The Influence Of Stereotypes

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. At least, that’s what is taught to believe at an early age. Elline Lipkin, however, holds fast to the understanding that as true as that saying may be, there are outside forces that are intent on readjusting our vision to “true beauty”: the kind that can be bought off the shelves. In her article, “Girls’ Bodies, Girls’ Selves: Body Image, Identity, and Sexuality”, Lipkin employs several different external resources to help demonstrate her belief that young girls’ (“Before they even abandon their teddy bears…“ (Para 2)) definition of their own appearance is polluted and distorted by the vastly massive world that is the American media. Besides pulling from other articles and fact sheets, she also effectively utilizes a clearly logical train of thought, an operative tone, and countless examples of emotional appeal.

Barbie’s first career was a super skinny teenage fashion model, therefore many young girls forced themselves to stop eating to make their appearance more like the doll’s. In the United States, about 85-90% of the people that have eating disorders are female, and most of them are under the age of 20. More than half admitted that Barbie was a major factor in developing their disorder. When the “Slumber Party Barbie” came out, it came with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 pounds and came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which gave the advice “Don’t Eat”. This made any child feel “that the only way to be happy and have a wonderful life if

Chimamanda Ngozi once said, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” (Stereotypes). Many stereotypes effect us. They can also have a negative effect and those affected by it can feel insecure because they may be judged or treated because of that certain stereotype. Stereotypes are labels that are unfairly placed on people, and they affect all of us.

Pressure on women to become increasingly thinner is not a new concept, its happened for centuries, but exposing girls to overly thin dolls, has not. Mother of three, Teresa, claims that “it’s just a doll.” Wrong. Several Australian researchers have concluded, through studies, that “playing with Barbie can make girls, as young

According to the society/media’s beauty standards and expectations, women are supposed to have big breasts, small waist, and big butt as said in the interview by my sister. From a young age, girls are taught about what they are supposed to look like through media. All these girls grow up to be women who have low self-esteems because they have been shown pictures of women who they do not look like but want to look like. Women want to fit into these unrealistic images because they are eager to be known as beautiful. Studies show that the more reality television a young girl watches, the more likely she is to find physical appearance important (Thompson, 2014). Research shows that women who consume more mainstream media, place a greater importance on sexiness and overall appearance than those who do not consume as much (Mazur,

I get the new issue of Cosmopolitan every month and each issue is pretty close to being the exact same. It’s filled with ads for the clothing brands, the latest beauty products and usually advice columns on sex or how to get a man. There was a story titled 3 Super Feminine Trends That Are Already Dominating NYFW, and it showed several photos of models walking down the runway in New York Fashion Week. Each one of the models looks emaciated. Their collar bones are popping out, their legs look like toothpicks, and the clothes that they are modeling are just hanging off of them, they don't even fit! I’ve always noticed how thin models were, and I’ve never understood why being extremely thin was a requirement to be a model. Its sad that a woman that is a size 4 is considered ‘plus size.’ The clothing ads include extremely photoshopped models, with thin bodies and perfect skin.

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

According to National Eating Disorders, “The rate of development of new cases of eating disorders have increased since the 1950’s”. Also, “In U.S., 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a significant eating disorder sometime in their life.” Which includes anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. As well as Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness reporting the statics that “currently 70 million people worldwide suffer from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia and about 90 percent of those with eating disorders are young women between the ages of 12 and 25”. Also, to remember that these are the same women that grew up playing with a Barbie doll or two when they were a little girl. These same women that grew up playing with Barbie are at an extremely high risk to be effected with an eating disorder due to so many years being associated with Barbie.

The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-Year-Old Girls. This scholarly article explains how girls are pressured to be thin because of the dolls they play with and society’s influences. Barbie dolls represent an “ultrathin” body type that most girls are affected by negatively as they want to achieve that unrealistic appearance. In 2002, Emme, a full figured doll, was produced to help promote positive body images for girls that play with the doll (Dittmar, Halliwell, and Ive, 2006). As no study had been done in the past on the influence of thinness of girls, the contributors to this article created a study to see how Barbie dolls’ ultrathin appearance, Emme’s full figured appearance, and having no doll at all would effect girls ages five to eight years old (Dittmar et al., 2006). The researches used the Revised Body Esteem scale to test the participants’ “thoughts and feelings about their body, including general appearance, beliefs about how others evaluate their looks, and also specifically their weight” (Dittmar et al., 2006). 162 girls in Southern England participated in this study, mainly being white, middle class girls, with a third of the girls in each year group in each doll group: Barbie doll, Emme doll, and no doll (Dittmar et al., 2006). 5 ½ to 6 ½ year olds were in group A, 6 ½ to 7 ½ year olds were in group B, and 7 ½ to 8

What happens often times trying to achieve these impossible standards is to control appetite at all times and willpower become essential, the body in affect becomes the enemy. Eating disorders have become a trend among woman and girls as they become increasingly conditioned to lose weight (be in control).

Beauty is on the inside, not the outside. One of the most well-known sayings in the world and today our shallow society still cares more about our looks rather than our personalities. The media wants society to look their best and strive for perfection. Why is it that every magazine displayed in the shops have models Photoshopped from head to toe? Why is it that unrealistic perfect body types are promoted all over the media, so young women start to believe they must be slim or they will not be perfect? How many young girls have started harming themselves because they cannot reach the impossible standards of beauty? The media needs to stop this now before it is too late. Promoting healthy living and encouraging girls to be confident with who they are on the outside and inside could change a lot of lives for the better.

Barbies have changed a lot over the years. Not just Barbies, but kids toys and dolls have made drastic improvements and advancements. The first toy can be traced back to ancient Greece in 10th century B.C. Dolls can be traced back even further. Since then, these plastic toys, specifically Barbies, have affected the body images of little girls. If Barbie was life size, she would be 5’9” and weigh only 110 pounds. Her body’s fat percentage would be so low that she wouldn’t be able to walk or even live a healthy life. Barbies are a positive and negative influence on young girls. She shows them that they can do whatever job they want, but on the other hand, she represents what our society thinks is the “perfect” body.

1. A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

Barbie dolls are made to be small, skinny, fashionable, and kid friendly. However, that friendly doll can have so much negativity involved with it. Young girls have to play with a doll that may have a smaller waist, smaller stomach, smaller legs, and smaller thighs. Young girls have to look at a Barbie doll that has an unhealthy and unrealistic body. Playing with a toy that is unrealistic makes a girl want to have a smaller figure. Barbie makes young girls feel dissatisfied with their body and appearance. Toys such as Barbie dolls can affect a child’s perception of body image.

Studies show how kids are starting to develop concerns about body image at much younger ages than one may think. Toys and games we play with can influence us in a huge way. For example, a lot of girls look up to Barbie and want to look just like her. There have even been girls who have had many plastic surgeries in order to achieve that “perfect Barbie body.” The effects Barbie and body image run deeper than you might have ever imagined.