Friday, October 12, 2007

I WILL be writing a letter about this...

UPDATE: McDonalds information is below. I'm actually going to write a real live letter instead of an email in hopes that it will get more attention. This may be a pipe dream, but maybe if enough of us do it we can make a dent.

McDonald’s Corporation
2111 McDonald's Dr
Oak Brook, IL 60523

You can get other ways to contact off their website. You should go and look around their site. It's kind of laughable how they talk about corporate responsibility.

Mattel appears only to have a phone number, but I will definitely be giving them a call. The number is 800-524-8697.

So today my stepmom called and said she and my dad wanted to come and get Bubba and have him spend the night. Since Punkin is sick it was okay that they didn't take her too. She hasn't been sleeping that great and I wouldn't want to inflict her on anybody, especially someone that I might need/want to call on for overnight babysitting duty down the road. Let's don't burn ALL our bridges.

I decided to swing by McDonalds on the way home for some fast food. We don't really eat fast food all that often, maybe once a month. We usually have pizza on Friday nights but we've sort of pizza'd ourselves out. Of course I got the Happy Meal for Punkin'. I know I should request the "Under 3" toy for her, but the regular toys are usually pretty innocuous and don't have small parts (and we're really vigilant about that kind of thing because everything is still going in her mouth). I looked up at the board to see what the girl toy was. Hmmm. My Scene. Never heard of it. Oh well, we'll see.

So after dinner, we pull out our toy and this is what we have. Behold My Scene Madison:

and this:



Uh. What exactly is her "scene?" A porn star convention? Jeez Mattel, give me a break. "Madison" is one of the Roller Girl My Scene dolls. Um. Wasn't Roller Girl the name of Heather Graham's character in Boogie Nights? And what was she? Oh yeah. A PORN STAR! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD!?! And miracle of miracles, Madison actually makes the Bratz look demure. THEY at least are wearing more clothes.

I showed it to Mr. Daddy. He said "Well, you should have requested the under three toy."

"And this would be okay if she were three?" I asked.

He conceded my point.

I will be writing a letter. To Mattel and to McDonalds. It may not do any good, but at least I will feel like I have made a stand for our daughters. Laurel at The Tea Party Place recently had a similar post (although hers was more eloquently written). Laurel, I think we gotta get rid of these chicks, too.

And now My Scene Madison is in the trash. Where she belongs.

16 comments:

Laurel said...

okay...exactly! We were at McDonald's today (fall break, what can I say?) We were lucky enough to get the bracelet with out all the skin exposure. The modesty goddess must have been watching out for me.

But I think you are absolutely right! A happy meal ordering child should NOT be exposed to the notion of bringing sexy back. This is exactly the subtle sexual messaging I was talking about. Way to name it and then do something about it!!! You are an inspiration!

Hey, could you post the addresses. I will write a letter too.

Let's flood em!

Laurel said...

I've posted a link to yours on my blog. I'm serious about getting a letter protest going. Let's spread the word.

AndreAnna said...

Funny thing - one of my blogger friends SciFi Dad wrote a very similar post today.

http://talesfromthedadside.blogspot.com

I can't get it to link for some reason - he even has the same picture !! Too funny.

And I totally agree with you - the dolls they have for little girls now make me afraid to raise my child in this world.

Lauren said...

I KNOW!!!

Ladybug got the same one the other day and it went immediately into the trash can...I cannot STAND those myscene and bratz things. We're sticking with my little pony thanks very much!

Esme said...

The first thing I thought when I saw that picture was "My goodness, that's the girl from "Boogie Nights"!

One of the most interesting things about having a 13-year age difference between my oldest and youngest kids is seeing the way toys have evolved in the meantime. Interesting, and scary. The boy toys have gotten more violent, the girl toys more sexual. With that kind of message sumbliminally shaping their little minds, is it any wonder that violence, lack of respect, and the objectification of women has been rising steadily?

I'm so grateful that my nearly 3-year-old is into legos, animals, and puzzles. She thinks dolls are creepy (I did too when I was little, so that may be a result of some unintentional subliminal messaging on my part!).

Oops, Madame! I soapboxed you back by accident!

1blueshi1 said...

good lord who buys that crap for their daughters. wish they would stop so it would evaporate from the store shelves. I don't want my daughter looking in the mirror thinking she's supposed to look like THAT and feeling bad that she doesn't.

Rochelleht said...

I came from Laurel's link. I just may have to blog about this myself this weekend. It is hideous! I am seriously ill. I got this same one on Friday. As I distributed it to my daughter and her friends, I was giving little disclaimers. I felt awful. I am so about writing a letter. I HATE bratz. And this was worse. My friend asked when she saw it, "This isn't a Bratz, what is it, as scank?" I laughed pretty hard.

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, we even took the same pictures! Funny. It IS pretty infuriating though! So incredibly slutty.

Anonymous said...

Oh, thank god I didn't get the happy meal this week, much to my children's dismay. But I have to admit, my daughter (8) has a few Bratz dolls because people buy them for birthday presents. I thought they were bad, but sheesh, this one is really bad. Good luck with the letter. I imagine yours won't be the only one they receive.

MacKenzie said...

Is that one of those Bratz dolls? Goodness gracious are those things skanky!

Actually a couple of years ago a friend brought me a Bratz poster for my birthday as a joke because he knew how trashy I thought they were. I ended up sneakily hanging it up in his room.

SciFi Dad said...

Hi. Saw your comment at my place.

Yes, you can link to my post as well:
http://talesfromthedadside.blogspot.com/2007/10/tds-date-night-in-pictures.html

It's disturbing that they give these to kids.

MacKenzie said...

Also, you should consider contacting www.consumerist.com. They're all about this kind of stuff. Hundreds of thousands of people visit that website and it could really help your cause to email them about what you're trying to do.

Anonymous said...

That's just crazy. What kind of twit do they have working in the McDonald's marketing department anyway?!

Anonymous said...

Got another one for ya.

http://mymommysplace.com/blog/2007/10/10/the-best-little-whorehouse-on-baltic/

Those toys should be tossed!

Anonymous said...

Hi! Thanks for stopping by My Mommy's Place. I'm glad to know I'm not the only mom who was shocked by that toy! My husband and I were horrified. Feel free to link my post in your letter McDonald's. I linked my name straight to the post for you.

Wineplz said...

ugh...kind of glad that I didn't stop by McD's this weekend to pick up my son a Happy meal...I was seriously considering it, but was short on cash...talk about a modern-day miracle. Can you imagine what the boy's toy might be? Maybe blood and guts? And to think, they've got this toy during their busiest month due to their Monopoly game. *grrrr*