Mattel's Stereotypes

This all being said I think that the popularity of social media is taking away from young girls being young which is causing them to stray away from childhood toys like Barbies and Bratz. Also with the popularity of an “internet meme” taking the Barbie and Bratz image and suggesting things in a mature manner causes people to look at them in a manner aside from being a child’s play thing.

During the time of development and release of Barbie, the feminist movement was in full swing. The concept that Barbie may have been manufactured as a weapon against these feminist groups is plausible as the image of Barbie exploits the female body and challenges the values held by active feminists. Though, from a slightly different perspective, one could argue that Barbie with her freedoms and luxuries supports the ideals of women's equality and rights. Barbie may have been the transition piece of the decade, setting a new path for women and young girls.

Young girls have been playing with Barbie dolls since the dolls inception at the American International Toy Fair in New York. Recently, researchers have been skeptical on whether the dolls have an effect on the self-image of girls who play with them. In order to determine if Barbies have an impact on young-girls self-concept, clinicians have carried out several studies where they monitor the interaction between the young girls and the famous figurine. From these experiments, scientists concluded that Barbies can have a bearing on a girls self-image, making the consumers who buy the doll more aware of the issue Barbie

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

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.

Since 1965, Barbie, and more recently, the Bratz line of dolls, have been the poster children for beauty, despite their grotesquely disproportionate appearance. Barbie and Bratz dolls were meant to represents average girls in their teen years tall, flowing hair and incredibly thin, a body image that is not possible for every girl, though Mattel’s slogan “Barbie can be anything! And so can you!” might suggest otherwise. For the company to insist young girls compare themselves to the piece of plastic that is a Barbie doll, is completely outrageous. Looking at the doll 's physical appearance, it 's clear that a real person could never embody this image. Breaking down the doll’s structure, there are feet readily bent for high heels, long muscular legs and thin arms, not to mention the fact that the head of a Barbie or Bratz doll exceeds the width of it 's waist! To even begin to entertain this image is unrealistic. What are we telling

In the article, “ Influence of Barbie on Gender Identity” Barbie is considered to have a negative impact on households in America because of the way Barbie looks, discriminated as from other minorities, and the roles she has as a woman which are stereotypes. Many feel as though Barbie gives young girls insecurities at a young age and that when young girls interact with a Barbie they are supposed to act and think in a mature way. One person wrote in this article that Barbie has never influenced her gender identity when she was growing up. She never thought about Barbie as a bad influence. As she stated, “ All I was worried about was whether or not Barbie had all her accessories and looked pretty once I clothed her” (qtd.

In 1959 Mattel Toy releases a womanized figure called Barbie, a doll with unrealistic body proportions. Little girls all over the world idolized this toy, wanting to grow up just like Barbie. The blond hair, skinny waist and blue eyes toy. Parents were thrilled by this toy but little did they know it created a big self-esteem drop and brought their child’s insecurities up.

Barbie has been the main icon for many little girl all across the world. Barbie has the greatest impact on little girl because they often feel like they can’t live with a Barbie Doll. As a child, I could remember my cousin always talking about how Barbie was her role model and how she loved the clothes and shoes that Barbie was dressed in. So I would agree that the image of Barbie has been one that little girls have looked up too during their childhood. The Barbie does have good, yet bad effects on little girls. The good effects are that the Barbie dolls represents a symbol of equality and empowerment. This is done through the maker (Ruth Handler) who was the entrepreneur of the whole enterprise, and put the doll in place for equal pay for

In fact, the Barbie doll was so popular that three years after her release in 1959 Mattel was still filling orders from her first year (Long 17).

An Icon is familiar to people’s everyday life for it represents something that they believe in, something that is influential to mold the ways in which we view our world. In 1959, Barbie was created; today Barbie creates the way we look at ourselves and society. Up to date, 1 billion Barbie dolls have been sold. The number still being more than the population of the United States of America, Brazil and Pakistan combined. The Barbie brand is worth 2 million dollars (and counting) which is a little ahead of the luxury brand Armani.

The Miracle of Barbie Barbie’s advertisement is an excellent example of how marketing can shape a group of people’s identity and representation in whether society or culture. The main and first role for making Barbie’s advertisement is to attract children or more likely girls. The controversy is so obvious that whether consciously or unconsciously this advertisement has another significant role in the society; shaping and creating quandaries for females in both philosophical and cultural aspects is another important role of Barbie’s advertisement. This advertisement has been effective in benefiting and promoting the company and helps them selling their product and reach their goals, although the advertisement’s negative side has been more

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.

Mattel’s iconic and best-selling brand is The Barbie. Introduced in 1959 as “The Teenage Fashion Model,” Barbie allowed girls to experience fashion and to explore various dreams, fantasies and aspirations without ever leaving home. Because of the introduction of the television in the 1950 's, companies discovered a new consumer audience among children and teenagers. The post-war era saw a strong economy advancing the middle class suburban families. Now, buying toys became a year round business versus holiday or luxury items.

For opportunities, Barbie is a worldwide brand. So there is an opportunity for the company to use that reputation to increase its market share.