Deconstructing Product Design

Bratz Doll

Carter Bryant, Isaac Larian, and Paula Treantafelles, 2001

1. Prize to prepubescents and bane to parents, the Bratz doll has effectively supplanted Barbie as the aspirational image of Western adolescents. The dolls possess large, expressive faces, exotic names, multi-ethnic skin tones, and attire that could be kindly described as flirtatious. Why is it that tweens so favor Bratz dolls over Barbie? Paula Treantafelles comments: “At this age [seven- to twelve-year-olds] they’re very different [than] four- to six-year-olds. They’re about self-expression, self-identity. When Barbie was in her prime, girls were taught to be career women, to be men’s equals. Today, yes, career and education matter, but it’s also ‘express yourself, have ...