Women’s rights protesters disrupted the opening of a giant pink doll’s house in Berlin yesterday, saying the Barbie “Dreamhouse Experience” objectified women.

Promoting the doll made by Mattel Inc, the house allows paying visitors to try on Barbie’s clothes, play in her kitchen and have a go on her pink piano. The exhibition will be open until August 25.

A handful of protesters gathered outside the shocking pink house that has been erected in one of central Berlin’s greyest areas. A topless woman, a member of the Femen protest group, who had the slogan “Life in plastic is not fantastic” scrawled across her chest, set fire to a Barbie doll tied to a mini crucifix.

“There’s too much emphasis on becoming more beautiful and on being pretty and that puts an awful lot of pressure on girls as well as wasting capacities which they could use to simply be happy or for school,” said Stevie Meriel Schmiedel, a founding member of the “Pink Stinks” protest group.

“We’re protesting because Barbie would not be able to survive with her figure and yet she is an idol for many girls and that’s not healthy,” she said.

One protester held a placard which read: “Dear Barbie – don’t just bake cupcakes, eat them too!” (Reuters)