"Boys don't play with Barbie"

by Keith
(Canada)

I was the youngest of three, 10 years and 9 years younger than my siblings respectively. My mom and dad really could barely afford the "accident" to begin with and worried that the expenses of hockey would bankrupt them. At 3, 4 ,5 ALL I ever wanted and asked for at Christmas was "Barbie and all the clothes" Many many hours were spent explaining to me that this wasn't possible. Even then, I remember thinking - whats the big problem? Shes a doll, thats all. This constant denial led me to basically steal barbies from my female cousins whenever I could (sorry Kelly)and has left me with a fascination with Mod era dolls that now I can afford to buy and am happy to indulge in. As a sidenote, I put my neice through her first year of university with my first collection that we sold together on Ebay...