8/03/2010

"...the dolls and the show turn back the hands of time, but they can’t handle a real-life hourglass figure!"

In a piece written by Stephanie Finnegan in Dolls Magazine, the author tells us that many men who identify with the era of anti-feminism and steno pools are collecting these dolls and adore the show. But...the real life Jayne Mansfield hips, thighs and chest of several of the actresses are not appreciated. These "men" want the good old days of women in shirtwaists pushing a carpet cleaner around the living room in the Levittown ranch home. However they are fixated on the current trend of skinny girls being the idealized figure for a woman.

Don Draper et al. remind me of my father, his brother and their 5th Avenue office. The hairstyles, the skinny ties, the suits, the drinking and the smoking are over-the-top accurate. It's painful to watch.  I do, however, appreciate how well the show is done and the look of it is amazing. I guess that's why it is able to tap into the memories for me.

"“Mad Men” takes place back in the days when “men were men,” and a combo of chauvinism and arrogance were the necessary ingredients for a young executive’s rise at the workplace. (Women on the show, by and large, are left to languish in the stenographer pool, hoping that a well-turned leg and a nice neckline will land them a hubby and a happy home in the suburbs.)"



 Here is the link to the rest of the article.  It's a great read as she ties the dolls in with social issues of the past and current. I recommend it.

5 comments:

  1. the article was good
    the doll who ever had a fuller figure and frame by mattel was the that so raven doll

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Terri, I appreciate that you've shared this neat organizing idea with your blog readers. Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that require very little effort or out of pocket expense that are the best!

    Just wanted to say "thank you"!

    Nadine
    nbarriga@msn.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Ayukislove: You may be correct about the So Raven doll. All I ever had was her head so I can't be sure. The original Barbie doll - in the very beginning - had a full figure and a small waist and a very full bust.

    ReplyDelete
  4. i know look at this u can tell in this flickr
    i had her body still
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/friends/page2/
    not the best picture
    but u can tell
    i will try and take pictures of her body send u email with pics

    ReplyDelete
  5. there is also the mattel rosie o'donnell doll....
    i have not seen the raven doll. will have to try and check that out.

    ReplyDelete

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