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Late last night my dear partner (you remember, the city planner?) asked if I remembered the doll called something like Betsy Busty - the doll whose arm you twisted and her breasts grew. I admit, I jeered at him. But since we have a fast Internet connection, he was able to prove his point before I had even gotten a good laugh up and running. I give you: Growing Up Skipper and Growing Up Ginger.
You can kind of see the instructions on the Ginger box, but here's the easier-to-read version: twist Skipper's or Ginger's left arm, and her breasts grow larger and she gets taller (her waist lengthens). Apparently there was some controversy at the time (1975), but Skipper still went into production. Then later came Ginger.

I am, I admit, rather stunned by the outrageousness of this. The body image issues. The inappropriate puberty expectations. The bizarre plastic torso. I could go on.

Did you have a Growing Up Skipper/Ginger doll when you were a child? If you didn't, you probably did have some toy that you would never buy your child - as times change, so do our perception of the appropriateness of toys. So what toy(s) did you have that would be considered inappropriate by today's standards, either for safety or body image or some other reason?

You’ve gotta love this. Talk about taking wearing a condom to a whole new level!

These are all images taken during a fashion show at the Fourth Annual China Reproductive Health New Technologies & Products Expo. It was, rather unimaginatively, sponsored by Guilin Latex Factory, China’s largest condom manufacturer. But honestly, I can forgive a large amount of crass mass marketing when it results in wedding dresses made out of condoms.

Send some of these pictures to your teenager - and get started talking about how wearing a condom is both practical and stylish! :)

For Better Or For Worse is a great comic strip. The author, Lynn Johnston, is in partial retirement, so some of the strips that are running now are from the early years of the strip. This is one of those early strips (it also ran yesterday).

What a lovely image of how not to talk with kids about sex! You always need to find out just what they're asking before you start answering - and then do so in as simple terms as possible!