Recently, on my Facebook newsfeed (I know, very reliable source), I keep seeing the Period Party doll. As with most things that show up on that strange “news” sidebar, I attempted to ignore it, but eventually it got the better of me. After further research into the absurd topic, I knew for sure I had to write something about it.

First of all, this “period party” is an addition to an already strange doll known as Lammily (pronounced as a portmanteau of Lame and Emily, I know keeps getting weirder). It is one of the latest in a string of what I see as misguided attempts to bolster young girls’ self-confidence. It is essentially a Barbie with the proportions of a “real girl.” Aka it’s shorter and has slightly thicker waist and hips. The original iteration of the doll allows you to buy stickers to add to the doll to give it “flaws” such as stretch marks, acne, and grass stains. This is all well and good, but the period party takes this all to a strange new level.

This new addition includes pads, panty liners, and underwear for your doll, along with a book describing periods. Additionally, the website includes a very bizarre video, which I have attached below.

All this being said, I find this whole concept completely ridiculous and being completely and incorrectly targeted. Having been a middle school girl myself, I can tell you that attempting to explain a period to a 12-year-old with a doll intended for 5-year-olds is not going to go over well. It is clear the creator of this doll has no understanding of the actual experiences of a young girl. The target age group for a Barbie type doll is about 3-10, generally not the age group you are going to be explaining a period to. Additionally, the point of dolls is to encourage kids to play and explore their worlds, I’m not sure that we need to add the wonders of sex and puberty to the lives of children.

Overall, I just find that this doll misses the point. It was clearly not created by someone who has experience with the age range that it is theoretically targeted to. It is generally an inaccurate view of the experience of your average pre-teen girl and I think should be reevaluated completely.