The doll Clawdeen Wolf of Mattel’s Monster High line has a disproportionate, Bratz-like body, short skirt, and midriff-baring top, but that isn’t why some people are protesting the doll. It’s because Clawdeen’s character description reads:
My hair is worthy of a shampoo commercial, and that’s just what grows on my legs. Plucking and shaving is definitely a full-time job but that’s a small price to pay for being scarily fabulous.
It also notes her favorite hobby is “shopping and flirting with boys!”
The Monster High line actually launched last summer, so it’s unclear why it’s taken Fox News so long to get upset about it. The doll line and the accompanying webisodes feature characters who are the children of famous monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Mummy. Clawdeen is the Werewolf’s daughter, so she’s actually shaving supernatural fur, not the hair that grows on women’s legs, not that it really makes a difference.
After reading through Clawdeen’s bio on the Monster’s High website, we’re guessing the line about shaving was added by the unfortunate soul tasked with writing monster-related puns for eight dolls’ lengthy imitation Facebook pages. Still, many people looked at the line, and no one stopped to think about what it was telling little girls about the hair on their bodies.
Clinical psychologist Sari Shepphird tells Fox News:
Young girls especially do not need a doll to point out physical flaws or encourage body image preoccupation in teens and young girls. Dolls are for play and escape and pleasure, and they should not be another source of criticism for young girls these days. It used to be that dolls were part of childhood and represented and offered an extension of innocence, but now some dolls are encouraging the opposite of innocence.
Mattel responded that Monster High is the best-selling new fashion doll of 2010, and no parents have complained. A spokesperson added that the characters, “deliver a positive message of celebrating ones imperfections and embracing those of others.”
It’s hard to see how obsessively removing hair from your body to fit in with other kids constitutes “celebrating imperfections.” From skimming though a few episodes, it seems Cawdeen is more preoccupied with cheerleading and disliking “Celo de Nile” than shaving. (If we have a volunteer to watch all 32 webisodes, please report back.) Kids may not even see the quip before the doll’s box gets thrown away, but it was still irresponsible for Mattel to okay it. Fashion dolls are already becoming far more sexualized than even Barbie, and the last thing little girls need is to be specifically told that they must eliminate their body hair in order to be considered attractive.
Mattel’s Waxing and Shaving Monster High Doll Sparks Outrage [Fox News]
Clawdeen Bio [MonsterHigh.com]