Barbie Stereotypes

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Have you ever played with a Barbie? An average American girl between the ages three and eleven have ten Barbies. They grew up surrounded by the Barbie body. The Barbie doll sets unrealistic body standards to young girls, that they “have” to achieve. The Barbie doll has been around since 1959, 59 years. It is one of the most popular children's toy, and still one of the most controversial. Women spend enough of their life dealing with the pressure from society and the media to be “perfect”, the Barbie doll is sending them off earlier, on that journey. By playing with these Barbie dolls young girls are subjected to the unrealistic image of Barbie. Likewise, if Barbie was an actual human being her measurements rarely occurs 1 in every 100,000. …show more content…

In one article, author Kathryn Gentzke said that, “Barbie has raised important questions in the study of female representation and has often sparked controversy as to the message this doll sends to the vast population of (primarily) young girls.” (Gentzke) The Barbie doll is still one of the most popular toys and one of the most controversial. Many people think that the Barbie doll doesn’t show how women want to be represented. In the same article it states that, “the propagation of such an unattainable beauty ideal, manifested in the Barbie doll starts young girls very early on an often lifelong struggle to personally attain that standard of physical perfection.” (Gentzke) If little girls are exposed to this type of unattainable beauty so early in their life, they think that they will eventually achieve it and that it is the “standard” of a woman. Furthermore, the Barbie dolls figure is nearly impossible to attain, says a study in Australia and the UK called Barbie at Life Size 1. In the article Barbie and Body Image it states, “If Barbie was a real women she would be 5’9” and weigh 120 pounds. Her body weight percentage would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate.” (Barbie) In the same article they state that “Her [Barbie's] measurements would be 38-18-34 (chest, waist, hips). The average woman's measurements on the other hand would be 41-34-43.” (Barbie) Barbies body was only …show more content…

In a study conducted by Oregon State University, in Pacific Standard, it states that “Girls who played with barbie thought they could do fewer jobs than boys could do. But girls who played with Mrs.Potato head reported nearly the same number of possible careers for themselves and for boys.”(Orenstien) This is saying that playing with a Barbie doll, could change the way girls see themselves in the future and what positions they can hold.What was genuinely shocking was that, “there was no significance in results between girls who played with a Barbie wearing a dress and the career focused, doctor version of the doll.”, this means that even the girls who played with the more “intelligent” Barbie still felt, like they couldn't be able to achieve it as well as the boys. On the other hand, many people believe that the Barbie doll is nothing more than child's

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