skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The company that makes the popular Beanie Babies is retiring the names "Marvelous Malia" and "Sweet Sasha" from its Ty Girlz collection.
CEO Ty Warner of Oak Brook-based Ty Inc. says in a statement Tuesday that the dolls have been renamed "Marvelous Mariah" and "Sweet Sydney."
Warner says the original names were inspired by what he calls "this historic time in our nation's history," but the dolls weren't intended to bear the likeness of President Barack Obama's daughters.
Warner says Ty is changing the monikers in deference to the Obama family after First lady Michelle Obama said using her daughters' names was inappropriate.
Profits from sales of the original dolls will be donated to charity.
'Marvelous Malia' and 'Sweet Sasha' Are Now on the Shelves
"Marvelous Malia" and "Sweet Sasha" are the names of two new dolls produced by Ty Inc., but the selection of these names purportedly has nothing to do with Malia Obama and Sasha Obama having become the new First Daughters in the White House.
Yeah, right!!! Obama daughter dolls. It's enough to make you want to trash your Beanie Babies, also made and promoted by Ty Inc.
Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha are obviously Obama daughter dolls, whether Ty Inc. calls them that or not, and the Obama daughter dolls now are part of the TyGirlz Collection. Wouldn't you think that of Ty Inc. intends on exploiting children, they could at least help teach them proper spelling and grammar with "TyGirls" instead of "TyGirlz?"
The sick point here is not just the exploitation involved in marketing Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha, but the shady and cynical explanation. Tania Lundeen, a Ty Inc. spokeswoman for whom none of the TyGirlz is named, says the company chose those names because "they are beautiful names," not out of any connection with the already over-scrutinized presidential daughters.
"There's nothing on the dolls that refers to the Obama girls," says Lundeen, according to the AP. Lundeen is among many at Ty Inc. who should be ashamed of themselves. "It would not be fair to say they are exact replications of these girls. They are not."
How could they be "exact replications," Ms. Lundeen, if you simply sort of drew the names out of a hat, with no connection to Malia Obama and Sasha Obama?
The dolls do, by coincidence, have bronze skin. Malia has a side ponytail and wears a long-sleeve shirt with capri pants. Sasha, more childish, has her hair in pigtails while wearing a white and pink dress with hearts.
Just when Barack and Michelle Obama finally got their children through the mad first-day coverage of attending Sidwell Friends Academy, here comes Ty Inc. with this doll stunt. Just when Barack and Michelle Obama got through the inauguration's analysis of Malia's and Sasha's clothing on that day, here come more headlines.
Apparently, the Obama family has little or no legal recourse. However, former community organizer Barack Obama often emphasizes citizen participation. How about citizen participation in a TyGirlz boycott?
Posts
