Sometimes I wonder if people out there are looking for a fight. Sometimes I just want to look people in the face, throw my hands up in the air and shout “Who in the hell cares?!” from the rooftops for all the see and hear. You like Barbie? Fantastic. You don’t like Barbie? Also, fantastic. Here’s something new and novel…you don’t have to buy Barbie. That’s the thing about shopping—it’s a little lesson I learned one day when my husband threatened to take away my credit cards. No one is forcing you at gunpoint. No one. You have the ability to buy the things you want to buy and the ability to not buy the things you don’t want to buy. Diff’rent Strokes, you guys. It’s not just a great TV show with a catchy theme song. It’s the truth. That’s why there are hundreds and hundreds of options out there.

My mom once bought my sweet little girl a Barbie that had pasties covering her nipples.

True story.

Here’s the thing. We stared in wonder at Barbie and wondered who she was and who she had become. Janet Jackson at the Superbowl, perhaps? Silver sparkly pasties. I’m fairly certain she was wearing fishnets and had several piercings too. At first I was slightly outraged. Really? REALLY? Why is a product like this even on the market? Are my daughters going to want piercings and pasties and fishnets too? Am I damaging them at such a young age? Am I sending the wrong message with this toy? I’M YELLING ABOUT BARBIE!

But then, well, I just laughed. Whore Barbie. *Snicker*

Have you ever played with Barbies? Have you ever watched children play with Barbies? In our house, Barbie mostly spends a lot of time in her closet getting dressed and undressed for special occasions—the beach, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, vacations, dates, school, birthday parties. And when she’s not getting dressed and undressed and dressed and undressed, she’s having her hair braided (and sometimes cut! Gasp!) or she is zipping around in her fancy pink car. Sometimes Barbie likes to smooch Ken a little bit. Sometimes she doesn’t. Sometimes she is an airline pilot, a school teacher, a cowgirl. I have seen many imaginations at play in our house and—surprise!—no Barbie scenarios have involved Barbie stripping her clothing off to reveal her pasties. Because that’s not what Barbies are to my girls.

A lot of people are up in arms about this new Barbie. The Tokidoki Barbie. Have you seen her?

She comes with a Tokidoki purse (that I *might* secretly want to own. I mean, ahem.), a pink mini skirt, a pair of animal-print leggings, stilettos, pink hair, and, well, a giant chest tattoo (and a back tattoo too!)

Okay, so here’s the thing. I get it. I get why moms don’t like this.

NEWSFLASH: YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY IT.

It’s simple, really. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. No one is going to force your hand on this one. (Also? I doubt anyone else is going to buy this Barbie for your children; she costs over $50 and won’t be carried in toy stores…she is supposed to be a collector’s doll.) If you don’t like its messaging, don’t buy into the messaging. Why does it have to be this giant fight. Why must we YELL ABOUT BARBIE? Why must we take to Twitter and Facebook and our blogs and call for BANS ON MATTEL PRODUCTS and demands for RTS about Why Barbie is Bad.

Don’t buy it, that’s okay.

Do buy it, that’s okay too.

YOU ARE THE PARENT.

And if you do buy it and your kid comes to you and says she wants pink hair? You have the option to say NO.

And if you do buy it and your kid comes to you and says she wants to wear leather mini skirts? You have the option to say NO.

And if you do buy it and your kid comes to you and says she wants to wear stilettos? You have the option to say NO.

And if you do buy it and your kid comes to you and says she wants to get a giant chest and back tattoo? You have the option to say NO.

That’s the thing here. Okay. Yes. Barbie has a tattoo.

At least she covered her ass and is not wearing leggings as pants.