Pink hair, leopard leggings... and tattoos: Barbie gets inked for fashion makeover - but what message does this send to her young fans?

Pink hair, leopard leggings... and tattoos: Barbie gets inked for fashion makeover - but what message does this send to her young fans?
October 18, 2011
By Tamara Abraham
Mail Online

She's been everything from a ballerina to a doctor. Now, for her latest incarnation, Barbie has had a serious fashion makeover.

Thanks to Italian-based, Japanese-inspired brand Tokidoki, the doll has been given a bang-on-trend pink bob, heels that would make Carrie Bradshaw jealous... and tattoos.

The $50 Barbie, which is a limited edition, has floral and Manga cartoon-style motifs across her left arm, neck and chest.

But given that it is a product marketed towards children, as well as adult collectors, some parents have already expressed their concern about the message such body art sends.

One commenter, on the Ms Twixt website for parents of Tween-age girls, wrote: 'Encouraging children that tattoos are cool is wrong, wrong, wrong. Mattel why not put a cigarette and a beer bottle in her hand while you're at it!'

'Encouraging children that tattoos are cool is wrong... Why not put a cigarette and a beer bottle in her hand while you're at it!'

Another, named Jerry, added: 'I think it is horrible and sends the wrong message to young people. In no way should a tattoo be honored. It is a lifetime brand which will fade and droop over time as the skin ages.'

What those same parents will make of the fact that Barbie's cactus-covered companion is named 'Bastardino' remains to be seen.

But the doll is not without its fans, with many praising Mattel for releasing a more contemporary role model for youngsters.

One told Ms Twixt: 'Good for you Mattel for making a doll a little more like the rest of us. I consider it a tiny step in the right direction.'

Several pointed out that the tattoos were of far less concern than Barbie's unrealistic body proportions, and the fact that many celebrities had body art was likely to have far more influence over children than a single doll.

Some parents, even professed pride in their own inkings, and were especially angered by the suggestion that tattoos were a bad influence.

Of course, it is not the first time that Barbie has been given tattoos. In 1999, Mattel's Butterfly Art Barbie was withdrawn from sale in the U.S. after parents complained in their thousands.

Ten years later, in 2009, the company released Totally Stylin' Tattoos Barbie, which came complete with removable sticker tattoos and a 'tattoo gun' stamp.

This time, thanks to the doll's sell-out success, Mattel refused to bow to public pressure, saying in a statement at the time that it had 'no intentions to discontinue the doll. The doll gives girls a chance to express themselves and be creative.'