Disturbing Product of the Day
Would you like some creepy with your morning coffee?
A reader alerted us to this. Dismembered body parts just never get old! (Not really as offensive as the others, but still bizarre as hell.)
More after the jump. It's like the gender stereotype monster threw up.
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Maybe it is too early in the morning for me, but I just can't get outraged about this. As much as I detest Barbie and all the irrational beauty standards she symbolizes, it is a fooseball table. Little fooseball guys have traditionally never had arms. Maybe it is a little more disturbing because Barbie is a little more realistic (ha) than your average little plastic fooseball guy (basically meaning she has a face.) And LPFGs don't have actual feet, because then it would be impossible to properly kick the ball. If she had arms and real feet, then you couldn't actually play the game.
Still outraged that it involves Barbie, though.
"Barbie is a little more realistic (ha) than your average little plastic fooseball guy"
Yeah, I get a definite Uncanny Valley vibe from this. Again, not enraging, but definitely disturbing. It'd be pretty cool if this were a homemade deal with salvaged thrift-store dolls or something.
Yeah, if you ignore the fact it's Barbie, it's actually good. Why wouldn't we want to use female figures in a foosball game? It shows women as being sporty!
I have to agree with all of this. No one was ever upset about armless male fooseball figures, and it's nice to see female players, even if they are Barbies.
This made me lol. Since foosball is basically table soccer, this product acknowledges that young women are now very interested in sports and less interested in dressing up little dollies. However, I would have to call this attempt to utilize the barbie franchise a fail. Everyone knows what barbie is supposed to look like - she has arms and feet! In fact, I am so amused by the pure fail of this, that I think I want one. It is such a conversation piece.
lets hope they found them all at a thrift store or something.
"young women are now very interested in sports and less interested in dressing up little dollies"
Really? So you think that young women should stop liking 'girly' stuff like dolls (stupid girls), and start liking 'manly' stuff like sports?
Where the hell did the poster say that? They said that more and more young women are now interested in sports. That's pretty much a fact. They didn't say should, she didn't say should, and she certainly didn't say "girly" "manly" or "stupid girls." What are you trying to do?
Where the hell did the poster say that? They said that more and more young women are now interested in sports. That's pretty much a fact. They didn't say should and they certainly didn't say "girly" "manly" or "stupid girls." What are you trying to do?
They couldn't be outfitted in proper football gear? I guess they don't make pink jerseys...
Are all of the Barbies white?
Hey now-these foosball ladies represent a lot of diversity. You've got Barbies of almost every color here: blonde, blonder, white blonde, slightly darker blonde, auburn, blonde streaks, ginger, full-volume blonde, flat-ironed blonde, wavy blonde, and brunette.
I'm with the first couple posters...I'm not disturbed or offended by this at all. It's Foosball, so of course the players aren't going to have arms or legs! And while I'm not a fan of Barbie, I actually think that this is a cute twist on traditional Foosball tables.
Totally agree with theology_nerd.
As I said in the post, I don't find it really offensive either - just thought it was creepy and bizarro enough to share :)
Indeed. Foosball, women athletes, what's not to like? If they'd mod'd it to be a "woman's sport" like field hockey or something, maybe one could find it a bit problematic. But I don't think so in this case.
I was thinking the same thing. Maybe its too early.. But It made me want to play foosball. haha
the only thing that bums me out is theyre not wearing shorts or anything anyone would ever play soccer in. who plays soccer in a dress? that right! BARBIE!
I vaguely remember the little foosball guys wearing tank tops and little shorts. I think this is the best match to the traditional outfit that the designers could find in barbie's currently existing clothes.
I agree... I don't expect anything different from barbie though...
I don't find this offensive or creepy. I think it's kind of neat.
It would be way cooler with better clothing for the players, like actual sports jerseys or something.
Oh this was a great addition to my morning coffee! Definitely a bit disturbing because of their blind stares and giant smiles. I don't think(the male)foosball players traditionally even have faces. Thats why I find it creepy.
Speaking of which, some of the traditional tables seem to have gender ambiguous bodies. Of course we are encouraged to assume they are male but it is interesting nontheless.
*Did anyone notice the odd twist to the goalie's head...makes me think of the Chucky horror series... shudder...*
The woman who designed it has some commentary (in french) on what was meant by it. Here's what google translate says:
(Yours is mostly right, I just can't stand idly by whenever I see Google Translate out and about)
I think I find the artist's statement slightly creepier than I do the foosball table.
Really? Why?
hahaha you have no sense of humor! In dakar they call foosball "babyfoot" (in a french accent so bebefouut) BarbieFoot is just a silly play on words. I wish i made that.
As previous commenters have indicated, this is not at all in the same category as the other body dismemberment posts cited. It is important to keep one's knee from jerking too hard.
"It is important to keep one's knee from jerking too hard."
Especially if you're a foosball figure.
Weird. Weird weird weird weird weird. Weird.
That is all.
this is just so weird. I find it pretty disturbing mostly because those little plastic balls do shoot up and hit the "players" in the head, now barbie is going to be hit in the head and keep that creepy smile on here face, even though her plastic nose is now broken
My thoughts exactly! My brothers and I had to tape several of the foosedudes back together when wayward balls broke them in two... I hope these Barbies come with extra heads! Or neckbraces, as I see a lot of creepily angled necks in their future.
Just like real athletes.
This comment has been deleted and commenter has been banned.
Love this. It's an interesting juxtaposition between a "boy toy" and a "girl toy." I don't think it's offensive or creepy.
(For the record, the Barbie jewelery linked to as an example of "something worse" is AWESOME. It's gorgeous and creative, and IIRC the artist's statement turned out to be quite explicitly feminist.)
I dont find this angring, just creepy looking...
It doesn't bother me on the grounds that they are portrayed exactly the same way male foosball people are. It's ugly and creepy, but not all that upsetting to me.
It's overpriced. It doesn't need to be pink. And my reaction was I wonder how durable it is? The little plastic guys are blocky because individual legs, real fabric uniforms and flowing hair are going to be more difficult to maintain.
It's overpriced, gratuitously pink, and highly impractical.
There's a reason male or plastic blocky foosball figures don't have flowing hair and fabric jerseys, and I hope the figures with legs are more durable than usual doll material.
I got the impression it's not a mass product, but an art piece. (Someone clear this up?) And while I wouldn't buy it personally, I understand art doesn't sell due to whether the pieces are "practical".
And the pink, I believe, isn't gratuitous. Going by the artist's statement, it was a conscious decision to make it as pink and typically Barbie as possible.
The artist's intention was to make two radically different "worlds" clash, so it's far from a mistake to give the figures flowing hair and fabric jerseys, it's pretty much the point.
Actually the mens version (or gender neutral version, seen as they have very few detail) looks about the same.
LOL amazing.
At first glance it does look creepy, and I still think it looks creepy, but I can't really justify logically why it should be any creepier than a normal foosball table. Those guys never had feet or arms. I think its just creepier because they have more realistic faces, not because they're women or barbies.
Does their long hair get in the way when they're flipped upside down?
It's cool to see women being the athletes instead of the spectators, but this product just falls short. They couldn't put the dolls in athletic clothing or pull their hair back? Nope, they're wearing skirts with their hair down, cause looking good comes first, don't you know.. sigh