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Not Just Child’s Play: A Study of Barbie’s Effect on Self-Image Watch the clock for one minute. During that small interval of time, 150 Barbie dolls were sold. Over a billion dolls have been sold since the product was launched in 1956 (Goldstein 1). For a toy which grosses 1.9 million dollars in sales every year, one can see the enormous impact the Barbie craze has had all over the world (Goldstein 1). Not only has this craze made the doll become a childhood icon, but it has also aided in the diminishing self-image of girls worldwide. The doll may seem like a small, harmless toy just like any other plaything a child would enjoy, but studies have proven otherwise. The Barbie doll is notorious for her 42-18-33 inch, out of proportion body shape (Weiss 27). She flaunts herself in revealing, skin-tight clothing for all the young girls to mimic. In fact, the Barbie has branded the image of the perfect body into young girls’ minds, prematurely causing damage to their self-esteem as they grow-up. The distorted reality of the childhood icon, Barbie, has forced many adolescent girls to grow up with a negative self-image. Barbie came to life in 1956 when the co-founder of Mattel Toys, Ruth Handler, was taking a vacation in Switzerland (Baldwin 1). The Barbie doll was “an alternative to the paper dolls of the day” and was “based on a curvy blond from an adult comic strip” (Baldwin 1). Barbie has had more than eighty careers, including everything from housewife to astronaut (Wood 4). The black Barbie was not introduced until 1980, twenty-four years after the original Barbie came out (Wood 4). Barbie’s family consists of her sisters named Skipper, Stacie, Kelley and Tutti; a brother named Todd; cousins named Francie and Jazzie; and best friend named Midge (Kehoe 1). She even has an unbelievably stable relationship with her boyfriend. “She and Ken have been romantically involved since 1961, but have never married” (Kehoe 1). The family of the Barbie creator has experienced many hardships due to this fantasy doll. After the introduction of the Barbie doll, Ruth’s daughter Barbara experienced almost overnight popularity. After being called Barbie for so many years, even she asked her friends and relatives to discontinue the use of that name following the release of the Barbie doll (Wood 3). In reality, Barbie and Ken were brother and sister, being named after Ruth’s daughter and son, respectively. Ken Handler, Ruth’s son, also experienced the pains of fame when visiting his in-laws. When Ken arrived at their Wyoming home, he was greeted by “a long line of pre-pubescent girls on the doorstep” (Wood 3). The Barbie craze had begun, and already many girls saw these Barbie characters as real-life idols. Barbie’s measurements have been discussed time and time again. She is 11 and half feet tall, weighs 11 ounces, and in reality would be 5’6” weighing 110 pounds (Kehoe 1). “If Barbie were a real woman, she would have a 42 inch bust, an 18 inch waist, and 33 inch hips. An average woman has a 35 inch bust, a 29 inch waist, and 37 ½ inch hips” (Weiss 27). Knowing this, it is not difficult to see how distorted these proportions are from real life. She is “built to the same proportions as Pamela Lee Anderson” (Garfield 1). Her face, although flawless, was not liked by her own creator, but her body “‘was another story,’” with “breasts, a tiny waist and long, tapering legs” (Wood 2). Newsweek featured Barbie’s newest form where the “icon with the impossibly long legs and gravity-defying bosom” can be the “most glamorous identity of all” (Springen 1). Barbie’s hair and face can now even be personalized to look like her owner (Springen 1). Her low level of intelligence has also been a major complaint over the years. She is not much of a talker. She recently found herself at the center of controversy when she was programmed to say, “Math class is tough” and “Let’s go shopping,” among other statements that critics said reinforced an unfortunate stereotype of young women as unintellecutal.
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