Daddy's darlings: sweet young things

CASE HISTORY FOUR

SUBJECT: Barbie M.

AGE: Sixteen When Barbie first entered our offices in the middle of last summer, I could tell right away that she came from an affluent family. She wore more make-up than girls her age usually did, and it appeared to be professionally applied. She wore expensive jewelry and was dressed in a fashion-oriented pants suit. Her fingernails were long and had been filed carefully to be all the same length with a common curve to their tips. Her fingernails and her toenails – which were visible at the ends of her high-heeled pumps – were painted a deep red color. She was a tall slim girl with the curves of a woman. I could tell that she was in tune with her sexuality. She swung her hips from side to side like a pendulum as she walked. She chain-smoked cigarettes during the course of the interview and frequently blew smoke rings. She sat with her long legs crossed and spoke in an off-the-cuff manner. Her hair was dark brown and had been cut short in a European style – obviously the work of an expensive coiffure. She smelled heavily of perfume, and I occasionally got the impression during the course of our first interview that the young rich girl was flirting with me.