An artist reimagined Bratz dolls as iconic women. The results? So cool.

Are toys just … toys? Or do they have a bigger effect?

It’s a question artist and mom Wendy Tsao asked when she learned about the controversy swirling around Bratz dolls.

Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images.

Some parents and psychology groups have argued the dolls’ hyper-sexualized appearance isn’t a great influence on the young girls who play with them.

“I considered the point of view that playing with Bratz dolls or Barbie dolls does not affect a child’s body image,” Tsao told Upworthy.
“This led me to wonder whether a doll does have an impact on a child’s view of herself and of the world.”

That wonder sparked the project that’s now making waves across the web.

Tsao created “Mighty Dolls,” an art series that transforms Bratz dolls from their original state into iconic women.

Inspired by artist
Sonja Singh, Tsao took the concept of reimagining Bratz and added her own twist: “Mighty Dolls” are what happens when you turn Bratz dolls into powerful, influential women.

What would happen if a kid had, say, a little Malala Yousafzai to pal around with?

Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai became a champion for global girls education after being shot by the Taliban in 2012 for simply trying to attend school. Learn more about her here. Photo used with permission from Wendy Tsao.

Or the Harry Potter author/Queen of Twitter J.K. Rowling?

What if a kid became besties with a mini Jane Goodall?

If anyone has built up some good karma, it has to be animal-loving, peace-making Jane Goodall. Learn more about her work here. Photo used with permission from Wendy Tsao.

Or helped make the world a better place with Waris Dirie?

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/an-artist-reimagined-bratz-dolls-as-iconic-women-the-results-so-cool?c=tpstream

An artist reimagined Bratz dolls as iconic women. The results? So cool.

body-image, diversity-and-equality, gender-equality, health, inspiring, multi-item

A Hilarious And Beautiful Song About All The Crazy Stuff Women Do To Look Good

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look nice. By all means, feel free to do any or all of the things listed in this video if they make you feel good. But isn’t it kind of sad that so many of us feel like we need to practically turn ourselves into another person by jumping through all these beautification hoops just to leave the house?

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done in the name of beauty? Tweet me @ryeisenberg!

If the part at 2:17 makes you as sad as it made me, maybe you should share this video to show solidarity and bravery and stuff. Just sayin’.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/a-hilarious-and-beautiful-song-about-all-the-crazy-stuff-women-do-to-look-good

A Hilarious And Beautiful Song About All The Crazy Stuff Women Do To Look Good

funny, gender, gender-equality, video-music-spoken-word

Who Would Bully A Firefighter?! The Answer Is Crazy.

Do we still need feminism? Hell yes. And nobody knows that better than the women working in male-dominated fields like firefighting and longshoring, like Liane Tessier.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/who-would-bully-a-firefighter-the-answer-is-crazy

Who Would Bully A Firefighter?! The Answer Is Crazy.

corporate-power-broken-system, economy., gender, gender-equality, photo, troubling

It's Way Normal For Half Of Us, So Why Do Movies Make It Seem Like The End Of The World?

I heard Aunt Flo is in town. Or maybe it’s Cousin Red? I can’t remember, but I do know it’s leak week for a lot of women out there surfin’ that crimson wave. But it’s totally normal to be on the rag when it’s *THAT* time of the month, so, yeah…

Joking about periods can keep it all silly and casual, but this video really made me think: Does it actually do more harm than good by not giving people the *actual* language needed to have conversations about such a natural part of life?

Read more: http://upworthy.com/its-way-for-half-of-us-so-why-do-movies-make-it-seem-like-the-end-of-the-world

It"s Way Normal For Half Of Us, So Why Do Movies Make It Seem Like The End Of The World?

body-image, gender, gender-equality, health, health-reproductive-rights, thought-provoking, video

Watch A Guy Unknowingly Explain What Mansplaining Is To Some Very Bewildered And Annoyed Women

“Mansplaining” happens when a man thinks he knows all about something, anything, and everything better than a woman — only because his maleness makes him smarter. Subconsciously or not, it’s nonsense.

This kind of misogyny shouldn’t be so prevalent, but as you’ll see in this short by Allison Kilkenny and Jamie Kilstein, it’s still a way to think that needs to fade out of style.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/watch-a-guy-unknowingly-explain-what-mansplaining-is-to-some-very-bewildered-and-annoyed-women

Watch A Guy Unknowingly Explain What Mansplaining Is To Some Very Bewildered And Annoyed Women

community, funny, gender, gender-equality, human-condition-or-culture, video

ATTN LADIES: You May Share This Graphic, But You'll Never Be A Tech Entrepreneur

Or so the statistics say. While technology democratizes society and women dominate social networks, they represent a mere sliver of the leaders in the industry.

Be sure to check out the whole graphic here.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/attn-ladies-you-may-share-this-graphic-but-youll-never-be-a-tech-entrepreneur

ATTN LADIES: You May Share This Graphic, But You"ll Never Be A Tech Entrepreneur

gender, gender-equality, infographic, shocking

She Was One Of 7 Kids. Her Parents Had No Idea What She Would Grow Up To Become.

Val Demings isn’t just important because she was the first do something. How she did it matters. And so do her phenomenal results.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/she-was-one-of-7-kids-her-parents-had-no-idea-what-she-would-grow-up-to-become

She Was One Of 7 Kids. Her Parents Had No Idea What She Would Grow Up To Become.

American Family Insurance, gender, gender-equality, guns-crime, guns-violence-cops-prisons, inspiring, video

A Funny Man Helps Women Laugh About Something Men Do To Them. Then He Helps Men Stop Doing It.

A nice compliment and a tip-of-the-hat, what’s wrong with that? Probably nothing! But as it must be with, like, all things in life, there’s a fine line between “thanks for the compliment” and “you ruined my day and made me feel gross and unsafe in my own world.”

Ladies, stay strong. And dudes? You’re a dude — go talk to your boys!

Read more: http://upworthy.com/a-funny-man-helps-women-laugh-about-something-men-do-to-them-then-he-helps-men-stop-doing-it

A Funny Man Helps Women Laugh About Something Men Do To Them. Then He Helps Men Stop Doing It.

funny, gender, gender-equality, video

I Sing Along To This All The Time. But When She Does, It Makes Me Really, Really Uncomfortable.

I love rap music, and I love the creative freedom that exists within the arts. I am also no fan of art being taken out of context in order to be unfairly criticized. That said, I have been in cars, at parks, and at parties where I hear someone’s young kid recite a lyric that they too have heard in the wrong context (or, perhaps more accurately, at the wrong age). I offer this video to us all not as a cheap slap in the face to the music and culture that I love but as a mirror to ourselves, asking us where we are drawing our lines.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/i-sing-along-to-this-all-the-time-but-when-she-does-it-makes-me-really-really-uncomfortable

I Sing Along To This All The Time. But When She Does, It Makes Me Really, Really Uncomfortable.

community, gender, gender-equality, human-condition-or-culture, parenting, parenting-children-general, thought-provoking, video

Why Birth Control Needs To Be Covered By All Insurance Plans, In One Simple Graphic

So why is it even being discussed, let alone fought in the court system? Anybody? Anybody?

FACT CHECK TIME:

The source for the 55% figure is this survey – which has a lot of data, based on a large sample size. And it also reveals that almost 75% of people surveyed support insurance coverage for birth control.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/why-birth-control-needs-to-be-covered-by-all-insurance-plans-in-one-simple-graphic

Why Birth Control Needs To Be Covered By All Insurance Plans, In One Simple Graphic

gender, gender-equality, health, Health care, health-reproductive-rights, infographic, troubling

That Awkward Moment When Someone Proves That You'll Only Ever Be A B*tch

How she manages to smile through this study amazes me. Me? I’m all kinds of irate.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/that-awkward-moment-when-someone-proves-that-youll-only-ever-be-a-b-tch-3

That Awkward Moment When Someone Proves That You"ll Only Ever Be A B*tch

gender, gender-equality, thought-provoking, video, Workonomics

Let's See This Teenage Boy Go Through A Typically Female Experience And See How He Feels About It

Just goes to show you how sexist keeping yourself protected still is in this day and age.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/lets-see-this-teenage-boy-go-through-a-typically-female-experience-and-see-how-he-feels-about-it

Let"s See This Teenage Boy Go Through A Typically Female Experience And See How He Feels About It

community, funny, gender, gender-equality, health-reproductive-rights, human-condition-or-culture, video

A Late-Night Comedian Makes An Amusing Point About The Fairness Of Men Paying For Date Night

I’ve always insisted on contributing to dates (he pays for one, I pay for the next, occasionally we split the bill, etc.), but for some women that isn’t even an option. Conan is definitely on to something here…

Read more: http://upworthy.com/a-late-night-comedian-makes-an-amusing-point-about-the-fairness-of-men-paying-for-date-night-3

A Late-Night Comedian Makes An Amusing Point About The Fairness Of Men Paying For Date Night

funny, gender, gender-equality, graphic-quote, Workonomics

OUTRAGEOUS: How One Town In Germany Is Using Sexism As A Tourist Trap

As if being home to the world’s biggest cuckoo clock wasn’t enough notoriety, the mayor of Triberg, Germany is hoping to increase tourism by introducing 12 “easy” (well lit and wider) parking spaces just for women in a public-parking garage … because everyone knows women are terrible drivers and suckers for a good sexist photo-op with the family?

Ridiculous.

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Read more: http://upworthy.com/outrageous-how-one-town-in-germany-is-using-sexism-as-a-tourist-trap

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OUTRAGEOUS: How One Town In Germany Is Using Sexism As A Tourist Trap

gender, gender-equality, shocking, video

Malala's Father Explains That His Daughter Is So Strong Because He Didn't 'Clip Her Wings'

Ziauddin Yousafzai’s daughter Malala was shot by the Taliban in 2012 after she had just boarded a bus to school. Today, Malala is recognized around the world as a global leader for women’s rights … at the age of 16.

Ziauddin explains in his TED talk how he was determined to raise his daughter to be strong, confident, and passionate. He stresses that the plight of millions of women could be changed if both men and women think differently and break against the norms of family and society.

His message gives an inspiring lesson for all of us — fathers, mothers, men, women — to hear.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/malalas-father-explains-that-his-daughter-is-so-strong-because-he-didnt-clip-her-wings

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Malala"s Father Explains That His Daughter Is So Strong Because He Didn"t "Clip Her Wings"

Age, Color, daughter, daughter Malala, family, Father, gender, gender-equality, general-international, global leader, inspiring, inspiring lesson, international, men, message, millions, Read, rights, Taliban, talk, TED talk, Think, video, women, world, youtube, youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4mmeN8gv9o?wmode=transparent&showinfo=0&controls=1&enablejsapi=1&rel=0&version=3&color=white&w=853&h=480] Read, youtube.com, Ziauddin Yousafzai

She Was Waiting For Marriage To Have Sex. Then She Met Him, And She Didn't Know Anymore.

She grew up Mormon, but she also hated saying no. And when she falls for the guy of her dreams about halfway through, suddenly she has a big decision to make.

Read more: http://upworthy.com/she-was-waiting-for-marriage-to-have-sex-then-she-met-him-and-she-didnt-know-anymore

She Was Waiting For Marriage To Have Sex. Then She Met Him, And She Didn"t Know Anymore.