Black Canary Barbies, Washable Tattoos, and Getting a Grip

This is one of those times I feel like telling someone, "stop, take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and think."

I ran into two news pieces today (yesterday, by now):

• "S&M Barbie lashed by public"
  The Sun (July 16, 2008)
• "Surgeon sued for giving anesthetized patient temporary tattoo"
  Philadelphia Inquirer (July 16, 2008)

(Excerpts from these articles are at the end of this post.

Black Canary Barbie

Let's discuss the naughty Barbie first.

The "kinky fishnets" costume is pretty obviously from Black Canary Barbie's namesake, Black Canary: a DC Comics superhero character. Black Canary has the rather over-the-top clothing preferences we've become accustomed to over the years. (More about Black Canary at SCIFIPEDIA.)

I hate to think what Christian Voice's reaction will be when they learn about the Supergirl and Wonder Woman Barbies. Particularly since Wonder Woman openly carries (flaunts?) the Lasso of Truth: you know, that coil of rope on her hip.

With all that's going on in the world, a fashion-challenged Barbie, patterned on a somewhat underdressed comic book character, wouldn't be at the top of my list of things to be shocked about. But, that's just my opinion.

The Shock, the Outrage: The Washable Tattoo

I didn't know quite what to think of this one, so I surveyed a small sample (two women, actually) and found that 100% thought that the surgeon's artwork was inappropriate, but that suing was also inappropriate. As one of them said, "Suing is a bit extreme. More like slapping his face and forget about it."

Works for me. From that article, it sounds like what we have is a well-meaning surgeon with somewhat underdeveloped good sense.

Naughty Barbies, Washable Tattoos, and Picking Your Battles

Parenting how-2 books often tell us that choosing which issues are vital enough to defend, however much goodwill is lost, and which aren't, is important. I think that's good advice for everyone.

I wouldn't want a Black Canary Barbie in this household, but I'm not going to make rather wild claims about the doll, either. It's not that important.

Waking up with a washable tattoo in a delicate spot wouldn't shock me all that much: but I'm a man, and probably wouldn't understand. Slapping the doctor might or might not be the best approach, but I'm quite sure that a lawsuit is overkill.

This is wishful thinking: but wouldn't it be nice if common sense were more common?

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Black Canary Barbie and a Washable Tattoo, in the news:

• "Surgeon sued for giving anesthetized patient temporary tattoo"
  Philadelphia Inquirer (July 16, 2008)
  • "In a lawsuit filed yesterday, a Camden County woman accused her orthopedic surgeon of "rubbing a temporary tattoo of a red rose" on her belly while she was under anesthesia.
  • "The patient discovered the tattoo below the panty line the next morning, when her husband was helping her get dressed to go home after the operation for a herniated disc, her attorney, Gregg A. Shivers, said in a phone interview yesterday.
  • " 'She was extremely emotionally upset by it,' said Shivers. The suit, filed on behalf of Elizabeth Mateo in Camden County Superior Court, seeks punitive and compensatory damages from Steven Kirshner, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with offices in Marlton and Lumberton, both in Burlington County...."
  • The surgeon's lawyer, Robert Agre, said, " 'What's offensive about this complaint is that it suggests something he did was intended to be prurient, and nothing could be further from the truth,' said Agre. 'It was intended just to make the patient feel better.'... "
  • The 'tattoo' is a picture of a red rose, and washable. That's right: one of those 'temporary tattoos,' like the ones for kids that you see in the grocery checkout lines.
• "S&M Barbie lashed by public"
  The Sun (July 16, 2008)
  • "BARBIE’S new S&M look has whipped up a storm – with protesters dubbing it 'filth'.
  • "The doll’s image is transformed with kinky fishnets, motorcycle jacket, black gloves and boots.
  • "Makers Mattel say Black Canary Barbie, out in September, is based on a DC comic superhero of the same name.
  • "But religious group Christian Voice said: 'Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far.'...

And then, there's Wonder Woman