Barbie In Iraq

The children of Iraq have certainly become one of the main subjects for my photos. Besides the fact that kids are just naturally photogenic, they are within an age range that overlaps American presence so their comfortable curiosity with us combines with my mixed visions of the uncertain future for them. But Barbie. Barbie?

The Barbie Bag is clearly a big hit here. My goal has been to get a shot of a girl wearing a hijab, looking back over her shoulder, and with Barbie visible on the bag. For this blog entry I Googled "Arab Barbie" just to see what's out there.
Barbie in black is sure enough for sale and a big pan-Arab hit. The question now is how will Barbie deal with being her father's wedding barter for two white camels, and instead of Ken, Ahmed who is very traditional, won't let her out of the house, and expects at least two sons within the first six babies. Not to worry, Barbie won't have to give birth to all six. After all, she's Ahmed's third wife. So cooking and cleaning are already covered as well.

Barbie, with her larger than life bosoms, long skinny legs, and strait blond hair became a target for feminist groups in the sixties. The unrealistic symbol of a woman for American girls to idolize later became materialistic icon, and well really...who doesn't already know this? Why am I explaining Barbie?

I guess the thought of Barbie waltzing into our theater of operations so soon, before our troops have even had a chance to redeploy, well, it's just wrong. As well I think it gives credibility to the naysayers who fear the absurdities of western cultures which so often go hand in hand with democracy and freedom. But Barbie's not all bad right? Not all girls hold a Barbie in their hands, brush her hair, and think bad thoughts about themselves. Barbie is more an element and a symbol of something larger. Something that over time turns into, Jon-Benet Ramsey, Britney Spears, or Paris Hilton. I guess it may depend on how one views such examples.

Seems it's a matter of taking both the bad with the good and the lesser of two evils at the same time, which ever way you look at it. When it comes down to it, I really don't have any opinion about an Arab Barbie, rather I enjoy wondering where the world is going and try to keep a neutral eye peeled so I can spot harbingers, make good conversation, and write a blog.