 Wal-Mart Yanks Pregnant Barbie Pal from Shelves
Barbie having babies? Stick to playing nurse and Rapunzel, say Wal-Mart shoppers. Barbie's long-time pal, Midge -- now married and pregnant -- was yanked from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shelves after customers complained about the doll, Melissa Berryhill, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said. Midge is sold as part of the "Happy Family" set, wearing a tiny wedding ring and a detachable stomach with a curled-up baby inside. Her husband, Alan, and 3-year-old child Ryan are sold separately. "We make every decision on which items to carry based on customer demand, and that was the reason for this. Customers were unhappy with the offering," Berryhill said. Mattel, the maker of Barbie, on its Barbie.com Web site, said the Happy Family pregnancy-themed dolls "can help parents discuss pregnancy without having to resort to graphic descriptions of the reproductive process." It said the dolls can help children aged 5 to 8 to act out their feelings before the arrival of a new sibling. (Agencies) | 芭比娃娃生小孩？堅決不行！沃爾瑪的購物者們說，他們將一直擁護護士芭比和長發公主芭比的形象。 芭比的老朋友米姬被沃爾瑪公司打入冷宮，因為米姬現在是個已婚的孕婦形象。該公司的女發言人梅利莎·貝里希爾稱，有許多顧客對這個娃娃的形象表示不滿。 米姬是作為"幸福家庭"系列中的成員出售的。她戴著一枚小小的結婚戒指，腹部可以解開，里面還蜷縮著一個嬰兒。她的丈夫阿蘭，還有一個3歲的孩子里安則單獨出售。 梅利莎說："我們根據顧客的需要來決定該出售什么樣的商品。這也是我們撤下米姬的原因。顧客不喜歡這個娃娃形象。" 生產芭比娃娃的馬特爾公司在barbie.com網站上發表自己的意見，認為歡樂家庭系列中懷孕主題的娃娃"可以使父母不采取圖解的方式就能向孩子們描繪生育的過程。"該公司還稱這個娃娃形象還可以幫助5至8歲的孩子表達自己對于新家庭成員誕生的所感所想。 （中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2003-01-08 01:00
