Her pin straight hair sways majestically with the wind, moving left and right. As always, her pearly whites are as shimmery as her rose lip stick. She sits steady in her blue Volkswagen Beetle. Since I could remember, dolls have always fascinated me. Reminiscing my childhood, I see numerous Barbie dolls, their clothes and accessories sprawled around my room. Barbies are seen as the epitome of perfection to young girls. As young girls progress, we seemingly begin to mimic their characteristics.
Mimicking others does not just stop at humans but also other species. For example, parrots have distinctive calls programmed into their brains. (Palmer) Domestic parrots are influenced by their owners speech and this is when mimicking begins. Parrots and young girls are influenced by others around them with their actions. Mimicking has derived from others and is seemingly natural and acceptable for some in society.
Just as mimicking, following the crowd is just as natural and common. Typically, when parents have daughters, the go-to toy just happen to be dolls, especially Barbies. Parents act on this choice unconsciously because of its popularity that appeals to many young girls and even parents. Child A receives a toy that Child B does not have. Yielding to Child B yearning for the toy Child A has, and eventually obtaining it. Since its release in 1959, Barbies and its popularity had expanded to many young girls all over the world. Growing up, my very own grandmother had grown up during the release of Mattel’s revolutionary creation. Generations have adopted Barbies into their children’s lives.
However, outliers are present because others view that Barbie serves as a bad role model to young girls because of her unrealistic features. ...
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...hem look older and seem more mature. (Dickens) Girls and women are all alike with why we apply makeup. To make us seem more attractive by boosting our self esteem and to give us more confidence. Not to say that natural beauty isn’t the way to go. We could all rock some red lips from time to time. Makeup had never appealed to me until high school because none of my friends had started wearing it until then. I recall my mom putting pink lipstick on me for parties and that’s all the recollection of makeup I have of my childhood. Teresa’s makeup had never caught my attention so much because I was busy admiring her similar traits to mine as many girls may have shared with their dolls.
Many are over criticizing Barbies because they are more than just a doll. They are role models in a sense that Barbie is an independent doll that can achieve any career that a man can.
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.
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
Martin, Melanie. “Negative Effects of Barbie on Girls.” eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
“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
Hoskins, S. (n.d.). The negative effects of barbie on young girls and the long term results. Retrieved from http://www.divinecaroline.com/life-etc/momhood/negative-effects-barbie-young-girls-long-term-results
In the short story "Barbie-Q,” by Sandra Cisneros, the young girls didn't mind they did not receive other things such as new Barbie's or Ken Barbie's and the friends to go along with the dolls (206). These girls were just happy to play with their own dolls. The girls have bonded with each other and they enjoy playing with each other's dolls. A doll brings two or more children together for fun and social entertainment. Have you ever listened to a child frequently you will hear a child say " so what” that means the child really don't care, it don't matter; nothing else mattered to the two little girls. In the short story "Barbie-Q,” by Sandra Cisneros to purchase a brand new Barbie doll meant that the dolls are expensive in the store so the girls are very happy and pleased to own a second hand Barbie. When the parent places the dolls in the child's hands the dolls take on the character of the owner's beauty; culture; how girls see themselves and the future when the kids are all grown up. Barbie is a fun toy to dress up. Each child has her or his own imagination of a Barbie doll. I, too, myself, like watching all the different cultural background Barbie dolls in the malls or Macy's Department Store around Christmas times. Most large department stores dress
In the poem, "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy is about how a young woman’s closest companion the ‘Barbie’ could likewise be the motivation behind why some young women have low self-regards. When a young woman plays with Barbie, she envisions all that she can become. During the adolescent years, some girls start to feel as if they‘re not good enough to be included in society. Women face constant pressure from media, peers and family to live up to their superficial expectation of resembling the perfect ‘Barbie Doll’. In my opinion, dolls should be age suitable and distinctive as related to a girl’s personality and body type.
The Barbie is a simple toy, just a plastic woman with bendable arms and legs. The Barbie ad is simple, but will appeal to millions of girls, Barbie is advertised as a “teenage fashion model, which is where problems come into play. The effects of the image of Barbie have come into view. Barbie is made with unrealistic and unattainable dimensions for a real woman. Barbie has a large bust, tiny neck, legs, and arms, and an unattainable hip to waist ratio. As very young girls play with Barbies they begin to believe at a very young age that Barbie is what they are suppose to look like, Barbie is perfect, that must be why everyone has one. If Barbie was created with attainable body dimensions the negative effects would be far greater and numerous young children would not be continually striving for something which is not attainable, but has been impacting them for years. Additionally Barbie is harmful to the economy as a whole because it uses resources such as plastic, energy, and manpower to produce. While providing nothing but unreasonable body expectations and self esteem issues to the millions of little girls they are bought
The doll continues to sell more successfully every year because like Motz stated, “when a girl plays with a baby doll, she becomes in her fantasy the doll’s mother. She talks directly to the doll…and becomes Barbie, manipulating Barbie, speaking for her and moving other dolls around engaging in role-playing activities. She can imitate adult speech, dress, and behavior…(Motz 1).” When a little girl plays with Barbie, she becomes engrossed and mesmerized into the actions, acting as if the little girl was the one acting everything out like in real life and assuming all of the success, despite the fact that Barbie does corrupt the girl’s vision of real life by living in a world of success, fame, and fortune. The little girl would feel a surge of happiness manipulating the Barbie’s to her likings. Moreover, like any other products, playing with Barbie’s also develops camaraderie with other Barbie loving girls. Within women’s lives, it would establish “identity among women in the micro level (Kirk and Rey 2-3).” Girls are typically exposed to other people through places in society such as school. Upon meeting friends, her friends could have an addiction to Barbie and influence the girl to wanting Barbie as well. Because of this, the girl would stop at nothing to eventually wield and manipulate Barbie’s. This is also due to “our sense of comfort and solace and others with whom they feel they belong with whom they share common value and interests (Kirk and Rey
It may seem trivial and go unnoticed to most, but by assigning Barbie a real career, people are able to identify with and recognize her. The marketers also provide Barbie with a life other than modeling, such as friends and a home. The Ken doll, which is commonly known as Barbie’s boyfriend, makes her appear more real to the audience. Girls are able to identify with the idea of a boyfriend, which makes the notion of Barbie seem more realistic and desirable. The same idea is applied to the many friends Barbie has been accompanied by over the years. Lastly, and perhaps most famously, Barbie, like almost all of the girls who play with her, have a home. The Barbie Dream House is just another clever way her marketing team has presented her to society as a real person. Humanizing Barbie, and portraying her in such a manner makes her more attractive to potential buyers. The girls who engage in play with dolls do not want merely a doll; they desire something they can relate to and envision in the real world. Imaginative play is a large portion of childhood, and the ability for children to posses a doll like Barbie , who represents a real person in society, is extremely valuable. The use of social constructionism in the marketing of products such as Barbie is both brilliant and effective.
The dolls that girl’s play with can influence them psychologically in how they think a woman should act, and gives them the idea that being hypersexual is okay. Barbie is a hot item when it comes to little girls that is all they want. Fashion expert Stephanie Hoskins talks about the effect Barbie has on young girls. Barbie is popular and she has so many clothes, what girl would not want to be like Barbie. In some countries Barbie is banned , “In 1995, Saudi Arabia banned the sale and purchasing of Barbie’s because it violated strict dress code for women” (Hoskins 1). The way Barbie dresses in some parts of the world is offensive. Maybe the USA should reconsider Barbie and the influence that she has. Even though the country she was banned in had strict dress codes for women maybe that is a good thing to have specific expectations for women. In Vanessa Br...
Barbie Dolls have been around since 1959 and what just seemed to be a harmless doll for young girls to play with, turned to a doll that would make every little girl worry about their insecurities. The Barbie doll was made to be the perfect example of what a girl is supposed to be. There has been a lot of controversy surround Barbie dolls because of the effects that it can have on little girls growing up. All girls that grew up playing with Barbies always expected that one day they grow up to be like Barbie. To much of their surprise they never grew up to be like Barbie because no one could ever been as perfect as Barbie. Another major problem with Barbie was that she was that Barbie only came in one color. Barbies were caucasian with blonde hair and blue eyes. For all the girls that did not have all of that it brought many insecurities growing up. In the poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, Piercy writes a story about a nameless girl that lived a
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.
One day, as Ruth Handler watched her daughter play with paper dolls, she noticed that often the dolls were put into adult scenarios, such as grocery shopping, working, et cetera (“The Creation of Barbie”). As most dolls in this era, the 1950’s, were either babies or small children, Handler got an idea: what if she created an adult doll (“The Creation of Barbie”)? So, she drew up a design for one, and she named her Barbie, after her daughter, Barbara (“The Creation of Barbie”). Then, in 1959, Mattel, a huge and very popular toy company, picked up the idea (“The Creation of Barbie”). Barbie made her first appearance in New York, at the annual toy fair (“The Creation of Barbie”). That year, 351,000 Barbie dolls were sold, which was a sales record in America (“The Creation of Barbie”). Today, Barbie continues to be the most popular doll in the world, with two sold every minute (“The Creation of Barbie”).
Barbie, a doll manufactured by Mattel, Inc., encourages an unrealistic body image, racial insensitivity, and contradictive goals, and it is having a negative influence on young girls everywhere. Launched in March 1959 by Ruth Handler, an American business woman and president of Mattel, Inc., Barbie quickly became popular and has gone on to sell three dolls every second, in over one hundred and fifty countries. However, Barbie’s rise to success has not been wholly positive – there have been numerous controversies, parodies, and lawsuits, all addressing a number of issues. One such issue is how Barbie promotes an unrealistic and unobtainable body image. For example, to scale, Barbie is five feet, nine inches tall, has a thirty six inch chest, eighteen inch waist, and thirty three inch hips. Had Barbie been a real person, she would not be able to walk, much less hold her head up. Secondly, Barbie is racially insensitive and perpetuates stereotypes. “Mexico Barbie,” from Barbie’s “ethnic” line, comes with a passport and a Chihuahua, as well as stereotypical red lace ribbons in her hair. Lastly, Barbie portrays goals that are both unobtainable and contradictive. Barbie has had a variety of careers, such as being a doctor, astronaut, and President of the United States, but also engages in stereotypical domestic activities, such as cleaning and baking. These characteristics are affecting young girls in a time when they are most developmentally susceptible, and teaching them a number of negative lessons.