Toys for Tots

You might want to take a closer look at what your kids are playing with these days. If they have "action figures, yard Air Dancer " you may find some female ones that are hardly dressed and, well, unusually proportioned Dolls like Cobretta, Sable and Cosmic Angela have huge breasts and little clothing. Cosmic Angela is supposed to be for kids aged 4 and up. Sable used to be, too, but they just changed the markings on those figures to ages 12 and up. 。
But little kids still buy them. Did yours buy the Goldmember action figure with the exaggerated crotch?
The Goldmember doll, modeled on one of Mike Myers' characters from the latest Austin Powers movie, is made by Mez Markowitz's company, Mezco.
Markowitz says the doll isn't for kids. He says it's a "collectible action figure line marketed toward an older audience, somewhere between 14 and 30- something."
But, wait a second. These action figures are in the toy department.
"Well, you would be surprised at how old that collectors market goes up to," he said.
He said the doll has the bulging crotch because "that's how the character looks in the movie."
I asked Markowitz what happens when a kid says, "Mommy, what's this? Why is this here?" What's she supposed to say?
He said, "Honestly, I don't know, I'm not a mother." 'Might As Well Go to a Strip Club'
We showed the female action figures to people in a toy store.
Kids laughed. Moms were horrified.
We also showed them to teachers at a convention. "You might as well go to the strip club," one teacher said.
The latest Barbie is called "Lingerie Barbie."She wears black lingerie, with a garter belt "This is adult clothing on a child's doll. She looks like a prostitute,"one teacher said.
I asked Terry Bartlett of the Toy Industry Association about the Barbie and action figures.
Bartlett said the Barbie was for kids 14 years old and up.
The industry rep agreed that the action figures were questionable.
"I think they're pushing the envelope a bit. And is it right or wrong? That's really up to the consumer to really choose," Bartlett said.
"For a child, most likely a small girl, that is playing with this kind of action figure, I don't think they look at it in the same way that adults do,"Bartlett said.