D’oh! Iranian officials have banned dolls based on Bart, Homer and the rest of the Simpsons clan in an ongoing fight against “Western intoxication,” Reuters reported. The ban comes a few weeks after Iran’s morality police pulled Barbie from the country’s shelves due to her “destructive cultural and social consequences.”
Mohammad Hossein Farjoo, secretary at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in Tehran, cited the Springfield family’s notoriously self-centered and irreligious attitudes as offensive, and thus not welcome in Iran. Iconic American superheroes like Superman and Spider-Man can remain, however, because they’re known to battle for the oppressed. Farjoo also explained that dolls with distinguishable genitals, as well as dolls of adults, are prohibited, the Associated Press reported.
In January, Iranian police shut down dozens of shops for selling Barbies, acting on long-standing negative sentiments toward the busty blonde doll. Despite ongoing bans on Western books, movies and fashion, Iranians have accessed Western culture through the black market. And toys are no exception — officials estimate that in 2011, $20 million worth of toys were smuggled across the Iranian border.(source)
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