I Honestly Hate What The What’s Next Brigade Did To Fashion Dolls Aimed At Tween Girls. “Passion

I honestly hate what the What’s Next Brigade did to fashion dolls aimed at tween girls. “Passion For Fashion” was supposed to mean “buy clothes that make you happy” but the What’s Next Brigade (which was combined of media, Karen-style parents, and people wanting to uphold the patriarchy) twisted it to parents that it was pushing the narrative of “buying clothes is the only thing that will make you happy”.

I loved the fact that Bratz and Monster High were originally designed wearing short skirts and crop tops and high heels because it was the first time I’d seen female characters who dressed like that presented as doing it because it made them happy, not “just to get attention from boys” or “rebelling because of bad parenting”.

“But they make girls think it’s ok to dress like that!” IT IS OK TO DRESS LIKE THAT IF DRESSING LIKE THAT MAKES YOU FUCKING HAPPY!!

“But it’s encouraging girls to be slutty!” YOU KEEP USING THAT WORD AND I DON’T THINK YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, KAREN!!

“But it’s telling girls that spending a lot of money on clothes is the only way to be happy!” I DON’T KNOW IF YOU NOTICED, BUT SHOPPING WASN’T THE ONLY THING THOSE CHARACTERS DID TO BE HAPPY. THE BRATZ PUBLISHED THEIR OWN MAGAZINE AND PLAYED IN A BAND AND RAISED MONEY FOR CHARITY. THE MONSTER HIGH GHOULS PLAYED SPORTS AND WROTE POETRY AND TOOK ART AND MUSIC CLASSES AND PROGRAMMED COMPUTERS IN BETWEEN FACING OFF WITH PREJUDICE. BARBIE WAS AN AMAZING ACTRESS WHO IN HER FREE TIME BABYSAT AND SNOWBOARDED AND BUILT ROBOTS AND BAKED CAKES AND WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL AND RAN A DOG-WALKING SERVICE AND GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE.

The phrase was “Passion for Fashion”, not “Passion for Fast Fashion”. Y’all looked at doll lines that encouraged girls to be happy and love themselves and dress how they wanted to, said “that won’t do!”, and presented a bunch of patriarchal arguments as feminism. In the name of protecting-the-children. Only all you’re protecting children from is thinking for themselves and forming opinions that you didn’t spoon-feed to them.