Waxing Away!!!

Mattel under fire over doll

A fashion doll designed by Mattel is encouraging young girls to tweeze and wax their body hair, US experts claimed Wednesday.

Clawdeen Wolf comes with a rundown of the doll's extensive hair-removal routine, which is impacting negatively on children, body image specialists said.

"My hair is worthy of a shampoo commercial, and that's just what grows on my legs. Plucking and shaving is definitely a full-time job but that's a small price to pay for being scarily fabulous," reads the character description of the teen werewolf doll.

The skimpily-dressed toy is part of Mattel's top-selling Monster High franchise - which is targeted at girls as young as six.

"These dolls are training girls to feel ashamed of their bodies, to focus on being sexually appealing and sexually attractive from a pre-pubescent age," human behavior and body image expert Dr. Patrick Wanis.

Body image expert Sarah Maria, added, "Mattel is essentially promoting and encouraging the belief in young girls that they need to sculpt, tweeze, wax, and otherwise change their bodies in order to be considered attractive to men."

Mattel, the makers of Barbie, denied the claims, and said that the dolls positively promote the acceptance of all individuals.

"Grounded in a clever and humorous storytelling, Monster High characters deliver a positive message of celebrating one's imperfections and embracing those of others," a Mattel spokesperson said in a statement