Cherry V Barbie (Janice Breen Burns)
I had a little dolly once
Her name was Cherry Blossom,
She had fat cheeks, sweet rosebud lips,
and hair down to her bottom.
I’d doll her up in frilly frocks,
Pink shimmies, pants and cardies,
And, I’d gaze in Cherry’s glassy eyes
and share my fears of (gulp) Barbie.
Let’s workshop this, Dear Cherry, (I’d say),
Let’s venture to compare,
Your pudgy tum and chunky bum
with Barbie’s charms and airs.
You can’t imagine, Darling Bloss,
the hips on that young tart,
the shameless micro-mini frocks!
the waist! the tits! (just for a start)
I got a Ken for Christmas too
He’s in the toy box with her,
God knows what those two do for kicks;
(Just guessing makes me shiver)
Kylie-Jane, my all-time bestest friend, said a Barbie Is Forever,
“With long legs, that neck, peach bum, Brynne tits,”
(Kyles quipped in her infinite wisdom)`
“A girl need not be clever!”
I had a little dolly once
She got my best friend rankled,
“She’s got no perky breasts,” (Kyles whined)
“No waist, no stick-thin ankles.”(All true, alas)
My Cherry didn’t make me dream of dating boys like Ken,
Or dressing like a tart to lure a smorgasbord of men,
No, my Cherry tapped my nurturing side,
The sweetness in my nature,
She told me with her glassy eyes:
“Check his prospects,
earn respect,
and do the Sex Thang much, much later.”
(Thanks Cherry)
I hardly need to tell you now,
The blokes I learnt to covet,
Were stable, kind and daddy-like
with sensitivity by the bucket.
But I wonder now I’m happygrown
and plump as any mum
Should I give my real-life baby dolls
a Barbie? or a Cherry?
with which to practise THEIR life roles?
“Cherry V Barbie” C. Copyright Janice Breen Burns. All Rights Reserved.
Photos from top: Mattel Barbie Glitz doll $15 at Big W, shop here. ,My First Disney Princess Toddler Doll with Tiara $24, shop here, and glamour Barbie at www.mattel.com,
