How Does Barbie Doll Affect Society

Song and Their Effect on Society

Aqua, a Danish pop group, released the song “Barbie Girl” in 1997. Barbie is the icon of American culture in the late twentieth century. The children’s toy was first introduced in the 1950s. After sixty years, Barbie was not only a mere plaything but also an icon of cultures which exists in our imagination. It then became the world’s best-selling toy for girls. Barbie was the ideal role model for all girls because she is a perfect doll with the perfect exterior: blue eyes and blonde flowing hair, perfect boyfriend, perfect family, perfect house, perfect car, and so on. Everything is perfect. Barbie doll is one of the most famous symbols of feminity in the society and it contributes to gender socialization. Barbie

It creates the social norms about the standards of beauty, “Media, including fashion magazines and music videos, are also cited as powerful influences on girl’s body image, or their belief about the “ideal” body weight and physique” (Grabe, Ward, and Hyde). The ideal body shape that Barbie doll represents in “Barbie Girl” gives teenager girls a complex about their figures. The result of it is the girls think they must strive to be beautiful and to live a perfect life, and they are obsessed by the idea of perfection. For example, the girl starts her diet or drinking medicine which advertised by the mass media so as to lose weight and attain her look, even if it leads to being unhealthy and dangerous for health. They consider makeup as beauty and always makeup when they go out. They also photoshop and edit their picture until they are satisfied in order to get their ideal look which is similar to Barbie’s appearance. According to Lord as quoted in Turkel’s article “All about Barbie: Distortions of a transitional object”, the truth is “For many small girls, a Barbie doll is the first tangible evidence of perfect female sexuality. With this as their role model, it is hardly surprising that so many girls grow up to have body-image problems and eating disorders. To me, Barbie represents the obsession with material values and an unachievable, distorted body image. If the doll's measurements are converted into human proportions, they would be a 39" - 21" - 33" figure. If she were real, she'd be so slender that she wouldn't be able to menstruate; the narrow hips and concave stomach would not have the necessary 17% - 22% body fat. It is interesting to note that soon after Barbie appeared, department-store mannequins were introduced that looked as though they had only 10% body fat”. Additionally, Barbie lives in the material world because she is the picture of worldwide fashion icons who always wear the