Doll:Happy To Be Me

Amid increasing concerns about the negative effects of various images in popular culture, the High Self-Esteem Toy Corporation of Woodbury, Minnesota, introduced the "Happy To Be Me" doll in 1991 as an alternative to the ubiquitous Barbie doll. Promoting the view that Barbie's image advanced a thoroughly unrealistic view of adult life for women in America, the High Self-Esteem Toy Corp., created specifically to produce the "Happy to be Me" dolls, sought to offer something more true to life. Unlike Barbie, with her exaggerated proportions - too tall for her thin waist, an extra-long neck, and feet perpetually angled to fit high heel shoes - the "Happy to be Me" doll features more natural proportions and more natural abilities. "Her arms bend. Her legs bend. She looks and moves like a real person," the manufacturer proclaimed. Yet, in spite of its lofty aspirations, the doll never caught on, disappearing from toy store shelves after a couple of years. In addition to underestimating the cultural clout of Barbie dolls, High Self-Esteem focused its marketing pitch more on parents than children: "She's a doll that both you and your child will love." Even the back of the package was covered with information for parents about the doll's usefulness. Kids bought neither the message nor the doll.