In the eye of John McCain, a doll that had a modern look but a 1957 mentality would be more than a perfect running mate. We only have to look back into doll history to see that the perfect model for such a person was the Little Miss Revlon doll, that was manufactured by Ideal toys in February, 1957. She was a 10 1/2 inch vinyl doll, that was every bit as charming as her larger 18", 20" and 24" sisters. Little Miss Revlon was marketed towards fashionable women who wanted to give their little girls a doll tied to one of the most famous names in cosmetics -- Revlon. Considering Palin's current preoccupation with lipstick, and her totally stone age views on women, I can think of no better example. More below the fold.
Little Miss Revlon preceded Barbie, by the way. She was meant to convey to little girls the importance of glorious hair, perfect nails, and glowing skin. I think Revlon somehow hoped that this doll would influence future markets, in a world where Coty Red lipstick and powders, and perfumes and colognes like Jungle Gardenia and Tabu were the height of womanly representation. So Little Miss Revlon mirrored the 1950s face with bright red lipstick, liquid eyeliner emphasizing eyes, penciled eyebrows, and a peaches and creme complexion. It was often said, the "other" women, the scholarly Gertrude Stein types, were lesbian, or worse. Educators, women who knew things, this was not what Little Miss Revlon represented. And the women who were, well, bad -- the ones with the tassels on their boobs, who were featured in the strip club ads, well, no one wanted those kind of women in Revlon cosmetics for sure.
Enter Little Miss Revlon as a role model for the young girl of the 1950s.
She had a womanly teenager body, but came with a child face. Sound familiar? She was designed to appeal to the egos of women children who were to step forth onto the stage in the Beauty Queen Contestant model of what constituted acceptable woman behavior. She had "magic touch" skin, and was jointed at the neck, waist, shoulders and hips. She was dark brunette, red, platinum blonde, or just blond. Her cute hairdos: a curly bob, or a ponytail. One look at Palin's coifs and one sees instantly where she comes from, though she is younger in age, her mentality is frozen in time. Like an ice scupture. Wearing furs.
Nylon stockings came back into prominence in the 1950s. Little Miss Revlon was available in lingerie that consisted of a bra, elastic girdle, nylon stocking and high heel shoes -- the latter was a risque new feature for dolls of this decade, by the way. The rest of her fashion was tidy, clean lines, centered around accepted womanly behaviors of school, playtime, novelty, bridal, formal, nightime (of course, nudge and a wink), and being a junior miss. She favored Doris Day and Debbie Reynolds.
The 1960s, mercifully, brought the end of Little Miss Revlon.
I got one of these dolls for Christmas, I think it was in 1958 matter of fact. I was nine, and dead set on becoming a scientist even at that age. That was a thought not shared with my family, for whom such an idea would have been way outside the box. I hated the doll on sight, her yellow and white striped dress, and brunette hair represented everything I hated about the 1950s. Even at nine, I had a strong idea this was not my world.
What did I do with her, you might ask? Well, for starters, I left her in her box for a year or two. Then one day, I just cut off her hair, and dressed her in a sack. She didn't speak for me, after all. She eventually was relegated to the attic, where she stayed until it was cleaned out some 15 years later, and she was consigned to the trash.
Call it a woman's right to choose. Palin is an anachronism in her own time, and like Little Miss Revlon, is a shadow of what a woman can be. She is no more real than that doll. For anyone to take her seriously as a role model for women, might mean they needed a trip to the toy store for a refresher course in 1950s mentality. I feel sorry for any woman who looks at this limited construct of womanhood and considers her an appropriate role model for her daughter.
At least Barbie, for all her fantasy, has had some career choices.