A Short History of Bratz

Mattel's Barbie is 47 years old.
Bratz, the dolls with a "Passion 4 Fashion," are six years old. M.G.A. Entertainment's Isaac Larian, an Iranian immigrant, produced the toy because his daughter, Jasmin, thought the initial drawings, by doll designer Carter Bryant, were cute. In the first five years of production, 125 million Bratz dolls were sold worldwide. Global sales of Barbie are declining; we have captured 40 percent of the fashion-doll market compared to Barbie's 60 percent. The two companies are currently suing each other over copyright infringement.
Barbie is wholesome compared to a Bratz. Writes Margaret Talbot in The New Yorker, "Bratz girls seem more like kept girls, or girls trying to convert a stint on reality TV into a future as the new Ashlee or Lindsay or Paris..." (p. 76) We are multi-ethnic, inspired by SoCal racial mixing. And Bratz are sassy, the toy industry's euphemism for sexy. Larian: "Bratz are not merely dolls but 'fashion icons' that look to the runways and what kids wear in and out of school for inspiratıon." States Talbot, "With Bratz, M.G.A. is selling the notion that divahood is something for girls to aspire to, with or without a talent to go with it." (p 77)
[Troubling side note: if you ask a group of American tween girls what they want to be when they grow up, many will answer "singer, model, or actress," but few have ever taken a singing or acting class. In Turkey, thank God, girls still seem to want to be doctors or teachers.]
Moms originally hated Barbie because she supposedly contributed to girls growing up too fast. Many parents REALLY hate Bratz for the same reason. Plus Barbie, who had career aspirations, was never about expressing sexuality in the way a Bratz is. Basically, we go shopping and then party.
You can buy a Bratz doll at Target in the U.S. for as low as $8. Here in Turkey she costs the equivalent of about $30, out of reach of the average Turkish family, and not many toy stores carry us. But every Turkish stationary and school supply store is filled with Bratz pencil cases and notebooks. All over Anatolia little girls wear t-shirts emblazoned with Bratz and Bratz gear. Yet no Turk that I have talked to is aware of the controversy surrounding us.
Of course as a Bratz myself, I love the notoriety. It makes me so much more interesting, don't you think?
notes: "Little Hotties," by Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker Magazine, Dec. 4, 2006.