The Evil Mytwinn and American girl dolls , why buy a lifetime of hell?

I was standing outside the " banquet hall" waiting for our party to be called in when I saw a girl approaching in a nice dress with shapely leggs. My burgeoning fantasy was soon disrupted by a little girl pushing a doll stroller who darted out from behind the leggs and cut in front of her mother. What struck me was that the child and the doll bore a remarkable resemblance. The hair, clothes and facial features were almost identical. This was a Personalized My Twinn Toddler Doll. These dolls are similar to the American Girl dolls in that a picture of a child is sent to the company who in turn crafts a doll to match the child. The American Girl has become quite a rage and the MyTwinn is following suit.

I found it to be quite cute; a child pushing a child that looks excatly like her. But then my mind started to wander back to the leggs and back to the child and fear struck me: could this be the beginning of a mental and spiritual breakdown?

The typical child has a doll that has it's own name and personality ( as far as doll persona goes) and usually has it's own wardrobe. The doll gets pulled around, spoken to in third person, ends up in the attic a few years later. The child uses the doll to reflect he thoughts and practice her actions and expects little interaction and reverberation. Doll playing is a natural pastime for children and up until this point has been relatively harmless.

Along comes these twin dolls. No longer are children allowed to pretend play, now they are forced into introspective imagination. It is herself she is yelling at or tugging by the hair or not conversing with. When she is happy the doll doesn't smile, when sad there are no dolly tears or tummy aches when sick. In essence she is looking at herself; emotionless, thoughtless and mute. When she received the doll much fanfare was present and comparisons were made. "This is you Sally, see she even looks like you and dresses the same." Sally becomes the doll and the doll becomes Sally.

What should happen when the doll is presented and Sally realizes that her nose is big? Will the child not notice that her ears are to big for her head or that she has an unsightly mole or red hair? Will She scold the child for being late for dinner or acting up in school? Perhaps little Sally Jr will take all of the blame for her shortcomings and thereby removing all accountability from the real child. Which will become the " evil twin"? in that case?

As the child ages the dolls can be sent to be updated. Hair, clothes and facial features can be added or removed. Unfortunately this does not work retroactively. The young girl , then teen and eventual young adult will realize that her changes are outpacing the manufacturer and as each updated doll comes back to her she is faced with seeing herself age.

As she matures the girl becomes a woman and in doing do her body matures in a way she is not comfortable with. Breasts begin to drop, skin blemishes darken and cellulite appears , changes not seen on her doll. She becomes increasingly angry and desperate to regain her youth. Many women turn to plastic surgery to enhance their features, but the MyTwinn girl goes too far. She does not review a computer enhanced projection to determine her new look, she presents the doll. The doll serves as her hope to find the fountain of youth. Simple photographs are seen as just images of a moment caught in time but the doll serves as a living model in the owners eyes. Her obsession to return to her youthful form forces turbulence in her marriage, skepticism in her friends and jealousy with her children. Constant inspection of herself leaves her dissatisfied with almost every feature of her appearance. The doctors tell her she is over-reacting but she persists. Psychological consultations are ignored and the rage builds until she finally contacts a willing surgeon in Mexico who greedily accepts her request. The transformation takes years and the cost is in the thousands. The results are far from what was expected but she somehow feels redeemed. She has found her twin again, in her eyes, and together they hold mortality at bay.