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.
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
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,
“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.
Not many arguments or tests are done on the positive effects of Barbie. Sure, she is a role model but what about when girls set goals for themselves and later in life do not meet these expectations? Unlike Barbie, most of these goals are unrealistic and cannot be met. Barbie provies alternatives to the female stereotype of a mother and wife, but marriage isn’t perfect like the way it is portrayed. She goes through absolutely no struggles.
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
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...
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.
Why is it we allow toys do dictate how we live our lives or how are lives are molded? Why is it a Barbie World? We all know and love the doll, manufactured by Mattel, named “Barbie”. She was and is a part of every little girl’s childhood in one-way or another. She gave every little girl the hope she needed to believe that she could be anything she set her mind to through play, dress-up, movies etc. Barbie could be a Veterinarian, a Doctor, a Lawyer, and even an Astronaut. She promotes and gives little girls the right to dream of being anything they want to be. There are so many positives, as children learn their passions and desires through play. However, and, unfortunately there are some very big negatives that go along with having
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 significance of Barbie in contemporary American culture would represent the idealistic icon of modern success in America. This means that to be deemed as successful, one would obtain all four of Motz’s attributes: “wealth, beauty, popularity, and leisure (Motz 3).” In real life, the closest figures mirroring Barbie would be famous celebrities. Celebrities wield all four of the attributes in society, which is why they became famous in the first place. They accumulated a plethora of wealth; society admires their beauty/handsomeness; being famous means they’re popular; they have leisure to play around and accumulate a heap of currency. That is also why some people own dolls of their idolized celebrity(ies). Playing with a Barbie or their
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 ...
When I was very young, I owned very many Barbie dolls. To me, they were just so beautiful, and flawless, and I loved them very much. But the Barbie that said the most to me was the President Barbie. This spoke to me. It said that anyone, anywhere, of any gender, socioeconomic status, background, sexuality, ethnicity, race, or belief system could be anything they ever wanted to be, as long as they worked hard enough to achieve it. And this is a very important message, and it is a message that Barbie sends to people every day, all over the world.
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.