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Intermediate Instant Lesson™

The Doll with the Dragon Tattoo?
Pre-Reading Activities

A: Discussion
Answer these questions in pairs.
1. What toys are most popular in your country with young boys?
2. What toys are most popular in your country with young girls?
3. Who usually plays with dolls?
4. What kind of dolls do they usually play with? (Describe the dolls.)

Reading Activities

A: Completing A Table Of Information
Complete this table of information about the Barbie doll.

Name of doll:	Tokidoki Barbie doll
Cost:
Designed by:
Manufactured by:

Popular tattooed Barbie causes controversy

NEW YORK (Reuters), Wed Oct 26 - The doll with the dragon tattoo?

With pink hair and tattoos across her shoulders and neck, U.S. toymaker Mattel's latest collector's edition Barbie doll could be compared more to the edgy female heroine of author Stieg Larrson's best-selling Millennium trilogy than to the more traditional Barbies.

Since its release earlier this month online, the $50 limited edition doll designed by Los Angeles-based fashion company tokidoki and aimed at adult collectors, has sold out but not before causing controversy.

"Is the New 'Tokidoki' Tattoo Barbie Inappropriate for Children?" the magazine U.S. News & World Report asked in a recent headline.

Some parents in the United States also questioned whether the toy company that launched the original Barbie in 1959 should be promoting body art.

"It's teaching kids to want tattoos before they are old enough to dress like that," Kevin Buckner, of Virginia, told a local television station.

No one was available from Mattel to comment on the issue but not all the feedback has been negative. Some adults said the doll reflected modern fashion and pop culture.

"Have you seen Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Rihanna?" Candace Caswell, a 30-year-old mother from New York asked in an email interview, adding that the pop stars have tattoos and wear wigs and crazy clothes. "They are capturing a snapshot of pop culture the way it really is. Barbie is not raising my daughter. I am," she added.

For Heather Gately Stoll, of Colorado, tattoos are not the issue. "What is inappropriate for kids are her measurements," she said about the shapely doll. "If she can change personalities why can't she change her shape and size?"

And while New York mother Sue Dennis would not spend $50 on the doll, she is not offended by it. "I have a 16 month-old son and the tokidoki Barbie is more the diverse image of women I would like to present to him versus more traditional ones," she said.

The tokidoki Barbie is not the first to sport tattoos. In 2009, some stores pulled Mattel's Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie following complaints, and a year earlier Mattel collaborated with motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson to produce a Barbie with wings tattooed on her back.

Production of tattooed Butterfly Art Barbie was halted in 1999 after parents voiced their concerns.

Gayatri Bhalla, 41, of Washington D.C, who writes a blog about experiences for tween girls, sees it as a marketing issue.

"One the one hand, the company likes to hold Barbie up as the iconic American toy for girls and use her to promote things that most parents wouldn't object to, such as Take Your Daughter To Work Day," she said.

"But they also create Barbie in images that a lot of parents wouldn't choose to hold up as a role model for their young daughters, and a full-body tattooed doll falls into this camp."

B: True, False or Doesn't Say?
Use today's article to decide if these statements are true (T) or false (F) or if the article doesn't say (DS) anything about a statement.
1. The Barbie doll has a dragon tattoo.
2. The doll is being sold by department stores.
3. The new doll was made especially for grown ups.
4. Other Barbie dolls have been made with tattoos.
5. People have said only bad things about the new doll.

C: Understanding The Main Idea
Answer these questions:
1. Why is this Barbie doll different to other Barbie dolls?
2. Do people approve or disapprove of the doll?

D: Reading And Understanding
1. Below are the names of people who have said things about the new Barbie. Decide whether they like the new Barbie or dislike it. Write Like, Dislike or if you are not sure, write NS.

Kevin Buckner, Virginia
Candace Caswell
Heather Gately Stoll Sue Dennis
Gayatri Bhalli

2. Choose two of the people from the article and try to write a summary of what they think about the doll. Try to summarize the ideas in your own words.

E: Vocabulary
Find a word in the article with this meaning:

1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - a person who likes getting books, stamps, shells etc especially as a hobby

2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - worked out how something looked by drawing plans or models of it

3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - there are no more available because they have all been bought

4. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - a new thing is available for sale

5. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - a group of people working together for business (noun)

6. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - a new thing was made available so people could buy it

7. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - a firm that makes a lot of things using machinery

8. _ _ _ _ _ - a place where people can buy things

9. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - making or growing a lot of things (n)

10. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - presenting, advertising and selling something

Post-Reading Activities
You may do one or more of these.

A: Give Your Opinion
Discuss these questions in pairs.
1. Imagine you have a 6-year-old niece. Would you buy this Barbie as a present for her? Why or why not?
2. What kind of doll do you think is best for children to play with?

B: Reading And Understanding
Read this article about how Mattel tried to introduce Barbie to Japan in 2009.

Barbie wedding gowns for grown-up Japanese brides

TOKYO (Reuters Life!), Mon Mar 09 - Barbie is having a hard time winning the hearts of Japanese children, so she's trying to charm grown-ups instead with a bridal collection full of bows, ruffles and gowns embroidered with the doll's logo.

The Barbie Bridal line, available in June, will only be sold in Japan, and is part Mattel Inc's attempts to bolster the Barbie brand in a country where the toy doll market is ruled by local rival Licca-chan.

"What's unique about Japan is that it's a very strong adult-apparel market," John Cullen, vice president of Mattel Brands, told Reuters during a visit to Tokyo to attend celebrations for Barbie's 50th birthday.

"We want to be where girls are... we want to create a fashion brand that appeals to girls in all generations," he added.

The bridal collection joins other clothing lines for adults that are only in sale in Japan such as the Barbie Golf collection.

Last year, a limited-edition collection of Barbie clothes and accessories by U.S. celebrity stylist Patricia Field, known for her work on hit TV series "Sex and the City" and "Ugly Betty," went on sale in Japan.

Cullen said Mattel was aiming to introduce more Barbie licensed products such as stationery and cosmetics in Japan as early as next year.

"Once our apparel brand is established, then we can go back to our core target, kids," he said, describing Mattel's business targeting Japanese adults "growing."

Despite Japan being one of the largest toy markets in the world, Mattel has always had a hard time marketing Barbie partly due to Tomy Co's Licca-chan, which has a Japanese body-type and facial features.

Barbie, with her Western looks and that infamously unrealistic body, was initially made in Japan and has sold some 1 billion units worldwide since she first hit U.S. shelves in 1959.

Licca-chan has sold 53 million units, mostly in Japan, in the past 42 years and her popularity has prompted companies such as Nissan Motor and East Japan Railway (JR East) use the doll in corporate and product promotions.

C: Design A Doll
Work in pairs. What kind of doll do you think children should play with?
Think of your target market and then design a doll for that market.
Draw a picture of the doll or write a description and then present your doll to the class.

TEACHERS' NOTES AND ANSWER KEY

Reading Activities

A: Completing A Table Of Information - Answers
Name of doll: Tokidoki Barbie doll
Cost: $50
Designed by: tokidoki
Manufactured by: Mattel

B: True, False or Doesn't Say - Answers
1. DS, 2. F (it is available online), 3. T, 4. T, 5. F.

C: Understanding The Main Idea - Sample Answer
1. This Barbie doll is not aimed at young girls; it is aimed at adult collectors. The article suggests that it is quite different to more traditional Barbies as it has tattoos and pink hair.
2. This Barbie has been greeted with approval and disapproval. Some parents are questioning whether Mattel should be supporting tattoos while others say this reflects today's pop culture.

D: Reading And Understanding - Sample Answers
1. Kevin Buckner, Virginia - disliked it
Candace Caswell - liked it
Heather Gately Stoll - disliked it because it still has the shape of a traditional Barbie
Sue Dennis - liked it
Gayatri Bhalli - NS
2. Kevin Buckner, Virginia - says it teaches children to want tattoos when they are young.
Candace Caswell - says it shows what modern musical stars are wearing.
Heather Gately Stoll - disliked it because it still has the shape of a traditional Barbie even though it wears modern fashion.
Sue Dennis - likes the fact that it is different to other dolls and shows a more modern woman.
Gayatri Bhalli - Barbie is seen by Mattel as the toy most parents feel happy about their children having, but they also produce Barbies who are not seen as role models for girls.

E: Vocabulary - Answers
1. collector, 2. designed, 3. sold out, 4. release, 5. company, 6. launched, 7. manufacturer, 8. store, 8. production, 9. marketing

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