here is an Interesting Read "barbie"

[A Bear]

haha, when i was little, i had a lot of barbies... sometimes i see the ones that my brother mutilated and destroyed up for sale and i want to buy them but i'm not really interested in actually collecting him it's to remind him of a thing he probably doesn't remember~

i did stop playing with my barbies "properly" when i discovered the computer, though
but for me it was an obvious choice, things that are on the screen seem real. nobody is holding the legs of the fairy who flies across the screen, it isn't an obvious puppet or suspended by wire... well, i was a smart kid.

and you can make them do anything, for a child like me it was easier to order around pixels on a screen than it was to order around other kids and adults, especially when smart children are shunned u-u

[kellyponyfeathers]

I do not believe that a toy has the power to destroy a child, but a parent sure can.

Yep.  Profound.

I'm the only girl I know who has never owned a Barbie.  I didn't have Cabbage Patch Kids either; I thought they were hideous.  My family could afford it; I just never cared much for dolls.  For me, it was always MLP, plush animals, art supplies/crafts, and educational toys like Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys.

[tulagirl]

I just never cared much for dolls

Yea my niece is that way.  She is all about the ponies, animals, drawing and dragons.  She has no interest in dolls which is a okay in my book.  She seems to have a strong science interest.

[CrazyCatPony]

I didnt really get into dolls till i was 12 and that lasted about a year lol. i was all about ponies and polly in my pocket. oh and stuffed animal cats... yes the crazy cat pony started early....

Oh and for the record Talking baby dolls STILL freak me out, i've been known to jump in the toy isle when one starts up unexpectedly and be jumpy for the rest of the day because of it lol.... my mother in law thinks they are great  and keeps getting them for my girls.... is it bad that i want to take a butcher knife to them? 

[Honey Bunches]

This is interesting!

I am a bit of a girly-girl, but I grew up with all brothers and most of my friends were boys. I played with Barbie. She was always in her skis, or overalls, or something denim. I loved setting up her mini foods and accessories. I always arranged them like a store - everything in it's place and posed to look at. Then I would walk away. I never saw her as a sex symbol. I never thought I would grow up and look like her. Playing with a doll, or action figure, or plastic animals opens up the imagination to so many things!