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Should you buy your child a Barbie doll? In 1994, the New York Times published “Barbie: At 35, still a doll-like 40-18-32” in which Anna Quindlen argues that Barbie sends a terrible message to young girls that being thin and having a lot of clothes is important. Barbie would not be able to menstruate regularly if she was a normal woman because she is a 40-18-32 size. According to the University of Arizona study, “ninety percent expressed dissatisfaction with their own bodies and many said they saw dieting as a kind of all-purpose panacea” (par. 10). Many of the white girls that were asked about the description of the perfect girl, they said, “She’s 5 feet & inches, weighs just over 100 pounds, has long legs, and flowing hair” (par. 11). The description describes a living model of Barbie. According to Quindlen, Barbie causes girls to want to be skinny and go on crazy diets. Quindlen believes that Barbie will not die down. In fact,“‘Two Barbie dolls are sold every second’” (par. 17). Many parents continue to buy their children Barbie dolls. Quindlen wants Barbie to be put to rest by driving a silver stake into her heart. …show more content…
I would argue that Barbie does not cause girls to be unsatisfied with their body images because Barbie is just a doll that children play with. Barbie has a figure that many girls wants, but they understand that Barbie is just a doll. Barbie is not real. There are other factors, such as social media and other females, that causes young girls to want to lose weight. According to one study, “83 percent wanted to lose weight, although 62 percent were in the normal range” (par. 15). Most females see other females on social media and wishes to have a similar body image. “‘I think the reason I would diet would be to gain self-confidence,’ said one” (par. 10). Most females see other females, and they feel insecure. Barbie is not a terrible
In The Barbie Doll, the author writes about a girl' s life. The author starts off by describing her childhood. She was given dolls and toys like any other girl and she also wore hints of lipstick. This girl was healthy and rather intelligent. Even though she had possessed many good traits she was still looked at by others as "the girl with a big nose and fat legs". She exercised, dieted and smiled as much as possible to please those around her. She became tired of pleasing everyone else and decided to commit suicide. During her funeral those who she had tried to please in the past were the ones to comment about how beautiful she looked. Finally she had received the praise she was longing for.
In a world where many are led to believe that they fall short of what society depicts as “perfect”, it is still true that everyone is beautiful in their own way. There are even more demands on girls now a days than there has ever been before. Some may think they need to fit in, so they become someone they are not or they begin to act like a totally different person. “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, illustrates society’s high and unrealistic expectations on the physical appearance of women, while failing to see that a woman’s self-esteem is at risk of being diminished.
“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
Martin, Melanie. “Negative Effects of Barbie on Girls.” eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
It was very common to have a Barbie doll growing up, and it wasn’t just a toy, it was a representation of a “perfect life”. From dream houses, to boats, cars, a perfect boyfriend to exiting careers, Barbie had the perfect life. Barbie had the perfect lifestyle AND the perfect body, long legs, small waist and a curvy chest. This taught children from a very young age that having a boyfriend, a career, a house and a petite body is very important. (Worldpress 2011). Barbie’s “attention has been generated by the secondary role she plays in popular culture the artifact of female representation” (Wright 2003). Barbie isn’t just a toy, she mimics
"Barbie Doll" offers a sad but realistic view of the drastic consequences that can occur from living in a society that judges young women by unrealistic, false, and superficial values. Too often society fails young women by refusing to recognize, appreciate, and value true beauty, that which lies in young girls' hearts, spirits, and characters. These are the only true things that make a young lady beautiful, and the only qualities that can provide lasting happiness.
What girl would not and does not want to look like Barbie, or one of those models you see on at fashion shows, or even a famous actress? They have this body that every girl wants and will do anything to get; tall and thin. These models are everywhere; they surround us in magazines, posters, advertisements, television shows, music industry, and at shopping centers. This perfect women figure is surrounding us, making us, women, believe that that is the only figure accepted in this world. Those women who do not look like that are laughed at, and picked on. Women will do whatever is on their hands in order to get the body everyone considers accepting. A few will go to the extremes and cut down on the amount of meals they are eating, they’ll increase the time exercising, and some will even get plastic surgery done. All this for the “pe...
It has recently been brought up that media influences girls in pre-adolescence, which is highly likely since most young girls idolize Barbie (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). “Were Barbie a flesh-and-blood woman, her waist would be 39% smaller than that of anorexic patients, and her body weight would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate” (Rintala & Mustajoki, 1992). Most young girls wish that they could look like Barbie when they grew up, but if they knew the reality of having her measurements, their perceptions would probably change. Children frequently fantasize about who they will be, what they will do, and how they will look when they grow into adulthood. Advertisers use women that are abnormally thin, and even airbrush them to make them appear thinner.
The overview of the studies listed below are experimented and tested evaluations of the effects that thin dolls have on young girl’s body image. One study in particular finds and addresses that the dolls did directly affect the young girl’s food intake, but had no effect on body image. In this study the researchers used girls 6 to 10 years old, average sized dolls, and Legos in a controlled condition. This testing also required the girls to do a taste test, and questionnaires. The other study finds and addresses that Barbie’s could be a driver of negative body images in young girls. In this testing there were 162 young girls used, from ages 5 to 8. The young girls were shown pictures of Barbie, which is known to be slimmer, Emme Dolls, which
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.
206 paragraph one, (line 1), Sandra Cisneros reveals a model of how girls see themselves in the future. The girls felt the dolls represent the same story and scenario each time they came together and play with each other. The attitude, style and quality of dolls. The interchanging of clothes, character's likes and dislikes as depicted the deception by a doll; from a child's point of view. The girls noticed that when the male Barbie doll drops by the other Barbie would steal him away. A typical boy meets girls; girl thinks boy is cute; boy leaves with the opposite girl. This is a reflected of Sandra Cisneros’s short story "Barbie-Q, "p. 206 , paragraph 1 , (line 2 , 3 , 4 , and 5 ) . The girls are tired of the social scene the boy Barbie represents. They only want to play among themselves without any boys. The girls enjoyed looking forward to Christmas and receiving gifts of clothes for their Barbie dolls. This is also, reflected in the insults the girls shared among their future Barbie dolls. In the short story "Barbie-Q,” by Sandra Cisneros, the girls enjoyed going to the flea market, purchasing used clothes for Barbie dolls. Barbie dolls meant so much to the two little girls because they didn't care if their Barbie dolls were wearing hand-me-downs; second hand doll clothing sold alongside the street. The joy came from undressing and dressing up the dolls. The girls even found career clothes to match up to their doll's future. In the short
In the early 1960s, Barbie released a “Slumber Party Barbie”. In the set, it included a hairbrush, a weight scale that goes up to 110 pounds, and a diet book that says, “How to Lose Weight? Don’t Eat!” (“Brainwashed”). As for this, Barbie involuntarily unmasked their true message to girls which is if you want to be a Barbie you have to be 110 pounds, and not eat .An expert named Marci Warhaft- Nedler, the author of Body Image Survival Guide for parents, said “Barbie sends our girls one message, and it’s this, You can do anything and you can be anything-as long as you look like this: very tall, very thin, very Caucasian, and very beautiful” (Hains). Nedler exposed the harsh reality of the famous Barbie doll, that it portrays the stereotypical message to young girls that being thin, tall, white, and having a beautiful face will get you anywhere you want to be. Because of the claims made by experts, interrogations were made in order to inform people what Barbie would look like. In real life, Barbie would be approximately 5”6 in height, weight about 120 lbs., and her measurements would be 38 for chest, 18 for waist, and 34 for her waist. This notifies females that Barbie’s measurements are impossible to achieve since her measurements are remarkably off that would be unrealistic to achieve this body. Also, since her body fat percentage is extremely low, she wouldn’t be able to menstruate or live a healthy lifestyle (“Brainwashed”). Additionally, due to her out of place proportions , she would have to walk on her hands and knees (“Brainwashed”). Considering this. Since Barbie’s body is desired by many females, some have spent thousands of dollars to achieve the ideal Barbie look. Specifically, a woman named Cindy Jackson spent $55,000, and underwent 20 plastic surgeries to achieve her goal of becoming a real life Barbie doll (Body Body Image). blah. In the early
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
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, 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.