Do Children Play With Barbie Or Does She Manipulate Them?:   An associate professor of English at Utah State University studies Barbie and her role in society and as a plaything for children. This professor is an expert on folklore and folk culture and is interested in the relationship between folk culture and popular culture.  Personally, I sort of wish all the experts just accepted Barbie for what she is--a simple TOY--and stopped freaking out about all her psychological implications.  !  OK, OK, see what YOU think in this Salt Lake Tribune article.  Besides the usual expert-worries on body image, Thomas says that  "What we do with Barbie is way more complex than I would expect," said Thomas.  "We tend to say it's just play, but there's often serious cultural issues in play," she said. "I heard a lot of stories about kids doing funny thing with dolls," Thomas said. "When they were manipulating [Barbie's] life, that was the first time they started thinking about God." Kids also started defining their own sense of gender roles through Barbie play, she said. In addition to regular role-playing with Barbie, Thomas heard stories about subversive Barbie play that involved decapitating her and melting her in an oven. Other stories were about sexuality, as when a student told Thomas her cousin would always put the dolls in sexual positions."  And here I was all those years as a child, doing nothing more than playing house with my Barbie, and dressing her up in fancy outfits!  

MORE New Barbie Releases, plus Magic Megan:  With the holidays fast approaching, new Barbie releases are coming fast and furious!  Look for the new Holiday Treasures Barbie--but not in stores.  She is a doll for the Official Collectors Club for $50 (Official Barbie Collector's Club^SM members 1-800-491-7503).  Also look for the Barbie Fashion Blast electronic party game, where girls (I have to assume girls; there is a purse involved!) Take the purse and put their accessories in during their allotted time and pass it. Whoever is wearing the right accessory at the right time is the fashion queen!)  A NEW Mattel non-Barbie release is Magic Megan, which comes with her own magic wand and tricks (a 14.5" doll, it is expected to retail for $22.00. 

Venus and Serena Fashion Dolls:  Play Along Toys is releasing Venus and Serena Fashion Dolls! Play Along makes the Britney Spears and Sabrina dolls, among others.  The dolls will be 11 1/2" tall and will retail for $19.99 separately and in a set for $39.99.  The dolls will arrive in stores for the holiday shopping season.  The dolls will come with tennis rackets and tennis balls (naturally!)

What Makes Baby Boomer Toys Special?:  This nostalgic look at baby boomer toys is wonderful--it covers everything from Mr. Potato Head to Easy Bake Ovens, to Hula Hoops and Barbie, and it attributes both the rise of plastics and of commercial TV advertising to having major parts in making these toys what they were and what they still ARE to boomers today.  Kudos to MSNBC for having a writer who knows her toys do this article! Classic Toys Then and Now:  Boomer Favorites Find Their Niche Online

New Robert Tonner Dolls At JC Penney: Robert Tonner will have a line of 18" play dolls available at JC Penney this holiday season!  Here is a picture of one of the dolls; thanks to Pat Duncan for passing on this information:  New 18" Robert Tonner Doll.

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About Dolls Daily Archive:

September 1, 2000:  Modern Doll Convention; New Barbies; John F. Kennedy Doll; ViewMaster 
August 30, 2000:  Reproduction Dawn; Electronic Toy Shortage; Theriaults Upcoming Online Auctions; Paper Dolls
August 28, 2000:  Auction-Site Shake-Out; Barbie in the New Millennium; New Links
August 25, 2000:  Ask the Editor Chat; AA Prince Ken; Doll Reviews

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• Blue Ribbon HSN Event Planned:  8pm to midnight EST on Friday, September 22 will be the sixth annual Doll Collectors Blue Ribbon Event on HSN.  The program will offer many dolls that have been nominated for the DOTY awards from Doll Reader magazine and also the Dolls Awards of Excellence from Dolls magazine.  
• Theriault's Marquis Trilogy Weekend:  September 23 and 24, Redwood City, California.   Four auctions--a catalogued auction of antique dolls, a special vintage Ginny auction 'Hi, I'm Ginny" and a "Barbie® Retro" catalogued Auction of vintage Barbie, Barbie family and related accessories.  Plus, a Discovery Day Auction! Click here for Full Auction Information
• Timeless Treasures: The Story of Dolls in Canada is on display now through  March 30, 2003 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec. For more information on this huge (over 400 dolls) landmark exhibit, visit http://www.civilisations.ca/cmc/cmceng/pr113aeng.html 
• National Gene Convention 2000 will be held Oct. 20-23 at the Arlington Heights Hilton in Arlington Heights, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). Registration is $325 and limited to 700. For more information, contact genecon99@aol.com

Be a Roving Reporter!! Become a Roving Reporter and write a report on a doll event!  Or, do you have a doll event to promote, a new doll to announce, or an updated web site?  Please e-mail me at collectdolls.guide@about.com and put "Newsletter" in the subject line--For events, please give me 7 to 10 days advance notice (at minimum!) in order to have your event appear on time. Some events will also/alternatively appear in the Events Calendar.

Do You Have Dolls For Sale Or Trade? Did you know that you can place FREE classified ads for your dolls for sale or trade (or, dolls wanted) in the Dolls Forum?  Dealers, collectors, everyone welcome; feel free to link to your eBay auctions as well!  Visit the Dolls Forum to find out how to place your ad; if you are not yet a member, click on GUEST, but you will need a free Forum ID to place your ad.

 Want to keep up to date on all the latest in the world of Dolls?    Sign up for the weekly About Dolls  Newsletter! It's free, and is delivered to your email address every week, full of links to new articles, new clip art, additions to the Doll Price Guide and Galleries, Forum Discussions and more!   Don't miss a single issue--- scroll to the end of this page to sign up now!

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2000 Doll News Archive:

January
Madame Alexander 16" Fashion Doll; Mattel Execs Leave * 
Doll Costumer Guild Announces New Publication; *
Barbie® PC; Barbie Auction *
February
Jill Barad Resigns From Mattel  *
All The Toy Fair News! *
Toy Fair Recap; Toy Fair Toys are Technological  *
March
New Theriault's Auctions; Dorothy Coleman Dies *
TRU Big Event, Virginia Graves Carlson Dies *
April
New Doll Books; New Barbie® Releases in Stores *
Jill-Neimrow Nelson Resigns; Americana 2000 Projects; Fashion Doll Convention *
Barbie for President, Sign Language Barbie®; Betty Spagetty and eBay Antique Dealers *
Special Online Doll Auctions; Pleasant Co. Toys For Boys, Cool Collecting Barbie®*
May
Pleasant Company Founder Retires/Doll Discounts/Harley Ken HOT! *
Who's Brave Enough to Run Mattel/Hello Kitty Barbie®/Barbies in stores now *
Toysmart OUT of Business; Where are Asian Barbies; NEW Mattel CEO *
June
Barbie®20001 line info; Gene News; Sailor Moon NEW USA Dolls! *
eBay users dislike advertisements; GI Joe in a Dress; new 16" Fashion Dolls *
Barbie® Bazaar, ITCA, Simply Gene Platinum, Barbie Convention
July
New Doll Costuming Magazine; Harry Potter Mania; Dollmakers Convention *
UFDC Sky-High Convention Dolls; Online Convention Clubs Voted In; NEW Fashion Dolls Magazine * 
Paralymics Becky; Sotehby Barbie® Auction; HSN Doll Event
August
New Elle Dolls; Teri Lee Repros; iDolls Sale; TRU joins Amazon 

For all 1999 editions of "Dolls This Week" please go to the 1999 Dolls This Week Archives.