Barbie 's Impact On The Advancement Of The Young Ladies

The commonly held opinion of the fashion icon, Barbie, has contributed an impeccable standard for young girls--from the unhealthy body images for girls to the low self-assurance Barbie has brought upon them. To counteract the previous statement, with the help of Barbie’s many job titles, women 's equal rights and opportunities have flourished. The creator of Barbie, Ruth Handler, created her so that, “through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices,” (Mattel 2016) to serve a purpose as a role model to show kids to love themselves instead of trying to be like her.The unrealistic self image and lifestyle of glamour and riches were designed strictly for

Despite the controversy faced through the years Barbie is an ever relevant and popular toy for young children in America. The controversial topic of the matter being mostly dedicated to the appeal of whether Barbie sends a good message to kids, or not. What most people tend to overlook about Barbie is the reason and inspiration of her creation, the feminine cultivation she displays, and the diversity and positivity of her life and personality.

One study took a group of 6th grade girls and had them play with Barbie’s, then later asked them what their views of Barbie were:

Do you ever wonder why teenage girls have low self-confidence and are never satisfied with what they have? As young children, girls are indirectly taught what people think perfection looks like. Barbie portrays that exact image and life. Beginning at a young age girls are influenced by this doll, what they should look like, and what their life should be like. Young girls strive to achieve Barbie’s look which is life threatening to obtain.

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.

The Barbie doll has been a popular play toy for young girls since the late 1950s. Although the Barbie doll seem like an innocent toy, it has had an effect on little girls’ body images. Many studies have shown an association between young girls playing with Barbies and eating disorders. Even grown women want to resemble Barbie so badly that they start to do surgery on their bodies which can be very dangerous. This has led to the term, Barbie Syndrome, which refers to “the drive, often of adolescent girls, to attain impossible standards of beauty, projected by toys—e.g., Mattel’s Barbie Doll—and the media, resulting in failure and frustration, issues related to body

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

Barbie is an American legend. The glamourous plastic doll has proven to be a significant part of American culture for over five decades. She has inspired many children and adults since she arrived in 1959. It may be true that Barbie has unrealistic body proportions compared to real females, but her message is not expressed through her appearance. Her message is expressed through her actions in society. Barbie is a good role model for children and adults, because she helps stimulate a person’s imagination positively, teach children that they can be anything they want to be, and spread gender equality and feminism.

Motz’s asserts that the dolls give young girls the power the essentially be anything they wanted to be though they “reflect traditional, outdated roles for women”. The Barbie doll gives young women the idea that life can be spent with leisure without much effort. Considering the dolls have a different outfit for every task/event and portray a life of luxury, even while working or going to school. Motz’s says that the dolls are a symbol for modern American success which emphasizes “wealth, beauty, popularity and leisure”. The message these dolls convey negatively impact the identities of American women.

In Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll" a young girl is troubled by the classification of what it takes to become a beautiful woman. "Barbie Doll" details the image that society projects upon women. From an early age young women struggle to conform to the standards that society has defined for them. Beautiful dolls such as Barbie are frequently the first source of association that young girls have with the image that society has placed upon them.

What was that one doll every little girl just had to have growing up? What doll made little girls obsess with perfection? What doll set the unrealistic standards for girls starting at ages three or four? Barbie is a children’s toy that was first introduced to the market in 1959. Barbie was the perfect role model for all girls. She was perfectly skinny, had a perfect boyfriend and family, perfect hair, perfect house, perfect everything, but her existence is completely ironic. Although Mattel, creator of Barbie, attempts to make Barbie absolute perfection, all her imperfect buyers are wondering why they cannot look like the beautiful doll. She is responsible for the diminishing young girls’ self-confidence. Lisa Belkin believes girls in today’s society cannot comprehend what true beauty is because they were so entranced with the idea of Barbie in her online article “Banning Barbie.” Barbie should be pulled off the shelves immediately. Barbie’s looks, actions, and lust for materialistic objects are the blame for the degeneration of assurance in young girls and women.

The message the ever so popular Barbie doll has been trying to push to children all over the world has varied in a way over the years. In 1959, when Barbie was first released, it was all about the ‘girly’ barbie and how women should look like and what they have to do, kids were playing with a doll that had an ideal body and expectations barbie put in their minds were intangible. Barbie’s image has changed overs the years in effort to keep up with the change in pop culture. In the 1960’s, Barbie wore designer clothes and took most of her inspiration from the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, as well as wearing mini skirts and white go-go boots. During the 1970’s Barbies attire was very much fitting for the glitz and glamour of the decade.

Everyone knows the name Barbie. You’d be hard pressed to walk into a house of young children and not find Barbies laying around complete with all of her accessories; especially in the late 90’s or early millennium. Mattel, and more so Barbie herself, are easily household names worldwide. It’s an easy assumption that every young girl only wants Barbie dolls in her playroom, but maybe not for the right reasons. There has been controversy over Barbie since her introduction.

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.

She’s typically blonde, always thin, owns everything from princess gowns to runway clothes, a pink convertible, and a dream house, which makes her nothing like the average woman at all. So what does it say to children who believe Barbie is their role-model? Barbie has had many jobs, but Barbie is more focused on the glamour aspect of a woman’s life to truly show interest in a career. Dr. Eileen Zurbriggen, a professor of psychology at University of California, comments on the effects that playing with Barbie has on girls’ ideas on careers: "Playing with the Barbie suppresses their ideas about their own possible futures, but their ideas about the boys didn't change” (qtd. in Alter). It is true that Barbie has all of these fancy things, but Barbie is a hard-working girl who has had a collection of different careers. Another reason why people believe that Barbie isn’t good for children to own is that Barbie has a bad image, an overly sexualized and unhealthy image that subconsciously promotes girls to match her. In a study done by the University of Phoenix, it was suggested that the image that Barbie gave could lead children to eating disorders (Stampler). Studies have shown that if Barbie were a real woman, she would have to stand on all fours and only have half a liver. The overly sexualized image has always been a problem from the first Bikini Barbie, to the newest Sports Illustrated Barbie.