Gabby Gets a Barbie

[GymDad9.9]

It's a fair question and to be honest, I don't fully know. I tend to recoil from self-promotion and find fame to be generally distasteful. It's got to be exhausting to constantly have to "put yourself out there" in order to keep the money coming in. But it's almost always a choice to continue down that road. She didn't HAVE to buy that huge house, or even move to LA at all. Those choices are necessitating things like this doll now.

I really don't have answers. I just know it isn't a life I would choose for my child, even if she were to become an Olympic gold medalist.

Again, I'm not just picking on Gabby. I'm finding Aly's promotion of her new sock line tiresome as well. And nearly every post Nastia puts on social media is her dressed up like a doll for some event. I get it, they've got to make money somehow. I just find the self-promotion method a bit beneath them. They are all amazing women. They don't need dolls or socks to prove that.

Honestly, I think I'm just showing my age. I acknowledge I can be an old fart when it comes to social media and the new era of fame. [emoji12]

Just yesterday CNN had a long piece on Mark Spitz. Going through his post-Olympics life following 1972 Munich Games the guy endorsed a wide range of products and dabbled (rather poorly) in acting. Upstanding guy who did the same thing Gabby Douglas is doing today but 44 years ago. Let's not forget the great Norwegian figure skater, Sonja Henie, who parlayed her Olympic fame in the late 20s and 30s into a lucrative Hollywood career, overseen by her father. Or Caitlyn Jenner or the 1980 U.S. Men's hockey team. The great track star Jesse Owens was denied the same opportunities because of his color, otherwise, he would have done the same.

As far as Gabby Douglas's family dynamics are concerned, like my wife says, you can't choose your family. It is her joy, her albatross, her Mishegas, her life.

 

[duyetanh]

Congrats to Amy Chow, just getting in to Standford(let alone finishing medical school) is a huge accomplishment. But college isn't for everyone. Owning a gym isn't for everyone. Coaching isn't for everyone. Sales is a perfectly respectable profession(at least in my book). I would consider sports celebrities who use the fame they achieved from athletic success to be salespeople for the products they endorse. Perfectly acceptable fall back career after sports career is over.

Yep, totally agree. But what I LOVED was that Olympics wasn't the end all.

 

[gymgal2600]

Does it seem a little suspicious to anyone else that this doll debuted the day after the team was announced?

 

[Deleted member 18037]

What's suspicious, it was decided she was in before trials

 

[CoachMeg]

Everyone needs to realize that sponsors are coming to HER, not the other way around. She wasn't emailing Barbie begging them to make her into a doll. They approached her and asked if she wanted to do it. Now, as far as the "suspicions" of it being marketed the day after trials...they probably were going to market it as the prior 2012 Olympic champion. But then when she made it (and let's face it, the entire world knew she was going to make it - and I don't disagree with Martha's choice), they could market it as 2012 Olympic champion AND 2016 Olympic team member. She was the perfect candidate.

Everyone also needs to realize the number of sponsors she turns down. She probably gets hundreds of emails a day with stupid sponsors you see other social media stars endorsing (teeth whitening, the stupid tea, makeup, etc etc). At least she's choosing stuff she's actually passionate about. I think the Barbie collaboration is a huge accomplishment. This Barbie represents a hard worker who achieved her goals.

Yes, I agree, it can get annoying when you look at their social media accounts and several of their posts are advertising some product. But they're training insane hours....they need to make money somehow. As far as the "fame" controversy....they are professional athletes, and like most professional athletes/artists/musicians/etc...they have a fan base. Look as US talk about them in this forum so often. They're full time job is gymnastics - I think we can all agree on that. Them endorsing products that they genuinely like is just supporting their Olympic journey, and helping them transition into life after gymnastics. And if they can make a comfortable career out of social media marketing for years to come, then good for them.

I think it's sad how many topics are revolving Gabby Douglas in a negative way. Just this thread alone was trying to stir up drama about her. People on this website belittle her as if the Olympics were just handed to her, and she didn't work for any of it. I didn't see ANYONE say negative things about Shawn or Nastia when they started endorsing products. Still today, half of their social media posts are advertisements. Yet....this is the first post on this website (that I've seen) saying negative things about endorsements...and it's centered around Gabby Douglas. Simone and Aly are both endorsing products yet....nothing said about them. I think we all need to get off the Gabby Douglas hate train and just focus on supporting Team USA. It's getting a bit petty at this point.

 

[txgymfan]

Plenty is said on other forums about Nastia and especially Shawn. Mary Lou Retton has her share of critics on social media too. Aly has a lower profile and gotten less scrutiny. Part of the negativity towards Gabby is the way she conducts herself in public, on social media and while on camera at meets. Her apparent attitude towards her teammates does not give me reason to cheer for her individually. By putting so much of her life on camera she opens herself up to more criticism.

Personally, I think part of why she made the team was logical, numbers based and part was $$ and politics. The Karoyli's played politics for years with their athletes and I am convinced it is still happening. All judged sports open the door for influence, it comes into play for some sports and athletes more than others both in terms of score and who makes the final team.

 

[rgmom]

Just yesterday CNN had a long piece on Mark Spitz. Going through his post-Olympics life following 1972 Munich Games the guy endorsed a wide range of products and dabbled (rather poorly) in acting. Upstanding guy who did the same thing Gabby Douglas is doing today but 44 years ago. Let's not forget the great Norwegian figure skater, Sonja Henie, who parlayed her Olympic fame in the late 20s and 30s into a lucrative Hollywood career, overseen by her father. Or Caitlyn Jenner or the 1980 U.S. Men's hockey team. The great track star Jesse Owens was denied the same opportunities because of his color, otherwise, he would have done the same.

As far as Gabby Douglas's family dynamics are concerned, like my wife says, you can't choose your family. It is her joy, her albatross, her Mishegas, her life.

Yes, I agree with you and your wife! I think everyone has some sort of mishegas in their lives, except Gabby's is public for the world to see.

 

[GymDad9.9]

Everyone needs to realize that sponsors are coming to HER, not the other way around. She wasn't emailing Barbie begging them to make her into a doll. They approached her and asked if she wanted to do it. Now, as far as the "suspicions" of it being marketed the day after trials...they probably were going to market it as the prior 2012 Olympic champion. But then when she made it (and let's face it, the entire world knew she was going to make it - and I don't disagree with Martha's choice), they could market it as 2012 Olympic champion AND 2016 Olympic team member. She was the perfect candidate.

Everyone also needs to realize the number of sponsors she turns down. She probably gets hundreds of emails a day with stupid sponsors you see other social media stars endorsing (teeth whitening, the stupid tea, makeup, etc etc). At least she's choosing stuff she's actually passionate about. I think the Barbie collaboration is a huge accomplishment. This Barbie represents a hard worker who achieved her goals.

Yes, I agree, it can get annoying when you look at their social media accounts and several of their posts are advertising some product. But they're training insane hours....they need to make money somehow. As far as the "fame" controversy....they are professional athletes, and like most professional athletes/artists/musicians/etc...they have a fan base. Look as US talk about them in this forum so often. They're full time job is gymnastics - I think we can all agree on that. Them endorsing products that they genuinely like is just supporting their Olympic journey, and helping them transition into life after gymnastics. And if they can make a comfortable career out of social media marketing for years to come, then good for them.

I think it's sad how many topics are revolving Gabby Douglas in a negative way. Just this thread alone was trying to stir up drama about her. People on this website belittle her as if the Olympics were just handed to her, and she didn't work for any of it. I didn't see ANYONE say negative things about Shawn or Nastia when they started endorsing products. Still today, half of their social media posts are advertisements. Yet....this is the first post on this website (that I've seen) saying negative things about endorsements...and it's centered around Gabby Douglas. Simone and Aly are both endorsing products yet....nothing said about them. I think we all need to get off the Gabby Douglas hate train and just focus on supporting Team USA. It's getting a bit petty at this point.

As the OP I feel compelled to explain my post. Quite simply it was to post the simple fact that Barbie was rolling out a Gabby Douglas doll. The one sentence that accompanied the link was tongue in cheek that was both a play on the expression "Let the Games Begin" and a nod to some of the negativity surrounding Gabby on this forum. Negativity that, if you checked, would not find me participating in. Later on in the thread I joked about the limbs on the doll and then defended the idea of athlete endorsements by pointing out that there is nothing new about it by providing examples of such going back 80 years.

How you were able to surmise that I am negative about Gabby Douglas reflects an incredible understanding of me that far surpasses my own understanding of self. You're way off.

 

[Sass&Caffeine]

Pop culture's attention span is short. No problem with Gabby getting a Barbie. I have more of a problem with her family basically making her life their "career"- sure that adds more pressure to an already very precarious sport. Have more problems with Raisman showing up in my Pinterest feed buck naked for the ESPN Body Issue. My kid looks for gym stuff on Pinterest and now she can't because of these pics. We teach girls it's not about what their bodies look like and then bare all to show it really is about how bodies look...