Introducing Barbie

Ever heard of a girl called Barbara Millicent Roberts? She has been around for over 50 years and in that time, has had over 40 pets and  more then 100 jobs! I am talking about the famous Barbie doll. Did you know that two barbie dolls are sold every second. I bet you didn't know that Barbie was based on a German adult doll called  Bild Lilli (see below).

 This doll was based on a sexy cartoon character, published in a German news paper in 1952. This sexy adult doll was the predecessor of our modern barbie doll. 

Is it right that so many children spend hours playing with barbie dolls? She has become a cultural icon. I believe that barbie is not a good role model for young girls. Her unrealistic proportions, gives girls a warped perception of beauty from a very young age. If barbie was real, she would probably not be able to menstruate as she is too thin! This is definitely not a healthy image for young girls to be around and idolize.

 My argument is on why barbie should be taken off shelves.

If barbie were real

This image, is of a life sized barbie doll. It was made by a girl called Galia Slayen who has previously suffered from anorexia. She made this doll in order to show how ridiculous barbie would look if she was a real person. In a chapter on Barbies anthropometry (study of human kind) written by  Jacqueline Urla and Alan C. Swedlund, they come to the conclusion that if barbie was a real person she would be "clinically anorectic to say the least." An article in a BBC news magazine states that: only one in one thousand women would have a figure that is similar to barbies! Some articles even suggest that if barbie were real, she would have to walk on all fours! Whether this is completely true or not, it is obvious that barbie is a completely unrealistic depiction of a woman. It seems ridiculous that this is the doll that young girls are given!

Here's a picture of the model Katie Halchishick that suggests the plastic surgery that she would need to have to look like barbie:

It was featured in the "O magazine", read more about this here. Katie disapproves of the distorted womanly body image that barbie portrays and this photo is to prove her point. 

Isn't this shocking? I think that this model is beautiful and the amount of surgery that she would have to undergo to obtain this plastic, barbie-like beauty is crazy.

So if barbie's body is so unrealistic, why is she the doll that so many children play with? Don't you agree that it is wrong for a child to spend so much time playing with this doll? Her unrealistic, tiny, anorexic body is the one that girls all around the world dress up in little clothes and bring to life. This is so unhealthy for them! Barbie's distorted figure is the one that they become used to and even idolize, wishing to be like her!

Barbie goes too far

I've come across a barbie doll that was released in the 1950's called Slumber party barbie. Some aspects about this barbie are quite shocking. It came with multiple accessories including a pair of scales set at 110lbs (around 50 kg), not a very healthy weight for most woman. But it gets even worse! Also included in this edition was a book titled "how to lose weight" and on the back had the tip, "don't eat."

Imagine if you were given his as a child. This could easily encourage anorexia in young girls. This is the most extreme barbie that I could find. There is also a teen aged pregnancy barbie, it's possible that it's not a real barbie but I will include a photo for arguments sake.

Again I ask, what kind of message is this sending children? These barbies are so shocking and I honestly can't believe that a parent would buy this for their child. I think people underestimate the influence a barbie can have on a young girl.

Real life barbies

It is obvious that barbie has had a negative affect on some people. Since girls are given barbie from a young age, they may aspire to be like her.Take this Ukrainian girl for example, who had surgery to look like barbie.

She is only 21, and before and after photos of her show that she was beautiful before she had surgery!

Why would a girl do this to herself? It seems like Valeria thinks that barbie has the perfect body and, uncomftable with her own, thinks that if she too can look like barbie she will be "perfect". This is the dismal result that has come from our childhood toy's influence on girls. Obviously this is an extreme, but it proves the negative affect barbie has on girls. Valeries surgery to look like barbie will not only have an affect on her mental health, but also on her physical health. This article, suggests that Valeria would have to have gotten a lot of crazy work done to look the way she does now and she may have even had ribs removed. It also suggests in the article that having such platic surgery at such a young age may take its toll on her health.

Here's another real life barbie, her name is Cindy Jackson and she is an older barbie look-alike. Read about her story here. She too had a desire to look beautiful and turned to plastic surgery for this. She admits that she always wanted to look like barbie, even when she was 6 years old!

Don't you think these stories are so sad? Girls thinking that they aren't good enough and turning to plastic surgery. I know that getting rid of barbie might not solve the problem completely but it will take away one of the unrealistic bodies that is portrayed to young girls as "perfect." These woman are living proof of the sad results of our not so innocent barbie doll.

Other options

Since young girls love playing with Barbie dolls so much, it would be unfair to say that they should not play with dolls that are based on older woman.However, there are other dolls that children can play with. Below is a photo of a more realistic doll called "Emme", based on a real life, plus size model.

This doll aims to promote a healthy body image. It's proportions are much more realistic than Barbie's, with bigger hips and broader shoulders.

I think that dolls like this would have a much more positive effect on girls body image and should be sold in toy shops instead of the Barbie doll. Studies have been done on the different effects that the Emme doll has on young girls compared to the effect that the barbie doll has on young girls. The research shows that girls who were exposed tot he barbie doll ate less than those exposed to the Emme doll.The research is explained in this article. Another experiment shows that exposure to barbie dolls at a young age may have a negative effect on young girls body image and may lead to eating disorders.

Therefore, the Barbie doll should be replaced by more realistic dolls to promote a healthier body image in girls.

Conclusion

To conclude my filter blog on Barbie, I think that Barbie should be taken off shelves. Although Barbie has become a cultural icon, she has an extremely negative effect on girls body image. Barbie's proportions are completely distorted and it is unhealthy for children to be exposed to this. She does not have the "perfect" body and it is sad that so many girls grow up admiring this doll. If children were given a more realistic doll to play with it may solve some problems. Girls such as Valeria, have gone to extremes to look like Barbie and Cindy Jackson admits that as a young girl it was always her dream to look like Barbie. These woman have gone through extreme plastic surgery to look like Barbie. How sad is this! Barbie should not be given to young girls and maybe things like this wouldn't happen. This doll is so unhealthy for young girls to play with and I hope this blog has helped some people to see this.

References

Cox, L. (April 2012). 21-year-old 'Real-life Barbie doll' seeks international fame...but does she even exist?. Retrieved May 2012 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2133552/Valeria-Lukyanova-pictures-Real-life-Barbie-seeks-worlds-convincing-doll.html

Leung, R (February 2009). Becoming Barbie: Living Dolls. Retrieved May 2012 from http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18559_162-632909.html

Mathur, A (April 2012). 'Living Doll' Valeria Lukyanova Before And After Make-Up: What Did She Do To Become World's Most Convincing Real-Life Barbie? (PHOTOS). Retrieved May 2012 fromhttp://www.ibtimes.com/articles/332960/20120425/valeria-lukyanova-s-before-make-up-looks.htm 
 
O'Brian, S. (Date) Barbie Doll Profile: What's Barbie really like? Retrieved May 2012 from http://seniorliving.about.com/od/babyboomers/p/barbie-doll.htm

Psychol, D (November 2006). Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5- to 8-year-old girls. Retrieved May 2012 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16569167

Slayen, G. (August 2011). The scary reality of a real-life Barbie doll. Retrieved May 2012 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/galia-slayen/the-scary-reality-of-a-re_b_845239.html

Sund, G. (May 2001). Cultural Icon. Retrieved May 2012 fromhttp://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/sund/dreamgirl/icon.html


Thomas, S. (November 2011). Slumber Party Barbie Kit with Scales and Weight Loss Book. Retrieved May 2012 from http://www.drsamanthathomas.com/blog/2011/11/slumber-party-barbie-kit-with-scales-and-weight-loss-book.html

Weiss, P. (October 2011). The Plastic Surgery a Model Needs to Look Like Barbie. Retrieved May 2012 from http://nz.lifestyle.yahoo.com/general/features/article/-/10479882/the-plastic-surgery-a-model-needs-to-look-like-barbie/#

Winterman, D. (March 2009). What would a real life barbie look like? Retrieved May 2012 from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7920962.stm