‘Sexy’ Bratz Dolls Get A ‘Makeunder’ — The Results Are Great [Photos]


The sexy Bratz dolls get a so-called “makeunder” — and the results are great.

The Bratz dolls aren’t known for being wholesome. They have been criticized numerous times for over-sexualizing in society, and for promoting a negative image to young girls. The American Psychological Association actually includes Bratz dolls in a list of examples of over-sexualization in society. And Mark Shrayber, a writer for Jezebel, writes that when he worked at a video store, one man approached him with a copy of a Bratz movie, wondering if it was animated pornography that he could rent.

With their impossibly long lashes framing their equally-impossibly large doe eyes, full, pouting lips painted in various bright hues and clothes that range from the slightly questionable to the nearly objectionable, it seems as though it was only a matter of time before someone decided to change out the doll’s sexy image for one more age-appropriate.

And that’s exactly what Tasmanian artist Sonia Singh did, taking away the long lashes and neon lipstick from the faces of Bratz dolls that she has collected from various shops. She removed their makeup, re-styled their hair in more age-appropriate styles and then dressed them in clothes made by her own mom. The result of this “makeunder” is that the dolls look like, well, regular little girls.

She explained the project on her Tumblr page, Tree Change Dolls.

“These dolls have been rescued and rehabilitated from op-shops and tip shops around Tasmania. These lil fashion dolls have opted for a “tree change”, swapping high-maintenance glitz ‘n’ glamour for down-to-earth style. I hand repaint the dolls faces, mold new shoes, and my Mum sews and knits their clothing.

My sisters and I grew up playing with second-hand dolls and home-made toys in the beautiful Tasmanian natural environment. I love the satisfaction of repairing and reusing discarded items to give them a new lease on life.”

With a much softer image, overly made-up doe eyes now round and innocent, once-teased hair undone and in pigtails, and dressed in soft sweaters rather than leather and lace, there is no hint of the overtly sexual image the Bratz dolls once had.

Singh says she plans to start selling the dolls on Etsy. For now, she is suggesting that fans who appreciate the work she is doing make a donation to the International Women’s Development Agency, an Australian nonprofit that works toward advancing women’s rights.

Isaac Larian, the CEO of the Bratz doll manufacturing company, has previously maintained that the Bratz line was not sexy, saying that he “adamantly disagrees” with the reports that use the Bratz dolls as examples of over-sexualization in society.

“These are the clothes that are worn if you go to schools anywhere in the USA,” Larian, a father of three, says. “They are not sexy. Bratz dolls are caricatural plastic dolls. They don’t even look like real human beings. They’re cartoonish.”

Barbie faced a similar challenge late last year, when a doll marketed under the name of Lammily, with realistic proportions, was introduced as a Barbie alternative. Studies were done about which doll children preferred, and the results were surprising. You can read more about that here.

What do you think? Were the Bratz dolls too sexy before their”makeunder”? Which doll would you prefer your own child to play with — the before or after version? Let us know in the comments below!

[Images via fanpop.com and treechangedolls.tumblr.com]

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