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Recommended: The definition of beauty
There is a proverb that states that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. This means that there cannot be a universal definition of beauty. Perceived by one individual as beautiful considered visually unpleasant by a different individual. Though such different opinions exist about the definition of beauty, a large quantity of people shares a definite opinion on whether something is beautiful or not. When a typical woman thinks back on her childhood, three things quickly come to mind: SpagettiO’s, crayons, and a Barbie Doll. The Barbie is more than just a doll, to an innocent child; it often becomes part of a girl’s life. The Barbie is a friend, a stylist, a mentor, and even a role model for young children. Numerous Americans can easily …show more content…
During a group play, this improves on their interaction skills while sharing their ideas behind their decisions for dressing up their dolls. These are great benefits in the development of children as they learn there is no limit in this world, and they are only limited by their own minds. Playing with Barbie dolls can influence your child’s creativity. She can create many different looks for Barbie based on how she feels and comes up with different scenarios to encourage creativity and activate that part of your child’s brain. Do you know that the Barbie doll could provide your child with successful career choices? The Barbie comes with a variety of career options, e.g. Nurse, Doctor, Police Officer, Firefighter and even Computer Engineer, that can help to play a part in encouraging your daughter that she is not limited in her future career choices. The Barbie encourages your daughter that she can be anything she sets her mind to. The varieties of Barbie play sets are also a great option to encourage role-playing. Role-playing provides your child with a better understanding of the certain aspects about the real world outside of his or her controlled environment. The different scenarios, …show more content…
Relating beauty with youthfulness or relating it to suitability for a given purpose. Both definitions can apply in different situations, one aspect of beauty that stands out determined by the level of attraction it is to the human eye. The level of beauty perceived by the male will most likely determine the choice of a mate he makes. Thorough psychological research, a person’s demeanor may affect how his or her beauty is perceived by others. Showing the definition of beauty determines by the person holding it. I, personally, played with Barbie dolls growing up, and am very well adjusted, no body-image issues or resultant eating disorder. Personally, I believe true beauty is not a physical attribute but an inner aspect of oneself. The confidence we have in ourselves relates directly to how our children will see us and mimic. I teach my preteen twin daughters, it is not physical attributes that make one’s beauty but your inner beauty. But I also teach them to be healthy physically, not necessarily being a size triple zero or a size 16. How you feel and the confidence you hold inside is what healthy is, no matter what the number you are. My daughters, myself, my mother have all played with Barbie and support what Barbie’s message is. As a parent, it is my duty to teach my children its true
In the short story "Barbie-Q,” by Sandra Cisneros, the young girls didn't mind they did not receive other things such as new Barbie's or Ken Barbie's and the friends to go along with the dolls (206). These girls were just happy to play with their own dolls. The girls have bonded with each other and they enjoy playing with each other's dolls. A doll brings two or more children together for fun and social entertainment. Have you ever listened to a child frequently you will hear a child say " so what” that means the child really don't care, it don't matter; nothing else mattered to the two little girls. In the short story "Barbie-Q,” by Sandra Cisneros to purchase a brand new Barbie doll meant that the dolls are expensive in the store so the girls are very happy and pleased to own a second hand Barbie. When the parent places the dolls in the child's hands the dolls take on the character of the owner's beauty; culture; how girls see themselves and the future when the kids are all grown up. Barbie is a fun toy to dress up. Each child has her or his own imagination of a Barbie doll. I, too, myself, like watching all the different cultural background Barbie dolls in the malls or Macy's Department Store around Christmas times. Most large department stores dress
For starters the title, “Barbie Doll” holds a meaning. It symbolizes the ideal figure of a female body. Society creates this ideal that is embed into every century. It is never ending. It is intended that she must have the twig like arms and legs, the minuscule waist and nose,
The role of Barbie in her many careers led me to think that they could do anything they put their mind to. Barbie has over 120 jobs some of them being a nurse, a veterinarian, a rockstar, plus she ran for president in 2008. “Barbie has always represented the fact that women have choices”- Ruth Handler. (45) Barbie showed me that even I could be dominant in male jobs including astronaut, surgeons, and baseball players. Barbie has taught me that I have a choice to make when it comes to my career and that we can’t be limited or held back to jobs that have been portrayed by men only. Ruth Handler believes that “Barbie was all about choices and being able to remain feminine while succeeding in a man's world.” (43) Role-playing with my dolls in different careers helped me to see what job my personality best fit
In the Article “Barbie Doesn’t Add Up,” the author Ken Schroeder states that Barbie dolls were just dolls that gave young girls false ideas of what they should be and look like as they get older. This article was written in the Education Digest in 1992, which helps understand why the author talks mostly about Barbie’s intelligence. The main audience of this article is directed towards parents of young girls in particular. The author is not very persuasive in the article about Barbie because he does not give enough legitimate examples and proof that his theory is correct. Also he is not in any type of field work that studies how children grow up to be after playing with Barbie. It is hard to find many credible examples to back up Mr. Schroeder’s views and thoughts on Barbie and how she makes girls think they should not be good at math.
Martin, Melanie. “Negative Effects of Barbie on Girls.” eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
For example, Barbie worked as a NASCAR driver and an army officer which would usually be considered occupations for men. Barbie is trying to portray a message saying that no matter your gender or race, you can do exactly what you want because you have potential. Barbie is putting aside the gender roles and focusing on her personal wants. Bridget Seelinger, a student columnist from The Duquesne Duke, says ““You can be anything you want to be,” is a message that resonates with both sexes, but with young girls today, is especially needed” (Seelinger). The fact that she participated in a lot of the so called “jobs for men,” has made a lot of girls and boys realize that they can do those jobs too regardless of what society says. Barbie does not necessarily identify as a feminist, but does indeed believe people should have equal rights, especially when coming down to a certain
Not many arguments or tests are done on the positive effects of Barbie. Sure, she is a role model but what about when girls set goals for themselves and later in life do not meet these expectations? Unlike Barbie, most of these goals are unrealistic and cannot be met. Barbie provies alternatives to the female stereotype of a mother and wife, but marriage isn’t perfect like the way it is portrayed. She goes through absolutely no struggles.
Stone, Tanya Lee. The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. Print.
It was very common to have a Barbie doll growing up, and it wasn’t just a toy, it was a representation of a “perfect life”. From dream houses, to boats, cars, a perfect boyfriend to exiting careers, Barbie had the perfect life. Barbie had the perfect lifestyle AND the perfect body, long legs, small waist and a curvy chest. This taught children from a very young age that having a boyfriend, a career, a house and a petite body is very important. (Worldpress 2011). Barbie’s attention has been generate by the secondary role she plays in popular culture- the artifact of female representation. Barbie isn’t just a toy, she mimics the female form and starts for women within the games of make-believe in which children involves he”. (Wright 2003). “Female representation in popular culture shapes female identity” (Wright 2003)
Over the past 50 years Barbie has not only been a best friend to many little girls across America but she has been a role model to them as well. Barbie is everything any growing girl would want to be. After all she is living the dream, not only with the materialistic aspects of her life like the houses, cars and of course we cannot forget about her fashion, but also with her extensive resume filled with many careers. Or at least that is what the creators of Barbie intended for her but the reality is that Barbie can only truly be relatable to a small demographic of girls. When Barbie made her debut in a 1959 advertisement she was a thin, bond haired, blue eyed, fashion model. Not exact relatable to most girls. In this past year Mattel, the toy
Barbie, a doll manufactured by Mattel, Inc., encourages an unrealistic body image, racial insensitivity, and contradictive goals, and it is having a negative influence on young girls everywhere. Launched in March 1959 by Ruth Handler, an American business woman and president of Mattel, Inc., Barbie quickly became popular and has gone on to sell three dolls every second, in over one hundred and fifty countries. However, Barbie’s rise to success has not been wholly positive – there have been numerous controversies, parodies, and lawsuits, all addressing a number of issues. One such issue is how Barbie promotes an unrealistic and unobtainable body image. For example, to scale, Barbie is five feet, nine inches tall, has a thirty six inch chest, eighteen inch waist, and thirty three inch hips. Had Barbie been a real person, she would not be able to walk, much less hold her head up. Secondly, Barbie is racially insensitive and perpetuates stereotypes. “Mexico Barbie,” from Barbie’s “ethnic” line, comes with a passport and a Chihuahua, as well as stereotypical red lace ribbons in her hair. Lastly, Barbie portrays goals that are both unobtainable and contradictive. Barbie has had a variety of careers, such as being a doctor, astronaut, and President of the United States, but also engages in stereotypical domestic activities, such as cleaning and baking. These characteristics are affecting young girls in a time when they are most developmentally susceptible, and teaching them a number of negative lessons.
When I was very young, I owned very many Barbie dolls. To me, they were just so beautiful, and flawless, and I loved them very much. But the Barbie that said the most to me was the President Barbie. This spoke to me. It said that anyone, anywhere, of any gender, socioeconomic status, background, sexuality, ethnicity, race, or belief system could be anything they ever wanted to be, as long as they worked hard enough to achieve it. And this is a very important message, and it is a message that Barbie sends to people every day, all over the world.
It may seem trivial and go unnoticed to most, but by assigning Barbie a real career, people are able to identify with and recognize her. The marketers also provide Barbie with a life other than modeling, such as friends and a home. The Ken doll, which is commonly known as Barbie’s boyfriend, makes her appear more real to the audience. Girls are able to identify with the idea of a boyfriend, which makes the notion of Barbie seem more realistic and desirable. The same idea is applied to the many friends Barbie has been accompanied by over the years. Lastly, and perhaps most famously, Barbie, like almost all of the girls who play with her, have a home. The Barbie Dream House is just another clever way her marketing team has presented her to society as a real person. Humanizing Barbie, and portraying her in such a manner makes her more attractive to potential buyers. The girls who engage in play with dolls do not want merely a doll; they desire something they can relate to and envision in the real world. Imaginative play is a large portion of childhood, and the ability for children to posses a doll like Barbie , who represents a real person in society, is extremely valuable. The use of social constructionism in the marketing of products such as Barbie is both brilliant and effective.
Barbie can assist with the child’s learning techniques by, distinguishing the differences between genders, their wardrobe, and real world lessons. Barbie produces both gender ...
According to Lisa Belkin, Barbie is good for society because she’s fun to play with and she encourages little girls to use their imagination and dream big. Many young girls who play with Barbie dolls have realized that she is just a doll. Some of these little girls don’t have the desire to look like Barbie; they just think Barbie is just a doll that they play with and leave them everywhere. At a young age girls are given their first Barbie doll and thought what “perfect” should be. Barbie portrays the perfect image and life. Not only is Barbie tall, skinny, and beautiful, she has all the luxurious accessories to match her perfect life. To go along with her perfect life she is accompanied with the perfect boyfriend, family and dream house.At a young age girls are also being influenced by this doll, what they should look like, and what kind of life they sgould lead. Young girls strive to achieve this look which is life threatening to obtain. Regardless to the changes they made to Barbie, she is still far from real. Little girls that are mature enough don’t strive to look like Barbie because she’s just a plastic doll.(Debate.org, 9). According to “The Intentions behind the creation of Barbie”, Barbie dolls ...