Prostitute Action Figure or Happy Meal Toy? You decide.

I was desperate one night in one of my "If-I-run-errands-after-Gillian-goes-to-bed-I'll-be-alot-more-efficient" mindsets and given the fact that it was 9:30 (pm) and I hadn't had any dinner yet, and there was a McDonalds right there... I decided to get something small because I was dying. It had been a few years probably since I had McDonalds, for obvious reasons (like, every time you eat there it takes a year off your life), but I figured quantity (small) could make it less damaging, so I ordered a Happy Meal. It's not as happy now as it was the last time I saw it-they use to have fun little thin cardboard boxes with puzzles and games on it and the famous arches for handles, and some McDonald Land cookies in the shape of Ronald and the Burglar and the other characters, and of course, The Toy. They use to have cool toys...remember those reindeer stuffed animal/beanie babies that Christmas in the 80s? Well, mine came in a paper bag with no fun stuff to do on it, no cookies, and THIS awful thing parading as a child's toy.

So, given the fact that I have a daughter, and here I had this little mini-barbie-rollerderby-hooker in my Happy Meal, the ride to my next errand stop was a time of somber reflection. How will I EVER cultivate a healthy body image for my daughter in a world full of Bratz figurines and shows like The OC? I mean, her skirt is so short her hoo-ha is almost showing, she is showing some serious torso, and she has a red streak in her bleach-blond hair. Do I want my 5 year old begging me to wear mid-drifts, miniskirts, and thongs? Wouldn't you think that McDonalds, who has historically marketed themselves as family friendly, would choose a more wholesome toy for their Happy Meals? I wish they had given me the boy meal with the car in it. I wish I had never seen this blasphemous piece of Americana in something specifically targeting little girls. Maybe the answer is a unisex toy?

But, I could go on for days about the waify, sickly, anorexic gold standard that we see in commercials and magazines, and movies... it even infiltrated the latest season of Survivor-did you see poor Courtney trying to cut a rope with a machete this week? It might have been laughable if it wasn't so completely tragic. What were the show's producers thinking to choose a contestant who is starving without the trials of the game show? What message does this send to adolescent girls dying to be thin?

Ok, so maybe some of this post is a bit melodramatic, and alot tongue in cheek, but I really do worry about how to navigate the mindfields of the external world while trying to provide an atmosphere conducive to Gillian creating a beautiful, strong, and healthy self-image. One that doesn't require showcasing a smoking hot bod to have any vestige of personal value. Either I am getting super conservative in my old age, or I remember being 15, or I am now the parent of a little girl (or all of the preceding). Either way, I can't appreciate this fad. At all.