talked-about subjects and then asked the children to say if each one was
"cool" or "not cool".</P>
<P class=story>Most of the talk centred around sports celebrities and pop bands
such as David Beckham and McFly. But of all the toys named, Barbie aroused the
"most complex and violent emotions".</P>
<P class=story><STRONG><FONT color=#ff0000 size=4>"The girls we spoke to see
Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity, and see the torture as a 'cool'
activity," the researchers said</FONT></STRONG>.</P>
<P class=story>The mutilation ranged from cutting off hair to decapitating and
putting the dolls in microwaves. </P>
<P class=story>Dr Nairn said the children were aware that they were being
exploited by "over-marketing and over-charging". While boys had feelings of
nostalgia for Action Man dolls, girls saw Barbie as "babyish" and felt that
rejecting the doll was a "rite of passage". </P>
<P class=story>Barbie also symbolised excess because girls often had several
versions of the toy, the researchers said. "Barbies are not special; they are
disposable, and are thrown away and rejected."</P>
<P class=story>Mattel, which makes Barbie, said the doll had been one of the top
toys for Christmas. </P>
<P class=story>"We know that there are millions of girls in the UK and across
the world who love and enjoy playing with Barbie," a spokesman
said.</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>