Family in the park today, mum, dad, two kids, classic upper middle class Guardian readers (nothing against Guardian readers btw, some of my closest friends etc, just trying to set the scene, i.e. they weren't the sort of people you'd expect to allow a Barbie doll within a mile of their house). Boy, I would guess six years old, with a barbie doll strapped to his back like a mini back-pack.
Now I'm all in favour of gender-neutral toys and I realize the kid might have developed a weird fetish for this doll which the parents had to go along with but the way the parents had strapped it onto his back was kind of like a trophy.
There was no way on earth this family would have allowed their daughter to play with a Barbie, let alone carry it around in public like a mini-me.
AIBU to think selecting a doll which pretty much defines the objectification of women/pinkification at its worst and encouraging your son to parade around with it as a symbol of how cool you are about gender roles is missing the point a bit?