Most of us have memories of playing with her, dressing her, and organising yet another hot date for her with Ken. The first Barbie doll was released in 1965 and her popularity has soared ever since. Little girls are still playing with Barbies, their parents are still buying the dolls and their accessories. Why is the plastic fashion doll still so popular?
Barbie has always been prominent and not always for positive reasons. It’s no secret Mattel have copped harsh criticism for the doll’s overtly voluptuous figure and immaculate appearance. Let’s be honest, though; what kind of an image is this encouraging little girls to attain to?
In order to effectively duplicate Barbie’s look, an average healthy woman would have to be 61cm taller, 15cm thinner at her waist, add 13cm to her bust, and 8cm to the length of her neck. The average women’s legs are 20% longer than her arms, yet Barbie’s are 50% longer than her arms. Barbie’s neck is twice the length of an average human’s, which means she would be unable to hold up her head. Due to her small feet and large bust, she would have to walk on all fours.
If Barbie was a human being, she would suffer chronic diarrhoea and end up dying from malabsorption and malnutrion.
She would also be without the body fat necessary to menstruate or have her monthly cycle.
How’s that for an ‘ideal’ figure?
So what kind of an impact is this plastic doll having on young girls?
Jennifer L. Derenne and Eugene V. Beresin in their study Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders explain, “though it is highly unlikely for a rail-thin woman to have natural DD-cup size breasts, toy manufacturers set this expectation by developing and marketing the Barbie doll, whose measurements are physiologically impossible.” (Derenne and Beresin, 2006, p.2)
According to media commentator, author and blogger Melinda Tankard Reist, this is having an impact on theway young girls view themselves. “Girls can’t be what they don’t see, and what they are seeing everywhere is hypersexualised images of ‘perfect’ women.”
Check out blogger Sam Page’s analysis of real-life Barbie proportions here: http://is.gd/ajTxr2
REFERENCES:
Barbie’s Soaring Popularity Continues 2010, online post, Barbie Fest, US, accessed 27/10/12, http://barbiefest.com/news/barbies-soaring-popularity-continues
Derenne, J L & Beresin, E V 2006, Body Image, Media and Eating Disorders, online article, Boston, MA, accessed 27/10/12,
Maria, S 2012, Negative Body Image – Is the Media to Blame? online article, California, US, accessed 27/10/12,
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22188/88628-negative-body-image-media
Page, S 2012, What if Barbie were a Real Woman? online post, Peace Love Lunges, LA, accessed 27/10/12,
http://www.peacelovelunges.com/blog/ask-sam/what-if-barbie-were-a-real-woman/