PRO ARTICLE: Barbie Is An Incredible Role Model for My Kids By Kat Armstrong Jan 19, 2017
Of all the toys on toy shelves in 2017, there isn't one that causes more division, hatred and fury than the original "girl" toy, Barbie. Since her inception as a sexy toy for adults back in Germany to her first appearance stateside in the 1950s, Barbie has become ubiquitous, not just for her classic look, but for the ire that she brings to many parents. The argument: Barbie's body is unrealistic. She's not a "real" woman. She creates unhealthy beauty standards for daughters and she should be banned. What I think, however, is that Barbie is an incredible role model for daughters and sons, and it's high time to reevaluate the blonde in the pink box. Sure, Babs might have a strangely shaped body, but how about the positives? Barbie is a woman who owns her own house, car, has any clothing she wants, and has a boyfriend that she chooses to have, not one that her life revolves around. Ken is secondary to Barbie, because it's Barbie's world and he's just living in it. Besides her dream life, Barbie has had every. Single. Job. Ever. President Barbie? Check. Lawyer Barbie? Check. Astronaut Barbie? Check. I could go on and on, but I think you've got the point: This badass babe has done anything she set her mind to while also wearing the best dresses and going to wild parties. She's had all these jobs and a family of her own. Barbie's also got a cast of friends who are just as successful as her, and, thankfully, Mattel has, in recent years, expanded this friend group. Asian, black, Latina, Barbie's friends come from all walks of life, and their differences are never a problem. Because they shouldn't be. Friends are friends and no one makes a great deal out of any of it. Hell, you can even get a Lt. Uhura Barbie now. The original Queen B is breaking barriers in space, too. Some might argue that the biggest problem with Barbie is that her body is unrealistic — but she's a toy. I don't hear people complaining that stuffed animals are unrealistic representations of real animals. When people focus on Barbie's body, they're subtly telling their kids that they should be concerned with women's bodies over their achievements and abilities. This is body policing and body shaming all rolled into one. This is what we're teaching our kids when we rage against "ideal" bodies. Does the classic Barbie have a body that would be functional in real life? Nope. But focusing on that tells our kids that women's bodies should be the focus for both men and women around her. Speaking of boys and men, Barbie is an exceptional toy for them, too, as she can teach them a powerful lesson. I have three sons and they play with their Barbie dolls as much as they play with their trucks and Legos. When they play Barbie, they engage these women in their imaginations: as superheroes, construction workers, members of the military, and even as parents. My boys never question if a woman is capable of doing the same thing as a man, because they understand that although there may be differences visible to the eye, at the end of the day, men and women can all do the same things if they're given the opportunity. So when people rage against Barbie, what are they really angry at? My guess is that they're angry at society at large or the ways women and mothers have been treated in the world. But how about rather than insisting that a toy do the leg work for demanding equality, that parents start using the toy to create a kinder, more equal generation of kids? How about if your kids asks for a Barbie, you trust them to create new worlds in their imaginations instead of forcing them into the narrow boxes many women been forced into for much of our lives? There are many battles that will be fought as women, as mothers, as people, but instead of focusing so much negative energy, I think it's time we to take the tools we have available to us and turn tradition on its head. Is this toy perfect? No, of course not, nothing in life is, but Barbie's not going anywhere, and with her new varied body shapes — curvy, petite, tall —and even more career options available to her and to our children, let's embrace Barbie for all that she can do instead of forcing her back into that box — the metaphorical one, I mean — that women have been inside for too long.
CON ARTICLE: Why Barbie Is Not A Good Role Model Maggie Palmer • March 29, 2015
We live in a society full of superficial beauty and unrealistic expectations. We see women in magazines with photoshopped bodies and edited facial features. However, most of us don’t view them as “fake.” We see them as the idealistic appearance of what a “beautiful” woman is and what we should be striving for. Instead of seeing them as uniquely individual and beautiful people, we only see how close to perfection they outwardly appear. Why don’t we see them for who they truly are? I believe one major contributing factor in this skewed misconception of body image is from the Barbie doll. Mirror Mirror, a healthy body image website, stated that, “if Barbie was a real woman, she would be 5’6” and weigh 120 pounds. Her body fat percentage would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate. Her measurements would be 38-18-34. The average woman’s measurements, on the other hand, are about 41-34-43.” From an early age, little girls are bombarded with images of what the idealistic girl and women should look like even though it is next to impossible to achieve. Barbie is a blonde, beautiful young woman with an impossibly anorexic figure. Little girls don’t understand the problem behind the plastic; they see a fun doll to play with. That is the problem. Girls play with Barbies as if they were their friends or sometimes themselves. They pretend to live in a world that is perceived to be “better” than the reality of the world that surrounds them. Some skeptics may argue that Barbie is just a toy and has nothing to do with reality. However, every child is influenced by the toys they play with. That’s why society is constantly giving children toys that are designed to prepare them for their adult life. Toys such as doctor’s kits, plastic kitchens, shopping carts, and baby dolls are all components to steering a child into typical and stereotypical adult lives. Unfortunately, some women have taken Barbie to a whole new level. Valeria Valeryevna Lukyanova, a Moldovan-Ukrainian model and entertainer (pictured right), won the Ukrainian national beauty contest Miss Diamond Crown of Ukraine in 2007. She models herself after the Barbie doll. Kayleigh Dray, a journalist for Closer wrote an article on women as “human Barbies.” According to Dray, Lukyanova famously said: “Look, to me the Barbie doll looks perfect; it was created as a human idol. When I adopted her image, it felt very positive.” She claims that the only surgery she has had were breast implants. She achieves her “Barbie look” through makeup and large colored contact lenses, which she wears over her green eyes. Obviously, not all children are going to take Barbie to this extreme. Yet, this story highlights the effect the Barbie doll can have on a little girl’s perception on what beauty should be. The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness reports that, “70 million people worldwide suffer from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. About 90 percent of those with eating disorders are young women between the ages of 12 and 25.” An unhealthy body image is a huge problem in our society. I don’t believe Barbies should be completely eliminated, but I think they need to be re-evaluated. The Lammily doll, a more realistic Barbie doll, is a great alternative. Nickolay Lamm, a graphic designer, told The Washington Post that he created the Lammily doll because he wanted to send a message that “reality can be beautiful.” Lammily is a doll without make-up, that has stretch marks, and even a few extra pounds. When children got the opportunity to play with the Lammily doll, they loved her. The young children had such remarks such as “She looks like me,” and “I think she looks beautiful and realistic.” The concept behind Barbie as a doll to play with provides many hours of fun for young children. However, let’s give kids some positive reinforcement and a doll they can realistically relate to.