Fulla crap?
Larry Summers provoked a huge controversy back in the spring for his talk about "innate gender difference. I think the discussions it provoked (or at least many of the ones I overheard) were ignorant, based on hearsay and appallingly overblown (this isnt to say that Summers isnt a moron). But I know that I had a mother who was desperate to get me to play with blocks and climb trees and get messy and that I wasn't having any of it. Even before I was old enough to know what gender I was, I shunned trucks in favor of dolls.
The funny thing is, I lusted after Barbie dolls for years, but rarely if ever actually played with them. I just collected them in a bin under my bed. By the fourth grade, playing with dolls as a means of recreation had definitely become passe. I think that that is a fairly common phenomenon. Still, Barbie persists - she's a cultural icon, a childhood toy, and a collector's item. In recent years, I have seen Barbie's image on toothbrushes, backpacks, skateboards, phones, and Valentines. We've even exported her. Until recent years, Barbie was something of a sensation in the Middle East.
The thing that caused her Syrian social status to plummet, however, was not what you might think - at least not directly. What did it was the introduction of Fulla, a doll of similar size and proportions, who comes swaddled in a black abaya and matching head scarf. A pink felt prayer mat is included.
Locals speculate that had such a doll would not have fared well in the Middle East ten years ago, but an increased emphasis on "Muslim values" and a renewed interest in veiling has led to a surge in popularity for dolls with a more Middle Eastern orientation. At least three veiled dolls are currently available in the Middle East, the earliest of which became available in 1999.
Despite the existence of veiled alternatives, Fulla has emerged as the indisputed leader of the pack. Her popularity has led to some unique merchandising: in addition to bikes, lunchboxes and the like, keen Fulla fans can buy a human-sized prayer mat in "Fulla pink."
There is something about the primacy of dolls to the female experience, and the primacy of the head scarf to the 21st century Muslim experience, that makes a doll like Fulla a natural bestsellser in the Middle East. Furthermore, in "Islam: Empire of Faith," a PBS documentary, the narrator states that 25% of the world's population is Islam, which means that there is huge marketing capacity for any product that accurately taps into modern Muslim sensitivities, as this doll as obviously done. And a shift from a Barbie-centric childhood is certainly a good thing, especially since Barbie's ambition seems to end with the attainment of a pink convertible and pink plastic high-heeled boots. Plans for a doctor Fulla and a teacher Fulla are in the works, and are intended to emphasize the respect that women can achieve in either profession.
Initially, Fulla gave me pause: she seemed to be representative of all the things about which America is afraid, specifically increasing militarism and Islamicism in the Middle East. Unlike Barbie, she has career goals, which I find quite refreshing.
Just the same, can you imagine selling a Barbie-like doll that came with her own menorah or mini-cricifix? It would never fly. Thank goodness.
The funny thing is, I lusted after Barbie dolls for years, but rarely if ever actually played with them. I just collected them in a bin under my bed. By the fourth grade, playing with dolls as a means of recreation had definitely become passe. I think that that is a fairly common phenomenon. Still, Barbie persists - she's a cultural icon, a childhood toy, and a collector's item. In recent years, I have seen Barbie's image on toothbrushes, backpacks, skateboards, phones, and Valentines. We've even exported her. Until recent years, Barbie was something of a sensation in the Middle East.
The thing that caused her Syrian social status to plummet, however, was not what you might think - at least not directly. What did it was the introduction of Fulla, a doll of similar size and proportions, who comes swaddled in a black abaya and matching head scarf. A pink felt prayer mat is included.
Locals speculate that had such a doll would not have fared well in the Middle East ten years ago, but an increased emphasis on "Muslim values" and a renewed interest in veiling has led to a surge in popularity for dolls with a more Middle Eastern orientation. At least three veiled dolls are currently available in the Middle East, the earliest of which became available in 1999.
Despite the existence of veiled alternatives, Fulla has emerged as the indisputed leader of the pack. Her popularity has led to some unique merchandising: in addition to bikes, lunchboxes and the like, keen Fulla fans can buy a human-sized prayer mat in "Fulla pink."
There is something about the primacy of dolls to the female experience, and the primacy of the head scarf to the 21st century Muslim experience, that makes a doll like Fulla a natural bestsellser in the Middle East. Furthermore, in "Islam: Empire of Faith," a PBS documentary, the narrator states that 25% of the world's population is Islam, which means that there is huge marketing capacity for any product that accurately taps into modern Muslim sensitivities, as this doll as obviously done. And a shift from a Barbie-centric childhood is certainly a good thing, especially since Barbie's ambition seems to end with the attainment of a pink convertible and pink plastic high-heeled boots. Plans for a doctor Fulla and a teacher Fulla are in the works, and are intended to emphasize the respect that women can achieve in either profession.
Initially, Fulla gave me pause: she seemed to be representative of all the things about which America is afraid, specifically increasing militarism and Islamicism in the Middle East. Unlike Barbie, she has career goals, which I find quite refreshing.
Just the same, can you imagine selling a Barbie-like doll that came with her own menorah or mini-cricifix? It would never fly. Thank goodness.
posted by Franny at 11:35 PM
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