Unlike Disney movies, Barbie goes beyond a movie or a little girl’s book series. Barbie has her own television series, movies series, kids’ books and any other possible merchandise item with Barbie’s face on it. Just as the popularity of Barbie merchandise among girls, Barbie strongly influence little girl’s life. However, Barbie is not a princess rather she is a doll with an adult body living on modern America. She doesn’t live on a faraway land and doesn’t have a happy ever after. She shops, eats, has parties and her friends are American girls not a crazy mouse or any other talking animal. Her description makes it sound like the perfect example to American girls, however, the television episode Barbie Life in the Dream House portrays an unrealistic life, a false idea of beauty, lifestyle and relationships.
The episode begins with a beautiful camera shot of the Barbie “Hollywood” sign while a happy summer song plays on the background. The camera angle focus on a single pink convertible driving through the empty street nest to the beach, were Barbie waving at two guys is introduced. Just looking at Barbie driving on her convertible through the empty street portrays a feeling of liberty, freedom and independence. Barbie being introduced on a pink convertible driving through an empty beach city describes her as the perfect independent collage graduate American girl. The scene changes to her huge pink house were adventures with her two younger sisters are shown. She seems like the perfect older sister taking her sisters with her to multiple adventures. Along with the two sisters Barbie is shown going shopping and just having a great time with her friends. Right on the introduction song the villain of the story wearing the typical vil...
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... and help her with her prince Ken.
The 21st century is the era in with social media, television and film plays a major role on the life of all Americans. Having cartoons like Barbie: Life in the Dream House gives a false idea of the way on which young adults should act to little girl. Barbie being the perfect, skinny, blond white girl living a far from reality lifestyle gives little girls the wrong idea of beauty. Throughout the entire episode never a zero size girl was shown. What does that tell a little girls? That to live a perfect and happy life they should be skinny? That there is no place for girls that don’t math with Barbie’s ideas? Certainly, giving girls the wrong idea of life is immoral but it’s even more terrifying the actions that girls are willing to take to fit into Barbie’s idea perfection like irregular eating habits, excess exercise and anorexia.
In Marge Piercy’s, “Barbie Doll,” we see the effect that society has on the expectations of women. A woman, like the girl described in ‘Barbie Doll’, should be perfect. She should know how to cook and clean, but most importantly be attractive according to the impossible stereotypes of womanly beauty. Many women in today’s society are compared to the unrealistic life and form of the doll. The doll, throughout many years, has transformed itself from a popular toy to a role model for actual women. The extremes to which women take this role model are implicated in this short, yet truthful poem.
“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
Martin, Melanie. “Negative Effects of Barbie on Girls.” eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
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.
Her poem, “Barbie Doll,” tells the story of a young girl who was short-lived. She was beaten down by society's expectations of what she should be. The poem was a major eye-opener for many, especially considering the time period it was written in. It helped to put the inappropriate and materialistic standards that women continued to be held up to on full display. It broadcasts the effects of these insane standards with an uncensored, real and raw approach.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.