[Nettime-bold] Re: <nettime> Toy Uterus Lets Kids Give Birth

[Aldon Hynes <ahynes1@yahoo.com>]

I hope I will be able to buy this from 
www.etoy.com

Aldon
--- Bruce Sterling <bruces@well.com> wrote:
> 
> ----------
> From: futurefeedforward@futurefeedforward.com
> To: <bruces@well.com>
> Subject: Toy Uterus Lets Kids Give Birth
> Date: Sun, Mar 4, 2001, 10:44 AM
> 
> 
> 
> 
> May 19, 2081
> 
> Toy Uterus Lets Kids Give Birth
> 
> EL SEGUNDO, CA--Toy and game giant Mattel Inc. today
> announced the
> worldwide availability of Baby.I.Birthed.It, a
> wearable pouch in which
> kids can grow a range of Mattel-brand biomechanical
> dolls and pets.
> "I.Birthed.It is a spin-off accessory to our popular
> Barbie.Gives.Birth,"
> notes Mattel spokesperson Randy Doo.  "Now kids can
> share the experience
> with Barbie.  The pouch gets big, just like
> Barbie.Gives.Birth's tummy,
> and, after nine weeks, Barbie has a little baby to
> take care of, and so
> does the child."
> 
>  Baby.I.Birthed.It consists of a colorful
> cotton-poly blend "pouch" or
> "babypack," with hypoallergenic shoulder straps that
> hold it in place
> against the child's abdomen.  A zippered,
> vinyl-coated sack inside the
> pouch contains a soup of non-toxic resins and
> nano-assemblers responsible
> for growing the Baby and simulating, through control
> of the density and
> viscosity of the resin substrate, the changing
> effects of pregnancy on
> gait, posture, and center of gravity. 
> I.Feel.My.Baby, a special patch,
> sold separately and worn on the child's skin,
> delivers time-release,
> child-safe "simulants" that emulate some of the
> symptoms popularly
> associated pregnancy, including "morning sickness"
> and a "healthy glow" in
> the cheeks and eyes.
> 
>  "I.Brithed.It is an educational toy, and we've
> taken great care to
> provide a fun and accurate experience for the kids,"
> explains Mattel R&D
> Director Amy Ollie. "Sure, the babypack comes in
> bright rainbow colors,
> and is stain-resistant and machine washable, but
> we've also done a lot of
> work to make sure that things are as anatomically
> accurate as possible.
> I'm particularly proud of what we've done with the
> navel."
> 
>  After the gestation period, during which the child
> is able to feel the
> growing doll moving and kicking, the inner sack is
> unzipped to reveal a
> writhing, cooing doll that imprints immediately upon
> the child's voice and
> simulates most of the moods and functions of a
> three-month-old baby.  
> When the child is done playing with the Baby, the
> inner sack can digest
> and reuse the underlying resins with only moderate
> material loss.  Refill
> packages (sold separately) permit the toy to be
> reused indefinitely.
> 
>  "In our initial release, I.Birthed.It only delivers
> the Mattel Baby,"
> notes Ollie.  "But it's really a toy birth platform
> that eventually will
> deliver products from across the Mattel line, and
> from our strategic
> partners.  We're already in talks with Gund to offer
> a
> Gund.Bear.I.Birthed.It refill that will grow one of
> their interactive
> bears.  Our American Girl brand add-on will be
> released for the holiday
> season, and we're currently market-testing a
> Hotwheels.I.Birthed.It for
> the boys that grows a fully-functional Hotwheels car
> with a miniature,
> biomechanical driver."
> 
>  Demand for Baby.I.Birthed.It is reportedly high,
> driven in part by
> promotion of the toy in schools as a key part of the
> Mattel Interactive
> Curriculum.
> 
>  Critics of the company point to its history of
> promoting gender
> stereotypes through its products.  BarbieWatch
> Director Gil Heamp:
> "I.Birthed.It is just another in a long line of
> attempts by Mattel to
> commodify and monetize the gender stereotypes that
> persist in American
> culture.  What message are they sending by
> integrating a simulated
> experience of childbirth into their curriculum?"
> 
>  Baby.I.Birthed.It is currently available for
> purchase through retail
> outlets worldwide.
> 
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