Sex sells even on Nickelodeon

In case you were wondering who the black silhouette is, you'd be surprised to find out that this tween is the grown up version of a bilingual little girl on Nickelodeon who solves mysteries with her best friend Boots the Monkey.

Maybe this picture might help you figure out who the cute little girl is:




That's right Dora the Explorer!

I'm not saying I watched a lot of her because I was already a little too old for her show in 2000 when she became a Nickelodeon regular, but there was a day in high school when I had the stomach flu and watched a "Dora the Explorer" marathon while I tried to get better. I liked what I saw. Her cute little outfit (I mean look at those adorable socks that, dare I say, I had when I was in kindergarten), her backpack (it is full of goodies that help her on her adventures) and her best friend Boots are perfect for a good show for children. She is just a little girl that goes on adventures and keeps children entertained for a little while. No harm done in showing Dora to kids when she's so cute.

She was an empowerment to little Latina girls who spoke Spanish and lived in the American society. They felt they could go and solve mysteries and go on adventures. There are even are Dora talking dolls that teach kids phrases in Spanish, like "We did it! Lo Hicimos" and "Hola! I'm Dora" when you squeeze her tummy. Everything needed for a good childhood memory.

However, after almost 10 years on the air, Mattel and Nickelodeon decided that it was time for Dora to grow up and look the part too. In a press release it was decided that Dora was going to be older and exciting. She now, "has moved to the big city, attends middle school and has a whole new fashionable look." She's a tween now who should appeal to older girls who have grown up with Dora on TV. From a marketing point of view this is brilliant because now Mattel can appeal to older girls and won't lose a large market sector. Dora the tween has an internet community, a new environment, where girls can go and play and hang out with the other Explorer Girls. There are even neighbors whom Dora is friends with. She can go to the beach, go shopping and go to middle school where exciting things happen.

By buying the new Dora doll girl can plug her into their computers via USB and install the software and then play with Dora online. Her eye color, hair length and jewelry change based on the settings on the computer. These are not the dolls I used to play with.

Also since when do tweens look so flawless? We all learned in class that sex sells, but what I don't understand is why Mattel thinks that sex sells within the 12 year old market. Middle school is the time to be awkward and kids go through puberty which is one of the most awful times in one's life.

But now this new Dora is pretty, has flowing hair, a cute matching outfit (even at 20 years my outfits do not match and look awful) and a skinny body. What does this say about body image in tween girls? Are all 12 year olds going to try to be skinny and match their outfits when they go to school?
Are all girls going to look like this when they go to school?

She's still adorable and we can see that little Dora has grown up but she is no longer a little girl who solves mysteries but a tween who lives in an online community. It scares me that little girls (the doll is targeted towards girl aged 5 and up) will look at this doll and think that looking like this is normal when they are 12 or 13.

The good thing about this is that Dora is just a doll with an online community. The Dora on TV is still a preschooler that hangs out with Boots and solves mysteries. Maybe it will stay like that and little girls will be able to enjoy their childhoods a while longer.