Artist turns pre-owned Bratz dolls into notable women

If you fall into the “you can’t be what you can’t see” philosophy of life, then you may have been a bit disturbed by the evolution of highly sexualized Bratz dolls coveted by so many young children. But thanks to a clever Vancouver-based crafter, there’s a great opportunity for young kids to spend their time dreaming up ways to turn into inspirational, kick-ass women instead.

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Inspired by Sonia Singh’s Tree Change Dolls series, where Bratz dolls were given makeunders to make them look more natural, artist Wendy Tsao has created her own upcycled version of the ubiquitous doll, making them over to inspire young minds.

The goal of the Mighty Dolls series is to turn the pre-owned dolls into figures of empowerment, based on real-life females like Malala Yousafzai, Waris Dirie and Jane Goodall. To that end, she also includes inspiring quotes alongside photos of the dolls, reinforcing the awesome messages of these notable women.

In an interview with Seventeen, Tsao explained that her series was designed to ignite powerful aspirations in young minds: “I wonder if a child who plays with a doll of someone who is a real person who did some amazing things when they grow up might think more about real-life things and appreciate more the real potential that lies within all of us, than when she or he plays with say, a Disney character or Bratz doll.”

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“Perhaps a child can’t appreciate these role models, because these women are famous adults. Maybe we need to show children that these remarkable women were once children too. And that everyone has potential.”

She will be auctioning off a few of the dolls on eBay shortly. Details are available on her website.

Her project has already inspired others to suggest potential other doll creations, including Rosa Parks, Venus Williams, Aung San Suu Kyi, Leymah Gbowee, Emma Watson, Michelle Bachelet, Oprah Winfrey and Amelia Earhart. We love this list and would love to see what this clever crafter does next!

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