Is Barbie A Good Role Model For Children?

In my opinion, I believe that kids should be playing with dolls that have normal features, or with action figures where the superheroes muscles/features should resemble to what an average person’s features should look like. Even though barbies help entertain girls and inspire them, I still believe that girls should be playing with dolls that have normal features. People aren’t really aware about the things kids actually thought about themselves when they play with barbie dolls or action figures. There are girls as young as five that are concerned about their body image. They believe that the way the barbie looks like is the same way they should look like when they get older. It isn’t just girls that think about this boys do to. Boys

In ads from decades past, Barbie was the stereotypical Caucasian, tall, blonde girl who every young girl desired to have in her toy-box. But the negative effects of the expectations and ideal that she would enforce into the minds of young girls would become an extremely heated topic among parents.

She's the classic American beauty, the woman we all dreamed of being at one point in our lives. She has long, tanned legs, cascades of blonde curls and has such perky breasts that she doesn't even need a bra. Although this character does not need air to breathe and is made of plastic, she has been one of America's most potent icons for more than 40 years and has affected girls in ways even human models aren't capable of. With 250 million Barbies in existence in the United States alone, there are more Barbies than there are people in the United States (Green 339). Barbie is adored by 8-year-old girls, collected by baby-boomer moms, and despised by feminists. No one can deny

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.

As a child, every girl dreamed of having a Barbie, but as an adult, I don’t think that was the maker’s objective to become an actual Barbie. “These skeptics in the Barbie debate view Barbie as a toy, stating that she does not have power or influence over little girls or grown women” (Virasin).

Emily Prager, in Our Barbies, Ourselves, stated that Barbies have influenced little girls around the world on what the perfect body looks like, when in reality there is no “perfect” body. Our Barbies, Ourselves states “here are millions of women who are

Young Girls look up to many people as role models, one role model that plays an immense part in their lives is Barbie. Barbie is defined as being pretty, beautiful, and even perfect. But is she really that wonderful as she seems? Her body shape is completely inaccurate representation of the female body and people get easily influenced by these unrealistic standards. If no one steps up to help young girls realize that Barbie is not perfect then they will have dissatisfaction with themselves forever. Body dissatisfaction is becoming more and more popular and one reason is that Barbie presents an unrealistic body image that affects young girls and their idea of a perfect life.

Although I do believe that the Barbie doll does affect a girl’s self-image, some people would disagree. For example, According to Mattel’s Culmone, Barbie is not the problem: “Girls view the world completely differently than grown-ups do. They don’t come at it with the same angles and baggage and all that stuff that we do. Clearly, the influences for girls on those types of issues, whether it’s body image or anything else, it’s proven, it’s peers, moms, parents, it’s their social circles (Laura Stampler,

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.

We have an eleven year old girl, and we do let her to play with Barbie dolls. However, we do not let her play with Bratz dolls. My fiancée thinks that the Bratz line of dolls are too sexualized, and I must admit, when I first saw them I joked that the Bratz line should be called “Street Walker Barbie.” I do think that negative body image is real problem, but the impact of dolls on body image is comparatively insignificant. Barbie dolls, which have been around for nearly sixty years, are not the cause of the current body image crises that is infecting the girls and woman of our country. We are contently bombarded by advertising, fashion magazines, video games, TV shows, and music videos, that dictate what beauty is supposed to be, setting unrealistic

Since her creation in 1959, Barbie has been a mainstream toy for young people in the U.S. In 1998, generally, young ladies in the U.s. claimed eight of these dolls and give or take two were bought consistently some place on the planet (Turkel, 1998). With every last bit of her notoriety and the determined part she plays in numerous young ladies ' lives, little research has yet been be carried out on whether she may have a hurtful impact on the advancement of the young ladies who cherish her.

Barbie embodied the lively American culture (Forman-Brunell 2). The patriarchal culture during this time, however, messaged that women were expected to obey their husbands. Their only purpose in life was to find a husband, have children, and keep a presentable house to please everyone. Women weren't even allowed to manage their own credit cards until the 1970s. Women and girls were not treated equitably. These values, on the whole, are not the values we operate under today. As our society has progressed, however, Barbie has remained

However, this new “New” Barbie line could work to socialize girls in a more positive way. Parents often struggle with giving their young girls a talk about body image and self preservation you could say, despite the fact that such a talk is crucial to their socialization as a woman. Introducing these new and realistic dolls is a way to teach girls about their bodies in puberty, helping them through their transition to become young women. Having such a doll also helps to socialize girls away from the negative stigma surrounding body image and dignity. The senior director of Barbie product and design said the changes “This is radical because were saying there isn’t this narrow standard of what a beautiful body looks like,”, rather then being used to the way society presents woman at a very young age. Additionally, the fact that this is a “Normal Barbie,” this doll can help to socialize girls to understand that all body types are

Barbie dolls have been one of the most popular toys for young girls since 1959, they are so popular that in the early 1990’s a collecting crazes among young girls broke out” (Barbie Media). What many may not know about barbies is that they have also been a very controversial topic amongst feminist for years. “Feminist claim that barbie's set an unhealthy and unfair beauty standard, leading to a crisis for young girls and their self esteem” (reddit). If a Barbie dolls were human size they would differ from the average women completely. The average woman weighs 166 pounds and is 5 feet and 5 inches tall with a 32 inch bust, and a 35 inch waist. “The barbie would stand 6 feet tall, weigh 100 pounds, and have a 39-inch bust, a 19-inch waist, and the hips of a prepubescent boy” (Samantha Olson). Surprisingly, young girls are a lot more conscious of their body weight and physical appearance. In fact, “42% of girls between the ages of 6-10 admit to wishing they were thinner” (Barbie media). Based on this research, it is proven that Barbies set unhealthy expectations for young girls with growing bodies. In summation, if Barbies create low self-esteem for young girls, why should society give the dolls so much publicity and praise?

Barbie dolls are the original figure for an unrealistic body. The disproportional body of Barbie has been a role model for many young girls for decades. Some girls do not see Barbie as a role model, some see Barbie as a role model in different jobs and activities, and some see Barbie as a role model for appearance. While there are different opinions about Barbie’s influence on appearance, many young girls are affected by Barbie’s unrealistic body expectations.