Media Culture, Artifact and Gender Identity: An Analysis of Bratz Dolls

Abstract

It could be argued that girl's play is witnessing a drastic transformation. This alteration is fostering much debate surrounding young girls and their notion of self identity. Neil Postman (1982) argues that childhood no longer exists as it has disappeared through the mass media. Likewise, Sharon Lamb (2001, 2006) argues that young girls are continually being sold the ideal attitude and a hyper-sexualized self identity through the media messages and products they consume. Such a problematic transformation raises several concerns with regards to girlhood studies. My research asks how MGA Entertainment's Bratz dolls place identity formation into question. By exploring the aforementioned notions, my research explores girl's play and identity and looks at how it contributes to the shaping of how a girl's choice in play impacts girlhood. I argue that such a claim would be best explored and answered through interviewing young girls and their mothers.