Rofl! Barbie dolls don't bother me so much as seeing them standing in the snow facing monsters with nothing but scraps of cloth and a designer sword to protect them! Is real armor and warm clothing for these ladies too much to ask for? Or are these artists really saying they wish these poor gals to die a grisly death by monster or hypothermia? Hm... put in those terms... maybe it's option b?
In any event, I'm all for the two-tier system. As long as there are clear guidelines for what is to be conisdered 2nd-tier work and what isn't, and how one can qualify for it, I really don't see anything wrong with it, myself. As long as I can continue to use ShareCG to upload my work as a 1st tier user, I'm pretty happy with the idea.