With all due respect, this thread isnt about bratz dolls, who likes them and who doesn't. It is about, in a roundabout way wether bratz dolls and other media contribute to the sexualisation of children
I don't see how the two can be separated to be honest, particularly if my reason for disliking them is precisely *because* I believe they contribute to a negative image of women and the sexualisation of children's play.

Lady Zaidie, I agree so much with your whole post!

I've had my eyes opened a little since having Tom. My oldest five are all girls, and I've been pretty horrified at the pressure on them to be a particular way. We all sit around and roll our eyes at the ads that have the little girls playing with the dolls and kitchen stuff, and we bemoan that little boys get to play with the trucks and stuff on the toy sale brochures. But what I've realised is that both genders are being pushed into these incredibly constraining gender roles - girls are overtly sexualised, encouraged to preen and act like their mothers (or like society thinks their mothers should behave), and are given passive entertainments revolving around shopping and gossip with their "girlfriends". Boys are all dark colours and action and no subtlety and animals and getting grubby and avoiding anything soft and "girlie". The toy aisles that are sometimes even *marked* "boys" are full of violent paraphernalia, homicidal role play stuff that makes me shudder. Boys are just as constrained as girls. Or, Patriarchy Hurts Men Too!

We've found a few stores that don't fall into this, such as Early Learning Centre stuff and independent children's stores, and we will frequent those from now on. And we'll continue to vocally challenge any inappropriate or constraining images that we see with our kids.