Minnie and Daisy
Oct. 12th, 2012 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miriam_eI'm delighted by the access to political change the internet has given us. Groups such as Avaaz and SumOfUs and DemandProgress have democratised democracy. It is a wonderful change. Normally I'm very happy to sign on to most of the campaigns... however... this one recently about Disney and Barney's teaming up to recreate Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck as anorexic versions of their former cartoony selves seems somewhat misguided to me. It is all wound up and ready to go, but pointed in the wrong direction.
The new, pretzel-thin versions aren't going to induce anorexia any more than Popeye's girlfriend Olive Oyl did. By focussing on thinness the protesters are completely missing the real object here. Disney and Barney's are trying to get kids to desperately want absurdly expensive fashion items. They are selling fashion. That's what I find detestable: they are marketting to kids. Of course it isn't new. Businesses have been targetting kids for some time now. I find it revolting that nobody is worried by this... yet they are idiotically alarmed about this thinness.
Yes, there are anorexic people out there and it is a terrible thing, but it doesn't come from seeing skinny cartoon characters.
There are also healthy thin people out there. I was ridiculed as a child because of my extreme thinness and would, for a long time have loved to be able to put on some weight.
What really amazes me about this craziness is that our society could actually stand to lose some weight as we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that is now starting to impact our medical system with high levels of diabetes and many other weight-related diseases, and will likely shorten life-expectancy. If skinny cartoon characters could influence weight then this might actually be something of a good thing... but they can't.
Protest about Disney and Barney's doing some sleazy marketting to your kids, not some silly idea about encouraging anorexia.
The new, pretzel-thin versions aren't going to induce anorexia any more than Popeye's girlfriend Olive Oyl did. By focussing on thinness the protesters are completely missing the real object here. Disney and Barney's are trying to get kids to desperately want absurdly expensive fashion items. They are selling fashion. That's what I find detestable: they are marketting to kids. Of course it isn't new. Businesses have been targetting kids for some time now. I find it revolting that nobody is worried by this... yet they are idiotically alarmed about this thinness.Yes, there are anorexic people out there and it is a terrible thing, but it doesn't come from seeing skinny cartoon characters.
There are also healthy thin people out there. I was ridiculed as a child because of my extreme thinness and would, for a long time have loved to be able to put on some weight.
What really amazes me about this craziness is that our society could actually stand to lose some weight as we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that is now starting to impact our medical system with high levels of diabetes and many other weight-related diseases, and will likely shorten life-expectancy. If skinny cartoon characters could influence weight then this might actually be something of a good thing... but they can't.
Protest about Disney and Barney's doing some sleazy marketting to your kids, not some silly idea about encouraging anorexia.