Sexism In The Barbie

In the New York Times article: “Barbie- Doll, Icon or Sexist Symbol” it shows how kids see Barbie. With her blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect body, she is seen as a symbol because it symbolizes that her intentions of having a thin body. The author

The object under consideration is the barbie doll. A barbie doll is a toy for children who have moved on from developmental toys to more sophisticated toys. Barbie doll fit an unrealistic size and shape figured doll that kids can play with in various ways. They can play dress up and do different things due to barbie having multiple careers paths she is able to take. It does promote a positive image to young girls because it promotes the idea that you can be anything you want to be, however, it still plants the idea of an unrealistic body image. Barbie is slender and tall and barbie dolls do not deviate from thing and this is problematic because it creates a certain kind of standard young girls begin to believe in.

In an article in Interview Magazine, Emily Prager discuses her opinions of Mattel's toy doll Barbie being designed by Jack Ryan, husband to Zsa Zsa Gabor, and designer of military missiles. The concept that a doll for young girls was designed by such a person greatly shocked Prager." Suddenly a lot of things made sense to me" says Prager. The element that Ryan designed Barbie may explain some of the key aspects of the doll itself.

Unfortunately, it also is highly unattainable and instills unrealistic goals in girls’ minds. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, there are up to 24 million people suffering from eating disorders and 86% of those are under the age of 20 (anad.org). That being said, negative adverse effects are often the results of our world placing the upmost importance on body image. At Radboud University, Doeschka Anschutz and Rutger Engels conducted an experiment designed to test the effects of playing with thin dolls on body image and food intake in 6-10 year old girls. After splitting the girls into three different groups where they either played with a thin doll, an average sized doll or a slightly oversized doll, as seen in figure one, the results yielded that indeed there were significant differences between the girls’ body image and food intake which was completely dependent on which doll they played with (Anschutz, Engels 625). For example, a girl that played with the thinnest doll, the Barbie Doll, consumed the least amount of food following playtime when girls that played with either the average sized doll or even slightly larger doll consumed significantly more food. This experiment explicitly highlights the unknown dangers associated with playing with Barbie Dolls at a young age. Immediately the doll caused young girls to see themselves as ‘too big’ or

A little girl’s world begins as such a wonderful place. Makeup, dresses, tea parties and prince charming are what little girls dream of. Marge Piercy uses a variety of poetic devises to convey the theme of stereotypes and the struggle girls face is brought to attention in this free verse twenty-five-line, open-form narrative poem titled “Barbie Doll.”

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

The two poems that I chose to write about are “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy and “homage to my hips” by Lucille Clifton. In Piercy’s biography says, “Her description of the girlchild in ‘Barbie Doll' is a not-so-thinly-veiled reference to herself. Piercy, however, did not sacrifice herself to patriarchy’s image of what an “ideal” woman should be; rather, she made herself into a crusader for women’s rights” ("Barbie Doll" 33). The quote helps me to understand Piercy’s views for this poem. She felt that she did not fit into the image of the perfect women of how society was seeing, but she would not let a man control her life.

has conformed to their societal standards. Although she has gained society's approval, she has lost herself. Growing up, this is something that most everyone can relate too.

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

In New York on March 9, 1959, Mattel introduced the Barbie doll to America. The thin, teenage fashion model that has a perfect slender nose, big eyes, a valumptuious bust, a narrow midsection, and curvy hips. It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries. Barbie is one of the first toys to have a marketing strategy based extensively on television advertising, which has been widely copied by other toys. Barbie has also appeared in a series of animated films such as Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. Barbie’s petite figure, perfectly arched eyebrows, and plastic smile has become the desired American image that many teenage

At first as she brings the readers in she explains how the Barbie doll seems harmless. It’s just something she plays with, some would say. What people don't realize that at a very young age children notice the world around them. They not only see it in their toys but television ads, the radio in the car, and even from friends at school. It’s installed in their minds that the world expects you to look a certain way and if you don't fit the profile your not pretty.

One online critic stated that Barbie is “a tall, tan, and a busty, blonde bombshell that needs to back off” (Dipity line 8). Barbie is designed to be approximately six foot tall and super skinny with pearly white teeth. She always looks good because of her makeup, and think about it. Do not most young girls want to experiment and dabble in the art of makeup at a young age? The connection is to constantly seeing Barbie’s unfailingly flawless face and wishing they could be more like her. In 1965, Mattel came out with a “Slumber Party Barbie.” The set came with a bathroom scale set at 110 pounds, and a book entitled “How to Lose Weight.” Inside this book, the advice: “Don’t Eat!” was given. Who wouldn’t want their young child seeing something like

Since it was first introduced to U.S. toy markets back in 1959 (Abramson 2009), the commercially successful Barbie doll has historically solidified its legacy in American consumer culture. It is every little girl’s rite of passage to be old enough to finally receive a Barbie. Although the gifting of a Barbie can be an exciting moment for children, its effects on their body images can leave lasting detrimental damage to their self-esteem. These damages often manifest themselves in multidimensional ways, with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia, being highly common examples. It may seem incredulous one doll can engender so much turmoil in a child’s life, but several developmental psychologists have demonstrated that the unrealistic body expectations espoused by Barbie have permanent implications for young girls’ developmental trajectories.

“Barbie Doll” is written by Marge Piercy in 1973, which owes its title to the famous Barbie toy line. This doll was notable for its unrealistic appearances and standards, with its extremely thin limbs and a focus on outer beauty. Piercy, a poet notable for her feminist approaches in her literature, has written this poem to criticise the strict gender norms that are placed upon women. Especially during the 1970s, when women were still facing large amounts of discrimination and were thought of as housewives, this poem demonstrates the struggles a young girl must go through in a patriarchal society. These struggles have often been linked with women being objectified and having to meet standards they could never reach, and has only led to creating

It was the only adult doll available when it came out. Barbie was sold in two kinds, blonde with striped swimming suit, and brunette with striped swimming suit. After this, doll sales rose and Mattel released two new Barbie outfits. “In 1963, the outfit "Barbie Baby-Sits" came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which advised: "Don't eat!". The same book was included in another ensemble called "Slumber Party" in 1965, along with a pink bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs., which would be around 35 lbs. underweight for a woman 5 feet 9 inches tall.” Mattel received criticism for this but said she was created thin so it would be easier for the clothes designers, and not because she didn't eat. She was very popular for a period of time, but then started receiving more criticism from parents that her proportions were unrealistic and there was lack of difference in culture of the