Barbie’s taking a walk on the wild side — in a black leather body suit, black boots and gloves and fishnet hose.  I bet Ken’s really sorry she dumped him now.

Mattel unveiled their latest headline-grabbing Barbie, based on the Black Canary comic book character, at the toy show in New York.   According to the Barbie Collectors site,  super heroine Black Canary is known for her martial-arts skills and her “Canary Cry” — a high powered, sonic scream with the ability to shatter objects and incapacitate villains.

The doll will be released in September and  has already prompted this cover in the London tabloid “The Sun:” “S&M Barbie lashed by the public.”  

The story quotes British religious group Christian Voice as saying:

 “Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far. A children’s doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible - it’s filth.”

But the doll’s got some new fans, too. Several fetish and bondage sites have hailed her arrival.  That should be enough to let any parent with a set of eyes and working brain realize that this isn’t the best toy for their young child.  

Reportedly, Wal-Mart will carry this doll. Given the company’s conservative corporate image, I wonder how this will play out with parents who regularly shop there. Does this doll even belong in the toy aisle where little Madison will see her next to Barbie Mariposa, a fairy with wings?  

Mattel may be appealling to collectors and comic book fans and, let’s be honest, a few in the kinky crowd, but they’re also alienating their core buyers. In 2002, the company launched Catwoman Barbie - dressed head-to-toe in leather and brandishing a whip. This was on the heels of “Math is hard!” Barbie.

And the reason Barbie scandals evoke such a response is because she’s the iconic girl toy.  When she dresses like a stripper, she’s inspiring a whole legion of little girls who want to look like kinderwhores.