She's too young for this shit.

K. had a recent post about how some kids in a Christmas charity program that she participates in were asking for Bratz dolls.

We all know Bratz -- just when feminists got critical about Barbie -- along came Bratz to remind you that sometimes, Barbie isn't so bad. At least they have a doctor version of Barbie. Bratz has baby prostitutes.

I mean, seriously, look at it -- the damn thing is wearing lingerie! This is being marketed to young girls! WTF? When does a 10-year-old need to know about smoky eye-liner, collegian-enhanced lips and skimpy underwear?

And we bitch about how young girls all seem to be messed up, emulating messed-up girls like Paris, Lindsay and Brittney. Good fucking grief.

But it reminded me of conversations Jeff and I have had. As BD gets older, she's been watching us and how we behave. The few times I've watched TV with her, she's sat there enraptured at the moving blobs on the screen.

Which has both of us worried. While I've limited the amount of TV I watch in general now, I wonder sometimes the message that she'll get as she gets older -- will she think that her only worth is through her sexuality and attractiveness, per the regulations set by MTV, VH-1 and other shows? Will she be able to see them the way her mom does -- as something trashy and not to be emulated, but laughed at? And what will she think when she realizes that her mom once read Playboy (No seriously! I read it for the articles!)?

I don't know. Part of me wants to be reactionary and not expose her to it at all -- to keep her as innocent as possible for as long as possible. But I also know that's harder than it looks. Short of sending her off to the nunnery at age 10, she's going to find out about these things -- maybe not from me or Jeff, but from friends and the images she sees.

What I hope for is that I can arm her with a certain literacy -- to realize that even though these are the messages that mainstream media may send her, she doesn't have to buy into it. Her worth is not in how she dresses, the labels she wears or the hairstyle she has. Her worth is in her personality, her goodness and how she treats others.

I hope that someday, if someone gives her a Bratz doll (and I don't set it on fire), she'll see it as a doll, nothing more, nothing less. A doll that might be suitable as a dog toy or to play with, but nothing that she needs to emulate and become.

I just hope that I can help teach her to figure out the difference.