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Bratz banned from Scholastic school book sales

by JeffHuang | September 17, 2008 at 02:48 pm

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I had no idea that elementary schools are still doing the whole Scholastic book ordering program. I remember I was buying books such as Franklin and Clifford the dog back in elementary and this was a LONG time ago.

Scholastic is planning to pull Bratz books off their list as parents and psychologists complained that these dolls promote "precocious sexuality." I remember the first time I was introduced to Bratz was at Toys R Us when my friend told me that these dolls are the new craze amongst kids. I took a look at them and the first thing that came to mind was how inappropriate these dolls were. I've been out of the toy loop since the G.I. Joe and Sailor Moon days, so I have no idea what kind of toys are "in" at the moment. There just seems to be a progression of less clothing and sexuality amongst the toys and I was quite shock to see the depiction and ideology that these dolls are representing in contemporary society.

The largest distributor of children's books to Canadian schools has decided to yank all Bratz books from its roster after parents and psychologists complained the controversial dolls promoted "precocious sexuality."

Scholastic Inc. distributes its products through school-based book fairs and clubs, selling books to students and teachers at discounted prices. But after a North American campaign spearheaded by the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood against books and products featuring the popular Bratz dolls, the book distributor has relented.

Reactions and thoughts to Bratz:

"We're just really thrilled and it really attests to the power of people working together to try and make change," said campaign co-ordinator Susan Linn.

"The Bratz are a highly sexualized brand and when a brand is marketed in a school, it has that school's endorsement. Essentially, schools were saying to their students, 'This is a good way to portray girls, these are models that you should strive for.'"

Maybe I'm just becoming an old fogey, but I don't remember seeing any of these types of toys and cartoons when I was younger. I think I am becoming an old fogey.

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