Barbie Based : A Barbaric Culture

While Barbie is known for giving off a bad message for children's body image, however she also has a very empowering massage. Many grownups believe that barbie has unrealistic body standards for young girls to look up to. Yet, many 6 to 10 year olds are not worrying about their body at this time of their life. Barbie was created in 1959, based off of Ruth Handler’s daughter’s fascination with an older doll. Her daughter wanted a teenage or grown up doll(“History”). Barbie was created by Ruth to show that a woman can do any job or any profession. "My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact a woman has choices."(“History”). In the 60’s and 90’s this was big because of all the women equality movements going on in America. Barbie also helps girls imagination. In a video recently released on Barbie’s website, it shows how Barbie can help a girl's imagination. In the video multiple young girls are seen doing grownup jobs. In the end it shows a little girl acting out the same jobs with her barbie dolls(“Imagine”). This shows that Barbie can help a girl imagine she can do anything just like the Barbie catch phrase, “Be who you want to be”. Barbie also has diversity. Christe, Barbie’s African American Best friend, was created to help make Barbie more diverse(Sherrow). There are even Latino Barbies

Since it is assumed that Barbie is meant for little girls, who just so happen to still be trying to figure out the world and how it works, these little girls look at their Barbie dolls and think that that is what a woman should look like. To a little girl, this plastic doll could be her best friend and her role model. The main issue with a little girl wanting to be like her Barbie doll is that Barbie’s physical

Introduction Barbie is one of the best-selling dolls in the world. This doll often resembles role models to young girls. What girl hasn’t had a Barbie doll in their lifetime? It is not unusual that at least 99% of girls in the population have or has had a Barbie. The main concern is with young girls up to the age of 10, with the idea image that Barbie provokes to these young minds.

3. Barbie dolls came into existence in 1959. During that time all dolls were infant dolls and Ruth Handler creator of the barbie dolls saw that “children will enjoy giving the Barbie adult roles” because it is different than playing with infant dolls. It has evolved over time, due to the improving technology, the dolls these days look very realistic. The social impact it has made is that it gives children a chance to play with more advanced toys and gives them the ability to admire Barbie’s achievements through her various career

Dolls before Barbie were designed incorporating the ideals of a mans era and the conformity of a women's role in the world. Barbie may have set the stage for the 1960's generation by exposing the youth to verity and free choice. Yet there is another matter in which Barbie may flawed.

Picture yourself as the ‘perfect’ woman. Embodying every woman’s dream. You are undeniably gorgeous, weighing in at 100 pounds, standing 6 feet tall and holding nearly 150 careers (barbiemedia.com). Yes, this is the beloved, ever so ‘inspirational’ childhood toy, the perfectly perfect Barbie Doll. Barbie is America’s most beloved toy, considering young girls between the ages of three and eleven own at least 10 Barbie’s throughout their childhood (‘Life in Plastic’). As creator of the Barbie Doll once said, “My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented that a woman has choices,” (Handler). However, Barbie has proved to serve the opposite effect and

As I was on the hunt for the perfect gift for an 8 year old’s birthday, I discovered the doll market is quite different than my coming of age. Undoubtedly, Barbie is still problematic, but now she has competitors, including Bratz, and Monster High dolls, who are noticeably thinner than barbie and dressed up to look like grown women getting ready for a night of clubbing than a game of tennis. As I pick up the first doll box, I find a doll chained up in a slither of clothing with a blank expression on her face, a prominent thigh gap, with the tagline “GREAT for girls ages 5 and up!” By all means, I never imagined in my life that I would miss Barbie. For that reason, I begin to sit myself down in the toy aisle to start googling everything I could about these dolls on my

In conclusion, Barbie’s changing fashions, interests and views have altered in response to suit pop culture throughout the years. Barbie is a physical personification of popular culture throughout the years, and she has grown to fit the world around her, to change with the ‘fads’ and ‘fashions’ of the time. However in some cases it seems as though she has transgressed us on some levels. Barbie is a palpable representation of the amount of change that has taken place over the decades, a change in social thinking, social constructs, fashion and beauty. The Barbie doll is the perfect representation of popular

Everyday we see young girls look to idols such as people and even play toys. Such thoughts make young girls feel they are not good enough and to strive to look like a doll a very important topic is slightly broken down in an article written by Cynthia Tucker called Barbie Madness. While she touches on the topic of how kids love their toys such as Barbie dolls, she discusses how obsessed they become in looking like them. However, even though she points out that children look up to Barbies, she turns it back around on the parents, stating that they play a much bigger role in their lives than any toy would. Breaking down the article the writer really shows how children are influenced by their environment, their parents, and how its important to encourage them to be themselves.

Barbie has evolved over the years representing many cultures while also showing the change in fashions interests and beliefs related to change in time. Barbie has changed and has donned dozens of costumes and styles. As the love for Barbie is greatly increasing the manufacturer of the idolized doll has expanded its "Fashionista" line, releasing more new Barbies according to people’s interests and beliefs.

Barbara Millicent Roberts, a tall, blue-eyed, blonde-haired, doll with full make-up from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin, since the 1960’s she has been in our lives. The oldest of five children, born to Margaret and George Roberts. Does her name sound familiar? The American businesswoman Ruth Handler's "Barbie" has evolved over the years and is still changing till this day. Throughout the years there have been vast altercations to the Barbie doll from the way it looks to her professions. But there’s one thing Barbie has not changed throughout the years, the inspiration she brought to many young girls and her role to represent

The question arises if the Barbie doll should be banned from our homes for imposing a negative view on the young girls of our society. Though she acts as a role model for most, can she also be the cause of the tearing down of self-esteem for others? This topic is nothing new, the beloved Barbie doll has been receiving criticism for her body since her release over fifty years ago. Meanwhile during her lifetime, she has broken the barrier for women to pursue careers that are mostly male dominated. So, does she still pose a threat to young girl’s views of their body or is she opening the door for girls to be who they want to be?

It wasn’t until the late 1960’s that critics began “comparing Barbie to a Playboy Bunny and calling her a corrupter of youth” (”Bad Girl” 3). One woman commented, “She’s an absurd representation of what a woman should be” (“Bad Girl” 3)-–and that’s exactly what many others thought she was, too. With such impossible real-life measurements of 5’9” tall, 36”-18”-33” bust, waist, and hip (Benstock and Ferriss 35), it’s easy to see why mothers across the country banned the doll from their homes and refused to let their impressionable young daughters be influenced by a piece of painted plastic (Bestock and Ferriss 35). Since dolls have often been responsible for teaching children what society deems important or beautiful, many concerned parents wondered why Mattel did not design a doll that taught more valuable lessons than dressing pretty and being dangerously skinny (Edut 19)? Who said a runway model was best suited for teaching a child what is beautiful anyway? “According to a Mattel spokesperson, a Kate Moss figure is better suited for today’s fashions” (Edut 19), and that is one reason why Barbie must be so disproportional. Actually, another reason for Barbie’s anorexic figure can be traced back long before Kate Moss and the fashion runway. Barbie was

Barbie, at the age of 41, is one of the longest living toys in America. Analyzing her early history can give a person a look into the societal trends and culture of the late 1950's and early 1960's. There is evidence of fashion innovations in Barbie's wardrobe. Also, one can see the perception of females by society, such as what they should look like, how they should act and dress, as well as what their future goals could be. The following essay follows Barbie's history from 1959 to 1963, covering her development, her appeal to children, and her existence as a cultural artifact of the time period.

The idea of Barbie came about when a woman named Ruth Handler was watching her daughter play with dolls. In the 1950’s, girls of all ages only had paper or cardboard dolls to play with and preferred to play with cut outs of teenagers and adult dolls. So, Ruth Handler thought to make The Teenage Fashion Doll for older girls, as a three dimensional doll, called Barbie, named after her daughter Barbara (Heppermann 2010). However, Mrs. Handler met resistance when she went to her husband with the idea, and he didn’t think her idea would work out. When they travelled to Germany, she found a doll called Bild Lilli. This doll was a strong-minded individual that would use all at her disposal to get what she wanted. Bild Lilli was