CartoonDollEmporium
By Dana Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Glitzy dress-up dolls ooze bad female stereotypes.
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What you will—and won't—find in this website.
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Based on 1 parent review
Perfect for kindergarten to younger tweens.
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What’s It About?
Dolls have always been about giving kids choices...these choices make an impact on how kids learn to socialize, the site reads. Launched in 2006, CartoonDollEmporium.com reportedly registers one billion hits a month. Creators say their site's philosophy of enlivening kids' creativity was inspired by Walt Disney. Some of the 650 doll images include a busty Paris Hilton, a "cute" Playboy bunny, a mean fight club gal, and a Britney/Kevin doll pair, along with a handful of dress-up images of famous, successful women outside of Hollywood, like Oprah, Rosie, and Hillary.
Is It Any Good?
The site is monitored 24/7, and it seems free from a lot of the problematic potty talk and scathing language found on other tween and teen sites. Yet the overarching stereotypical messages of women as busty, sexualized playthings doesn't move Barbie forward, and perhaps even a step back. While it's true Barbie has her heels and minis, the majority of dress-up outfits shown on this site are more appropriate for X-rated movies than Barbie, and many parents may find they don't want their girls influenced by these fashion choices. Clearly, dress-up dolls are still popular with young girls, whether in paper or cyber form. How that will impact their view of women's roles in the world is another question.
The commercial aspects of CartoonDollEmporium.com include multiple ads, both overt and hidden. Users must pay $6.99 a month to belong to the CDE fan club to get special benefits (access to special dolls, 100 CDE points a month). Better games, chats, and contests can be found elsewhere -- minus the stereotypes.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why most of the dolls for girls on this site have similar physical features. Is this how most women really look, or just how the media tells them they're "supposed" to look? What differences are present in the male dolls and the outfits you can choose for them, like Tiger Woods (whose wife's doll is listed under "accessories" along with Woods' golf bag)?
Website Details
- Genre: Creating
- Pricing structure: Free
- Last updated: November 4, 2015
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