Have you ever played with a Barbie? An average American girl between the ages three and eleven have ten Barbies. They grew up surrounded by the Barbie body. The Barbie doll sets unrealistic body standards to young girls, that they “have” to achieve. The Barbie doll has been around since 1959, 59 years. It is one of the most popular children's toy, and still one of the most controversial. Women spend enough of their life dealing with the pressure from society and the media to be “perfect”, the Barbie doll is sending them off earlier, on that journey. By playing with these Barbie dolls young girls are subjected to the unrealistic image of Barbie. Likewise, if Barbie was an actual human being her measurements rarely occurs 1 in every 100,000. …show more content…
In one article, author Kathryn Gentzke said that, “Barbie has raised important questions in the study of female representation and has often sparked controversy as to the message this doll sends to the vast population of (primarily) young girls.” (Gentzke) The Barbie doll is still one of the most popular toys and one of the most controversial. Many people think that the Barbie doll doesn’t show how women want to be represented. In the same article it states that, “the propagation of such an unattainable beauty ideal, manifested in the Barbie doll starts young girls very early on an often lifelong struggle to personally attain that standard of physical perfection.” (Gentzke) If little girls are exposed to this type of unattainable beauty so early in their life, they think that they will eventually achieve it and that it is the “standard” of a woman. Furthermore, the Barbie dolls figure is nearly impossible to attain, says a study in Australia and the UK called Barbie at Life Size 1. In the article Barbie and Body Image it states, “If Barbie was a real women she would be 5’9” and weigh 120 pounds. Her body weight percentage would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate.” (Barbie) In the same article they state that “Her [Barbie's] measurements would be 38-18-34 (chest, waist, hips). The average woman's measurements on the other hand would be 41-34-43.” (Barbie) Barbies body was only …show more content…
In a study conducted by Oregon State University, in Pacific Standard, it states that “Girls who played with barbie thought they could do fewer jobs than boys could do. But girls who played with Mrs.Potato head reported nearly the same number of possible careers for themselves and for boys.”(Orenstien) This is saying that playing with a Barbie doll, could change the way girls see themselves in the future and what positions they can hold.What was genuinely shocking was that, “there was no significance in results between girls who played with a Barbie wearing a dress and the career focused, doctor version of the doll.”, this means that even the girls who played with the more “intelligent” Barbie still felt, like they couldn't be able to achieve it as well as the boys. On the other hand, many people believe that the Barbie doll is nothing more than child's
By this time Barbie was a very popular doll that a lot of young girls wanted to have in their hands. Mothers and other parents were liking the doll because she provided a sense of what the “grown-up” world would be like. Plus, a lot of girl’s loved playing dress up and playing pretend house wife. But Barbie was more than just the house wife, Barbie has a career, many of them and she was a fashion icon. Than Barbie, the classic Caucasian, bond headed went even farther. “In the 80s, she joined the multicultural movement and was depicted as African-American, Latina, and Asian”, (Friedman, 2006). Now, not only could girl choose what profession and career they wanted their dolls to be, but now they could choose the race they were and maker Barbie more like their own. Yet still parents started to notice the Barbie’s measurements and how unrealistic they were. They started to worry about of this would have a negative impact on their children when they grew up to be adults. I can use this article because it explains that Barbie came in different race now but her measurements were so unrealistic. This causes concern and many people still today wonder if Barbie has a part in why women stress over their body
In the beginning of “Barbie Doll”, pleasurable and unpleasurable imagery is given so that the reader can see the extremes girls go through to be considered perfect.
For starters the title, “Barbie Doll” holds a meaning. It symbolizes the ideal figure of a female body. Society creates this ideal that is embed into every century. It is never ending. It is intended that she must have the twig like arms and legs, the minuscule waist and nose,
In the essay 'Our Barbies, Ourselves,' Emily Prager explores the history of the Barbie doll and talks about the Barbie doll itself. Prager seems convinced that the Barbie doll was an object created by a man and that Barbie reeks of sexuality, sexual innuendo and serves as the anti-feminist embodiment of every man's fantasy. In her own expressive and persuasive modes to fashion an essay designed to persuade the reader that the Barbie doll is a twisted and corrupt tool designed by men to combat the feminist revolution. Though her attempts at persuasion are commendable, I was not swayed in my opinions on Barbie. If anything, I just found fault with this writer's point of view, and I found her accusations to be outrageous and her 'facts' to be completely wrong.
...et at 110 lbs with a book entitled "How to Lose Weight" with directions inside stating simply "Don't eat." Many have said that these dolls are what encourage young women to go to drastic measures to reach the body figure that seems to be valued in our society. However, Barbies are not to blame. Eating disorders were recognized in the 1800s, long before Barbie. And with today's 'skinny culture,' Barbie is simply a reflection of our society. If size 12 women were viewed by the media in the same light as a size 0 is today, Barbie would be made to reflect that. She may be a piece in the puzzle, but a tiny one at that.
Every woman grows up knowing that they one day want to be beautiful. In Marge Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” she gives an in depth look at what negative effects the concept of beauty can have on an individual. From infancy to a full grown adult woman, beauty has been a way of thinking and lifestyle. As a little girl you are given petite shaped, blonde, blue eyed dolls. While boys are given brawny soldiers and mechanical toys.
“If Barbie was designed by a man, suddenly a lot of things made sense to me,” says Emily Prager in her essay “Our Barbies, Ourselves” (Prager 354). Prager’s purpose for writing this essay is to explain the history of Barbie and how the doll itself has influenced and continue to influence our society today. Prager is appealing to the average girl, to those who can relate to the way she felt growing up with Barbie seen as the ideal woman. Emily Prager uses a constant shift between a formal and informal tone to effectively communicate her ideas that we view women today based upon the unrealistic expectations set forth by Barbie. By adopting this strategy she avoids making readers feel attacked and therefore
The poem, "Barbie Doll," written by Marge Piercy tells the story of a young girl growing up through the adolescence stage characterized by appearances and barbarity. The author uses imagery and fluctuating tone to describe the struggles the girl is experiencing during her teenage years, and the affects that can happen. The title of this poem is a good description of how most societies expect others, especially girls to look. Constantly, people are mocked for their appearance and expected to represent a "barbie-doll"-like figure. Few are "blessed" with this description. The female gender is positioned into the stereotype that women should be thin and beautiful. With this girl, the effects were detrimental. The first stanza describes the influence that a child is placed into during early childhood. Girls are expected to play with "dolls" and "stoves and irons," the usual toys that relate to the old-fashioned duties of women. A young girl begins to learn what she should be for society and not to deviate from the norm. The tone used in this stanza is quite silent and simplistic at first,...
The Barbie is a plastic, man-made female toy, which has perfect facial symmetry, unnatural body dimensions, and perfectly unblemished white skin. In Chris Semansky’s Overview of “Barbie Doll,” he explains that the Barbie “is invented to show women have been socialized into thinking of their bodies and behavior in relation to a male-controlled idea” (Semansky). The title directly alludes to the Barbie toy, which represents a design of a man-made construction of the female image that shows an unnatural human form that could only exist inside the imagination of men. Throughout both “Barbie Doll” and “The Birthmark” you will find the female protagonists seeking an ultimately perfect form, free of the characteristics that those around them see as unworthy. It is as if they are chasing the blueprint of perfection that is present in the Barbie. The original Barbie came with three outfits a bathing suit, a tennis outfit, and a wedding dress (Semansky). Her outfits clearly symbolize restrictions forced on female privilege, identity, and autonomy, where “she embodies the ideals and values of her middle-class American community” who expect her to “spend her days at the country club and her afternoons cooking dinner for her husband” (Semansky). This is directly similar to the “outfits” those around the women in “Barbie Doll” where the girlchild is born
(Steinberg: 271) Barbie is portrayed as this blonde perfect female and was made in the image of the perfect body type. Children idolize Barbie and the way she is advertised causes them to believe that your body is only supposed to look this way, everything is life is perfect and that they will not face any obstacles as life goes on. Steinberg mentions, “Thematically Mattel still hasn't invented the Homeless Barbie, the Abortion Barbie, the Alcoholic Barbie, or the S&M Bondage Barbie”. (Steinberg: 272) After reading this section I agreed with the statement “This Bitch Has Everything”. Mattel has painted a picture in the mind of young children that the perfect life can be created through their imagination and not that there are different paths that we all go through in life. Children lose their agency due to the fact that society has constructed and idea of what life is all about and children look to the media and the items around them for guidance and understanding of what is to be expected. Barbie creates the idea of what is the best and appropriate way to live your life as a
One of the most controversial aspects of Barbie is her appearance. Her body is widely criticized for being too thin and out of proportion. To see how a real woman would look if she attained Barbie's proportions, Winterman (2009) took the measurements of a woman who was 27 years old, 5 foot 2 inches tall and a size 10. She later applaied Barbie's measurements to the woman. In order to match the doll's proportions, the woman would have to grow 24 inches in height, which would make her extremely tall (7 feet 6 inches). A similar analysis on Barbie's measurements was made by Galia Slayen (2011). As a part of the first National Ea...
Imagine being a 5 year old girl playing with baby dolls and brushing your Barbie doll’s hair and feeling fat. A 5 year old feeling fat sounds crazy, right? Well with the influence Barbie has had for years is causing girls younger and younger to feel that their body is not “perfect”. Eating disorders, unrealistic expectations, and self-confidence are all at jeopardy once a young girl is rewarded with her first Barbie doll.
Those perfect days as a child when your countless days were filled with playtime. The time to set up those houses and dress the dolls up, and act out the future. “Through their play Barbara imagined their lives as adults. They used the dolls to reflect the adult world around them. They would sit and carry on conversations, making the dolls real people” (Ruth Handler). As a young child, it is all you look forward to in your future: being successful and confident, loved and cherished. Many dolls were used to project this. Specifically, the Barbie. Barbie is a positive role model girl should look up to for confidence and inspiration. She is a talented and educated career woman, self-sufficient in every aspect of her life, and a stunning example to young girls the body that is healthy and fit.
According to Lisa Belkin, Barbie is good for society because she’s fun to play with and she encourages little girls to use their imagination and dream big. Many young girls who play with Barbie dolls have realized that she is just a doll. Some of these little girls don’t have the desire to look like Barbie; they just think Barbie is just a doll that they play with and leave them everywhere. At a young age girls are given their first Barbie doll and thought what “perfect” should be. Barbie portrays the perfect image and life. Not only is Barbie tall, skinny, and beautiful, she has all the luxurious accessories to match her perfect life. To go along with her perfect life she is accompanied with the perfect boyfriend, family and dream house.At a young age girls are also being influenced by this doll, what they should look like, and what kind of life they sgould lead. Young girls strive to achieve this look which is life threatening to obtain. Regardless to the changes they made to Barbie, she is still far from real. Little girls that are mature enough don’t strive to look like Barbie because she’s just a plastic doll.(Debate.org, 9). According to “The Intentions behind the creation of Barbie”, Barbie dolls ...
Barbie was first launched in March 1959, after Ruth Handler, president of Mattel, Inc., went on a trip to Europe and discovered a unique German doll, “Bild Lilli.” The aforementioned doll was special in that she was an adult, whereas man...