For more than 50 years, Barbie has, more than any other single figure in pop culture, encapsulated the image of beauty for American girls. But how well does she represent the average American woman?
When the doll first came on the market, it was sold as a "teen-age fashion model" and 350,000 were sold during the first year of production. Back then, Barbie looked a bit different.
This is Barbie from 1964 doing what she knew how to do at the time, model.
Today, Barbie is promoted as a career woman role model to young girls. Here she is as a TV reporter.
But aside from her changing profession, conflict has raged for decades among many who believe the doll's body type promotes unhealthy, unrealistic expectations for young impressionable girls.
At 1/6 the scale of a real woman, it might be hard to tell, but Barbie's measurements are astounding.
Real life Barbie would stand 5 feet 9 inches tall and weigh 110 lbs. She would have a 36-inch bust, an 18-inch waist and 33-inch hips. Researchers at the University of Helsinki found that she would likely lack the roughly 20 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate.
In 1963 and 1965 "Barbie Baby-sits" and "Slumber Party Barbie" both came with an accessory that was a book about "How to Lose Weight." The inside of the book advised one thing: "Don't eat." Barbie must have heeded that advice because if she were real her estimated BMI would put her in the range for anorexia.
In response to the criticism, Toy-maker Mattel released a Barbie with a bit larger waist line in 1997, which they said would, "better fit with today's fashions."
But some say the doll is still reinforcing negative female stereotypes in different ways. In 1999, Mattel came under fire for offering a barbie that was pre-programmed to say, "Math class is hard!"
Whether or not Barbie is a positive influence on young girls may be up for debate, but Americans should at the very least be mindful of the impressions we're leaving on impressionable youths, and parents should explain to their daughters that Barbie's body is not a reflection of real life.
Because if it were, this is what women would look like:
No, she wouldn't, because that thing in the last photo doesn't look like a Barbie doll. So it cannot be "what Barbie would look like if she was a real woman". If you made a doll that looked exactly like that thing in Barbie size, no-one would mistake it as a Barbie and it would not be able to use Barbie's clothes.
ReplyDeleteIt's a recommendable effort, but when exaggerated like that, you loose the effect.