Academic questions dolled up dolls

The best-selling Bratz dolls are contributing to the early sexualisation of girls, according to a leading academic.

The dolls are targeted at the pre-teen market, and almost 200 million have been sold worldwide since they were introduced seven years ago.

Their manufacturer, MGA Entertainment, has been repeatedly criticised for the way the dolls are dressed.

A report published last year by the Equality Authority about the issue of children's toys singled out the Bratz line which, it said, was "characterised by dolls with oversized heads with big, full lips and revealing clothing".

A major report, recently published by the American Psychological Association (APA), was similarly scathing for what it called the "sexualised clothing such as miniskirts, fishnet stockings and feather boas".

"It is worrisome when dolls designed specifically for four to eight-year-olds are associated with an objectified adult sexuality."

One of the authors of the APA report, Prof Tomi-Ann Roberts, will tell a meeting at Trinity College tonight that the early sexualisation of children, as portrayed in various media, is having a detrimental effect on young girl's self-esteem and their physical and mental health.

It is claimed this is contributing to eating disorders and depression among pre-teenage girls.

The report advised that schools should teach pupils media literacy skills, and sex education programmes should include information on the negative effects of images portraying girls as sex objects.

The lecture is being hosted by the children's research centre and centre for gender and women's studies at Trinity College.

The director of the TCD children's research centre, Prof Sheila Greene, said the research carried out by the APA was as relevant to Ireland as it is to the United States.

"In the globalised world our children are subject to the same influences as those experienced in the USA.

"We need to consider in what way we are distorting the self-image and aspirations of young girls," she warned.