Girls in Love

Girls in Love is a drama series produced by Granada Television which aired on ITV.It is based on the book of the same title (ISBN 0385408048), both created by UK author Jacqueline Wilson that follows the romantic thrills and spills of three teenage girls- Ellie, Magda and Nadine. The show has been running for two series, and has been dubbed by many as the pre-teens version of Sex and the City, exploring the some what weird and wonderful world of boys through the eyes of Ellie Allard, who is played by Olivia Hallinan. She is an artist, and usually portrays her life events in her big bulging sketchbook, which blends the show's live action with animation. She lives with her dad and his girlfriend (later wife) Anna, and her baby brother Eggs. Ellie has had two significant crushes in the course of the past two series- Russell (played by Adam Paul Harvey), in series one, and Darius, from America, in series two (played by Alp Haydar). Magda (played by Zaraah Abrahams) according to Ellie "goes through boys like I do through takeaway pizzas", she is quite a gossipy, bubbly sort of character, and had a brief fling with Darius in series two. And then there's Nadine (played by Amy Kwolek) who is a goth, and is a budding singer/songwriter but has always had a wildchild reputation about her. The show has received some criticism from fans of the book, due to Ellie's appearance. In the book, she is a short, bespectacled, slightly overweight, frizzy haired girl, and some people feel that she should have been portrayed this way in the television show. Also, Magda in the television show has a darker complexion and dark hair, yet in the book, she is caucasian and her hair varies, going from what is described as a 'bottle blonde' bob, to mousey brown (her natural colour) and an unflattering cut, to bright red and a 'punky' hair style. The show has recently been released on DVD. Many of the school scenes were filmed on location at Manchester Grammar School, which is rather ironic considering in real-life this is an all male institution.

Uptown Girls

Uptown Girls is a 2003 drama directed by Boaz Yakin and adapted from the story by Allison Jacobs into screenplay by Julia Dahl, Mo Ogrodnik and Lisa Davidowitz. It stars Brittany Murphy (8 Mile) as a 22-year-old living a charmed life as the daughter of a famous rock and roll musician. Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam) co-stars. Tagline: They're about to teach each other how to act their age.

Plot

Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) is a spoiled rock n' roll princess, living off the ample trust fund of her late rock legend father. Molly is carefree and fun-spirited but also can be irresponsible and immature, having no concept of money or the need to work for it. She keeps cash in the freezer of her Upper West Side apartment, treats her doorman like a personal servant and pays no attention to bills for phone, electricity or pet care. When her accountant steals all of her money, Molly has to do the unthinkable—get a job. After a few unsuccessful interviews and a stint at a department store, Molly finally lands a job. She is hired as a nanny for an uptight eight-year-old girl named Ray (Dakota Fanning) who's often ignored by her busy, music executive mother (Heather Locklear). Molly and Ray couldn't be any more different: Molly is an adult but acts like a child, and Ray is a child who acts like an adult. Although they clash at first, they come together and learn to act their age and become best friends. The movie opens with a party for Molly's 22nd birthday at an exclusive dance club, arranged by her chaste childhood best friend Ingrid and Huey, a producer. In the club's ladies room, Molly thinks she's alone and expresses her insecurity over her appearance and says, "Why would I be getting a worry wrinkle?", and she receives an unexpected rejoinder from Ray, a precocious and dour 8-year-old girl who says,"Why would you think anyone would care?". Ray is equally rude and condescending to Molly and to Huey, who is trying to babysit her for his boss, who "can't keep a nanny ... fired their third one this month today." Molly instantly falls for singer Neal Fox (Jesse Spencer). Huey says Neal is celibate for the sake of his musical career, and Ingrid also tries to discourage her, but Molly sees Neal as a "rock and roll poet sex god" and begins to pursue him. She proves she's Tommy Gunn's daughter by showing Neal her father's guitar collection, 16 electric and 1 acoustic on which he wrote the classic "Molly Smiles" (which begins "Daddy's little girl ...") The song is too poignant for Molly to let Neal sing it to her, because her parents died on the way back from the Budokan concert which premiered it. Neal stays the night, breaking his vow "not ... to have romantic relationships my first year." Feeling smothered by Molly's attention and objecting to the chaos of her "looking-glass" world, he gets ready to go home. Meanwhile, the TV shows Wile E. Coyote vainly pursuing the Roadrunner. (The power, which was off the night before, has mysteriously been restored.) Ingrid comes over and scolds Molly for her filthy apartment "beyond its normal grotesque" and refuses to console her by contradicting her plaintive "He's gone. I have no life," because "As your best friend, it's my duty not to lie to you." Ingrid tries to call accountant Bob to get the gas and electricity restored (Molly ignored the final notices), but the phone is out. Later, attorney Feldman explains that Bob milked her estate, even borrowing against her father's royalties, and advises Molly to "get a job". Molly applies at the store where Ingrid works, taking advantage of the employee discount to buy "900 thread count" Egyptian cotton sheets for $1300. She spends all night at Neal's apartment and is found the next morning asleep on a store display and is fired. Huey comes to the rescue and attempts to kill two birds with one stone by getting Molly a job with his own boss Roma (Ray's mother). When Ray finds out at the last moment that Molly is her new nanny, she is less than thrilled. Molly is way underdressed for the Upper East Side. Molly looks clumsy as well as inappropriately attired, breaking a high-heel sandals on the street and destroying the hall closet. In Ray's luxurious but spare home (on Fifth Avenue, directly across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art), she encounters an impersonal doctor and nurse caring for a man in a coma. Ray shuts Molly out of her private life, refusing to tell her that the man is her father (as we learn later). In a symbolic moment showing how stringent are the requirements to gain entry into Ray's world, she curtly yells "Shoes!" before Molly can walk on the immaculate hardwood floor of her room, as she always goes barefoot. In a blatant contrast to Molly's mess and chaos, Ray's room is "so orderly" that the dolls are all on shelves (not to be played with), a bed and small computer desk are tucked up against the windows, and the only other furniture is a small table set for a tea party. "Hey, you don't touch that unless I happen to invite you for tea. You just got your germy drool all over my plastic scones." Ray angrily sprays the contaminated toy morsel. The relationship proceeds rapidly downhill from this inauspicious start with an argument over how to wash dishes. Ray actually calls her new nanny a "tree-loving barefoot hippie" and Molly quits and gets a bloody nose from the swinging door. The barefoot Molly returns to her apartment, only to find her pet pig ("Muu", based on the Thai word for pig) tied to the doorknob in the hallway. She's been locked out, due to nonpayment of rent and having a pig in her pigpen of an apartment. They tell her that she can claim whatever possession she needs until she is banned from her apartment building. Still barefoot and determined to succeed, she tries to visit Neal later that rainy night, but he ignores the door buzzer. They haven't exactly broken up; he's got her sheets, she's got his jacket. The next day, Ingrid invites her to live with her, but she brings way too much stuff, so Ingrid advises Molly to "downsize" and "find her center". She also insists Molly pay half the rent. Molly drops in on Ray, who after her ballet class pointedly declines to participate in freestyle dancing while the other girls enjoy taking a break from classical music for 5 minutes of On Broadway. Molly begs for her nanny job back and is accepted "on probation". As the music continues in the background, Molly dances in jubilant circles around Ray, her long blonde hair swinging as ever-somber Ray walks steadily down a Central Park path. Ray defends her refusal with a Mikhail Baryshnikov quote: "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun." This conversation ends in another quarrel, and Ray gives Molly the finger (although when the movie premieres on television it shows that Ray balls up her fist). Molly makes her "take it back" and then gives her "a surprise", the gift of her pet pig Mu. Quick cut to the next scene, a yard sale of Molly's belongings incongruously taking place on a ritzy Manhattan sidewalk. Ingrid gets her to sell a putter "that Tiger Woods gave to me at the Masters" for a mere ten dollars. In the next few scenes, Molly and Ray begin bonding, while Molly's klutzy accident-prone tendencies are highlighted. Ray even defends Molly from a schoolmate's slur: "Her au pair said my nanny was a slutbag whore." Eventually, Molly develops the strength to live on her own, reconciles with Neal who buys her father's guitars, develops a strong friendship with Ray, who dedicates her recital dance to Molly and freestyles, and begins rebuilding her fortune as a hot new designer.

Powerpuff Girls Z

Powerpuff Girls Z , Demashita! Pawapafu Gāruzu Zetto?, roughly They're Here! Powerpuff Girls Z) is the name for a Japanese television anime based upon the American animated television series The Powerpuff Girls. The anime is produced by Cartoon Network, Toei Animation, and Aniplex; with Yoshiya Ayugai and Mark Buhaj of Cartoon Network, Hiromi Seki, Hideo Katsumata producing, Hiroyuki Kakudou directing and Miho Shimogasa (of Sailor Moon fame) doing character design. As production occurs in Japan, Craig McCracken, the original creator of The Powerpuff Girls, is not directly involved in this project. The series, an anime reimagining of The Powerpuff Girls, debuted in Japan on July 1, 2006, on TV Tokyo, where the Japanese version of the original Powerpuff Girls premiered, as well as its affiliates, replacing Sugar Sugar Rune in its time slot, Saturday at 7:00 a.m. JST. Its final episode aired on June 30, 2007. Its time was replaced by Fight Tension School on July 7, 2007. Since August 1, 2006, it has also aired on AT-X.Since April 1, 2007, the program airs on Cartoon Network in Japan. The initial order was for about 52 episodes at 30 minutes each. Recently, Nami Miyahara, the voice actress of Miyako and Bubbles, posted an entry on her blog in which she mentions working with the staff and cast of the series after having not worked on the series for so long. As to whether or not this is referring to more episodes, an OVA, or a movie being produced is currently unknown. Cartoon Network has said it will be showing the anime worldwide. Taiwan became the first country to air the show outside Japan when the show aired there on 21 January 2008. The Ocean Group has also dubbed the official English version of the show and has been shown on several English-speaking markets; it is unknown when the show will make its appearance in the United States.

Story

In order to stop an ecological disaster, Ken Kitazawa used Chemical Z, a new form of the Professor's original substance Chemical X, to destroy a giant glacier. However, the impact of Chemical Z caused several black and white lights to appear in the Tokyo sky. Three ordinary girls, Momoko, Miyako, and Kaoru, were engulfed in white lights and soon became the new defenders of Tokyo City: the Powerpuff Girls Z. However, the numerous black lights caused others to turn to the side of evil. And so, using their ultra super powers, Hyper Blossom (Momoko), Rolling Bubbles (Miyako), and Powered Buttercup (Kaoru) dedicated their lives to defending Tokyo City from the likes of those swayed by the black lights and Him's black powder.

Characters

The Powerpuff Girls Z are the main heroines of the series. They are three thirteen-year-old girls from three different families, unlike the original Powerpuff Girls who were sisters created by Professor Utonium and attended kindergarten. When Chemical Z exploded into multiple black and white lights, Momoko Akatsutsumi, Miyako Gotokuji, and Kaoru Matsubara received white lights when they protected nearby children from it. Under the condition to keep their identity a secret as long as their needs were met, the girls transform into Hyper Blossom, Rolling Bubbles, and Powered Buttercup to protect Tokyo City. Momoko, Miyako and Kaoru use a yo-yo, a bubble wand and a hammer as their weapons, respectively. In addition, they all have basic abilities such as enhanced strength, enhanced speed, flight, weapon materialization, and atmosphere resistance. Their costumes also have some special abilities, including the ability to fit anyone of any size and withstand strong physical impact. The girls' battle cry is "The Lovely Fighting Science Legend: Powerpuff Girls Z!" Momoko Akatsutsumi , Akatsutsumi Momoko?)/ Hyper Blossom , . Momoko is the first member of the Powerpuff Girls Z squad. She spends a great deal of her time eating candy and dreaming about boys. She's also a bit of whiner and can act a bit spoiled. But as the leader of the powerpuff girls z, she's usually the first to come up with plans against the bad guys. She transforms using the phrase "Hyper Blossom" and uses a yo-yo. Like the original, she's the self-proclaimed leader of the team. However, she is more or less unlike her original counterpart as she is not as intelligent, is a bit boy-crazy by giving to crushes and romantic fantasies, and is an otaku. She is very familiar with the mahou shōjo genre, along with some typical anime/super sentai concepts and is regarded as a "hero maniac" in school, especially by Kaoru. One could say that her "nerdiness" as an otaku is the equivalent to the original Blossom's "nerdy intelligence." Momoko also has a strong appetite for candy and other sweets and spends much of her time snacking. Because of this, most of her attacks are named after types of food, most often sweets. Additionally, she dislikes celery and is afraid of bugs and dentists. Although often distracted and has been known to whine, Momoko tries her best to protect Tokyo City, lead the girls, and help her friends regardless of her situation (In one instance, when Momoko is unable to transform, she tries to fight alongside Bubbles and Buttercup wearing a sentai hero mask). Often she can be very clever and crafty when needed, usually being the first to come up with a plan to trick or defeat a monster that the girls are having trouble with. She has a younger sister named Kuriko. She is represented by hearts. She dreams of being married in the future./Rolling Bubbles Rōringu Baburusu?, Seiyū: Nami Miyahara). Miyako is the second member of the Powerpuff Girls Z team. She transforms using the phrase "Rolling Bubbles" and uses a bubble wand as a weapon. She is quite friendly and trendy, so it's no surprise that she's popular among boys. She can also a bit clueless. However, she is respectful of others,and can be quite mature. In comparison to the original Bubbles, who was known for being the most childish of the girls, Miyako is the ditsiest member of the three, often appearing a bit clueless, and doesn't seem to understand her powers completely, along with a few other things. She is the only member of the girls who, like some villains, end a few sentences with a phrase; hers is desu wa. She is, however, a little more mature than some of the girls in the team and will try to calm any situation, although she too can be angered when provoked. She is also very polite and always uses honorifics at the end of names. She is more concerned with shopping, her appearance and her outfits, and perhaps because of this, she seems to be very popular among her male classmates. While she seems oblivious to the many boys that love her, she already "loves" Takaaki (or Taka-chan as she called him), a boy on whom she maybe has had a crush ever since she was six years old. She retains her hairstyle during the reimagining, but her pigtails are slightly longer, and curl into ringlets. She also uses curlers (3 balls on each pigtail) when going to bed. Miyako/Bubbles remains typified, however, by the original's compassion, gentleness and innocence, as well as her love of animals and her favorite doll, Octi. In episode 34, it is revealed she lives with only her grandmother. Her parents live in Kyoto. The reason for this is yet left unexplained. She is represented by bubbles. She dreams of being a fashion designer or model in the future. Kaoru Matsubara/Powered Buttercup Kaoru is the third and final member of the Powerpuff Girls Z team. She transforms using the phrase "Powered Buttercup" and uses a Daruma Otoshi hammer. She hates skirts and other girly things-in fact, she even hates girls. Like the original Buttercup, Kaoru is a tomboy and is the most easily enraged of the three. She is known at school for being the most athletic girl as she plays tennis, practices martial arts, and numerous other activities, and spends a great deal of time watching sports on television. She is especially good at soccer due to her strengthened determination after receiving new soccer cleats from her brothers when she was younger. This may be part of the reason why she has so many fangirls, much to her dismay. She dislikes girls, who she considers very "girly". This includes Momoko and Miyako. This, in addition to the fact that she hates skirts, makes Kaoru the most reluctant of the girls, only joining due to the power it has given her. In later episodes, she begins to care about Momoko and Miyako and is no longer reluctant about joining them in whatever they do, but she often tries to act calm and indifferent. She speaks with a hard and masculine edge and rarely uses honorifics when speaking. Her greatest fear is ghosts. Kaoru lives with her father, who is a professional masked-wrestler, mother and two brothers, one older and one younger. It is thought that she has feelings for Butch because in episode 51 when the girls kissed the rowdyruff boys, Buttercup was the last to stop because she was told that she could stop now. She is represented by stars. She dreams of being a professional wrestler like her dad in the future.

Villains and monsters

Most of the villains of Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z were normal, everyday humans/animals/organisms/objects, until the explosion of the chemical Z ray and the effect of the black lights (or Him's black particles,) transformed them into "Monsters." The black light is drawn to people, animals, organisms or inanimate objects that were dominated by negative emotions and not only affects the appearance of its victims and grants them powers, but it magnifies their desires and removes their moral inhibitions. In the more recent episodes, Him (Kare) can also inflict darkness in the same way as the green lights with a black demon powder, creating monsters in the process. Whenever these villains cause trouble, the Powerpuff Girls Z must apprehend them and, for the most part, turn them over to Professor to be restored to their normal form with the Chemical Z Ray. At other times, when the trouble surrounding the darkness is vanquished, the black spores will not usually go away on their own.

Barbie

Barbie is a best-selling fashion doll launched in 1959. The doll is produced by Mattel, Inc., and is a major source of revenue for the company. The American businesswoman Ruth Handler (1916-2002) is regarded as the creator of Barbie, and the doll's design was inspired by a German doll called Bild Lilli. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for nearly fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parody of the doll and her lifestyle. In recent years, Barbie has faced increasing competition from the Bratz range of dolls.

History

Ruth Handler watched her daughter Barbara at play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors. During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across German toy doll called Bild Lilli.[1] The adult-figured Lilli doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she purchased three of them. She gave one to her daughter and took the others back to Mattel. The Lilli doll was based on a popular character appearing in a comic strip drawn by Reinhard Beuthin for the newspaper Die Bild-Zeitung. Lilli was a working girl who knew what she wanted and was not above using men to get it. The Lilli doll was first sold in Germany in 1955, and although it was initially sold to adults, it became popular with children who enjoyed dressing her up in outfits that were available separately. Upon her return to the United States, Handler reworked the design of the doll (with help from engineer Jack Ryan) and the doll was given a new name, Barbie, after Handler's daughter Barbara. The doll made its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959. This date is also used as Barbie's official birthday. Mattel acquired the rights to the Bild Lilli doll in 1964 and production of Lilli was stopped. The first Barbie doll wore a black and white zebra striped swimsuit and signature topknot ponytail, and was available as either a blonde or brunette. The doll was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model," with her clothes created by Mattel fashion designer Charlotte Johnson. The first Barbie dolls were manufactured in Japan, with their clothes hand-stitched by Japanese homeworkers. Around 350,000 Barbie dolls were sold during the first year of production. Ruth Handler believed that it was important for Barbie to have an adult appearance, and early market research showed that some parents were unhappy about the doll's chest, which had distinct breasts. Barbie's appearance has been changed many times, most notably in 1971 when the doll's eyes were adjusted to look forwards rather than having the demure sideways glance of the original model. Barbie was one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been copied widely by other toys. It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that three Barbie dolls are sold every second.The standard range of Barbie dolls and related accessories are manufactured to approximately 1/6th scale, which is also known as playscale. Barbie products include not only the range of dolls with their clothes and accessories, but also a huge range of Barbie branded goods such as books, fashion items and video games. Barbie has appeared in a series of animated films and makes a brief guest appearance in the 1999 film Toy Story 2. Almost uniquely for a toy fashion doll, Barbie has become a cultural icon and has been given honors that are rare in the toy world. In 1974 a section of Times Square in New York City was renamed Barbie Boulevard for a week, while in 1985 the artist Andy Warhol created a painting of Barbie

Biography

Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. In a series of novels published by Random House in the 1960s, her parents' names are given as George and Margaret Roberts from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin. Barbie has been said to attend Willows High School and Manhattan International High School in New York City, based on the real-life Stuyvesant High School. She has an on-off romantic relationship with her beau Ken (Ken Carson), who first appeared in 1961. Like Barbie, Ken shares his name with one of Ruth Handler's children. A news release from Mattel in February 2004 announced that Barbie and Ken had decided to split up, but in February 2006 they were back together again. Barbie has had over forty pets including cats and dogs, horses, a panda, a lion cub, and a zebra. She has owned a wide range of vehicles, including pink convertibles, trailers and jeeps. She also holds a pilot's license, and operates commercial airliners in addition to serving as a flight attendant. Barbie's careers are designed to show that women can take on a variety of roles in life, and the doll has been sold with a wide range of titles including Miss Astronaut Barbie (1965), Doctor Barbie (1988) and Nascar Barbie (1998). Mattel has created a range of companions for Barbie, including Hispanic Teresa, Midge, African American Christie and Steven (Christie's boyfriend). For more details, see the List of Barbie's friends and family.

Controversies

Barbie's popularity ensures that her effect on the play of Western children attracts a high degree of scrutiny. The criticisms leveled at her are often based on the assumption that children consider Barbie a role model and will attempt to emulate her. In September 2003 the Middle Eastern country of Saudi Arabia outlawed the sale of Barbie dolls, saying that she did not conform to the ideals of Islam. The Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stated "Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful." In Middle Eastern countries there is an alternative doll called Fulla which is similar to Barbie but is designed to be more acceptable to an Islamic market. Fulla is not made by the Mattel Corporation, and Barbie is still available in other Middle Eastern countries including Egypt.In Iran, Sara and Dara dolls are available as an alternative to Barbie. The word Barbie has come to be used as a derogatory slang term for a girl or woman who is considered shallow, most notably in the 1997 pop song Barbie Girl (see Parodies and lawsuits below). In July 1992 Mattel released Teen Talk Barbie, which spoke a number of phrases including "Will we ever have enough clothes?", "I love shopping!", and "Wanna have a pizza party?" Each doll was programmed to say four out of 270 possible phrases, so that no two dolls were likely to be the same. One of these 270 phrases was "Math class is tough!" Although only about 1.5% of all the dolls sold said the phrase, it led to criticism from the American Association of University Women. In October 1992 Mattel announced that Teen Talk Barbie would no longer say the phrase, and offered a swap to anyone who owned the doll. Barbie's waist has been widened in more recent versions of the doll One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a woman, leading to a risk that women who attempt to emulate her will become anorexic. A standard Barbie doll is 11.5 inches tall, giving a height of 5 feet 9 inches at 1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate. In 1965 Slumber Party Barbie came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which advised: "Don't eat." The doll also came with pink bathroom scales reading 110lb, which would be around 35lbs underweight for a woman 5 feet 9 inches tall. In 1997 Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs. Oreo Fun Barbie from 1997 became controversial due to a negative interpretation of the doll's name "Colored Francie" made her debut in 1967, and she is sometimes described as the first African American Barbie doll. However, she was produced using the existing head molds for the white Francie doll and lacked African characteristics other than a dark skin. The first African American doll in the Barbie range is usually regarded as Christie, who made her debut in 1968. Black Barbie and Hispanic Barbie were launched in 1980. In 1997 Mattel joined forces with Nabisco to launch a cross-promotion of Barbie with Oreo cookies. Oreo Fun Barbie was marketed as someone with whom little girls could play after class and share "America's favorite cookie." As had become the custom, Mattel manufactured both a white and a black version. Critics argued that in the African American community Oreo is a derogatory term meaning that the person is "black on the outside and white on the inside," like the chocolate sandwich cookie itself. The doll was unsuccessful and Mattel recalled the unsold stock, making it sought after by collectors. In May 1997 Mattel introduced Share a Smile Becky, a doll in a pink wheelchair. Kjersti Johnson, a 17-year-old high school student in Tacoma, Washington with cerebral palsy, pointed out that the doll would not fit into the elevator of Barbie's $100 Dream House. Mattel announced that it would redesign the house in the future to accommodate the doll. In March 2000 stories appeared in the media claiming that the hard vinyl used in vintage Barbie dolls could leak toxic chemicals, causing danger to children playing with them. The claim was rejected as false by technical experts. A modern Barbie doll has a body made from ABS plastic, while the head is made from soft PVC. In December 2005 Dr. Agnes Nairn at the University of Bath in England published research suggesting that girls often go through a stage where they hate their Barbie dolls and subject them to a range of punishments, including decapitation and placing the doll in a microwave oven. Dr. Nairn said: "It's as though disavowing Barbie is a rite of passage and a rejection of their past