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Although recently there have been some action being taken upon this issue, children toys have always seemed to be gender specific. For example, little boys are expected to only play with “masculine” toys such as action figures, toy cars, etc. and little girls with “feminine” toys such as baby dolls, kitchen sets, etc. These toys play a significant role in our society in shaping the way children are thinking beginning from a young age. However, of all the controversial toys, Barbie seems to take the cake for young girls. Barbie has transitioned throughout the years in order to adjust to her time period, which include the negative and positive aspects of that time, and reveal certain social constructs within our society such as the stereotypical views of
According to the Barbie website, Handler obtained the idea by watching her young daughter play with paper dolls and using her imagination to pretend that they were adults or teenagers doing what adults or teenagers may do such as attending college or having a career. She was also inspired by the Bild Lilli doll that was famous in Germany in 1952 who was a high end call girl and was sold as a sex toy usually bought by men. Barbie was a high fashion, teenage model (eventually branching out to multiple different careers over time). with a slim plastic body, pale skin tone, and came in either blonde or brunette hair (although she is known for her blonde hair). She wore a white bathing-suit with black strips that came along with sunglasses, high-heels, and hoop earrings. Although Barbie first received negative reactions from the public saying she was too “sexy” and wore provocative clothing, she became very popular amongst young girls. With time Barbie became a fashion icon and an item in every young girl 's
“If Barbie was designed by a man, suddenly a lot of things made sense to me,” says Emily Prager in her essay “Our Barbies, Ourselves” (Prager 354). Prager’s purpose for writing this essay is to explain the history of Barbie and how the doll itself has influenced and continue to influence our society today. Prager is appealing to the average girl, to those who can relate to the way she felt growing up with Barbie seen as the ideal woman. Emily Prager uses a constant shift between a formal and informal tone to effectively communicate her ideas that we view women today based upon the unrealistic expectations set forth by Barbie. By adopting this strategy she avoids making readers feel attacked and therefore
This website article provides the history of Barbie and her newly inspiring images for young women. Barbie was the new popular doll during World War 2 because she provided something inspiring for young girls and something that mothers felt strong about, independence. Barbie helped with what was being told to women, that they didn’t have to settle for being just a housewife or a stay at home mother. Women around the country could have a variety, a choice to work and have a career. “Barbie’s early professions were limited
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
A common theme in this movie is white dominance. All of the the humans in Toy Story 3 are white and this can be a problem because it gives the kids watching the movie an unrealistic idea of the real world. The Barbie is also seen as a stereotype as all she cares about is clothes, self relaxation,and find a man. She is portrayed as very nice and speaks softly. These are all gendered traits that one would associate with a woman. The difference in the expected gendered roles is demonstrated in West and Zimmerman’s, Doing Gender as they state, “Subsequently, little boys appropriate the gender ideal of “efficaciousness” —that is, being able to affect the physical and social environment through the exercise of physical strength or appropriate skills. In contrast, little girls learn to value “appearance”—that is, managing themselves as ornamental objects.” ( West and Zimmerman, 1987) This idea resonates completely with Barbie, however later on in the movie she leaves her dream house to be with the toys which shows that she is challenging the idea of the ideal girl and is trying to escape the norms within her environment. Another character who is challenging norms is Ken, he is a male barbie that loves Barbies dream house and dressing up. He is laughed at many times during the movie which shows the real life scenario of how many people can’t do certain activities
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,
When girls are young, they are given toys that are influenced by domestic activities that introduce them to traditional gender roles. This limitation of available toys has the potential to impact children, especially young girls, in a negative way. With some girls only having gender-specific toys like dolls and kitchen sets, it has the potential to enforce long-established ideas based on the role of women in society. These traditional gender roles placed upon girls by “gender appropriate” toys could give way to limiting the role of women in modern society. Toy companies have strategic ways to market their products to consumers.
Barbie's image through the shape of her body and all of her accessories is beginning to lead to many issues in our world. Barbie is portraying a negative impact on society through her influential being as a plastic doll. In 1965 the slumber party package was on the market showing buyers how straight forward she is with her products and accessories. The package had all of the normal slumber party things like a robe, comb, and hair rollers but it also had a weight scale set at a permanent weight of "110" and a disturbing book on weight loss that read in all caps, "DON'T EAT." This package is an example of how misleading Barbie and her products really are because it is implying to children that they should not eat and that if they grow up
The socialization of children is greatly affected by the toys they are exposed to while growing up. Looking through magazines and walking down the aisles of toy stores it is clear that toy companies are supportive of cultural gender roles biases. Toys designed for girls are commonly found in pink boxes; typically these toys involve housework or taking care of children, for example, dolls and easy bake ovens. On the other hand, “boy” toys are found in blue and black boxes, and a lot of them involve construction and cars.
Martin, Melanie. “Negative Effects of Barbie on Girls.” eHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.
In a way, Barbie is a role model for girls to look to for confidence, because she is extremely talented and educated, and is considered the example of a career woman. Juggling over 130 careers on her resume, Barbie has accomplished the above and beyond. From rock start to pilot,Barbie has had every job a child could possibly ever dream about. This includes her being an astronaut and going to the moon; four years before Neil Armstrong. Even in the 90s, she ran for president before woman even made the presidential ballot. “My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.” From the start Ruth Handler, the co-owner of the Mattel creations and creator of the Barbie doll, created Barbie for the purpose of inspiration to young girls. Handler saw that her young daughter, Barbara, enjoyed playing with adult female doll...
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.
One day, as Ruth Handler watched her daughter play with paper dolls, she noticed that often the dolls were put into adult scenarios, such as grocery shopping, working, et cetera (“The Creation of Barbie”). As most dolls in this era, the 1950’s, were either babies or small children, Handler got an idea: what if she created an adult doll (“The Creation of Barbie”)? So, she drew up a design for one, and she named her Barbie, after her daughter, Barbara (“The Creation of Barbie”). Then, in 1959, Mattel, a huge and very popular toy company, picked up the idea (“The Creation of Barbie”). Barbie made her first appearance in New York, at the annual toy fair (“The Creation of Barbie”). That year, 351,000 Barbie dolls were sold, which was a sales record in America (“The Creation of Barbie”). Today, Barbie continues to be the most popular doll in the world, with two sold every minute (“The Creation of Barbie”).
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 ...
The gender stereotypes we are experiencing today are outdated and need change. Right now, gender marketing is higher than it has ever been. A comparison can be shown as Robb states “In the 1970s…few children’s’ toys were targeted specifically at boys or girls at all; nearly 70% of toys had no gender-specific labels at all” (Robb). Since the 70’s gender marketing has climbed its way up to its peak. There is a sort of disconnect between marketing and new gender advancements that have been occurring recently. The gender standards that are currently being used are outdated and do not hold true as more women are excelling in the sciences, while more men choose to become stay at home fathers. The “Let Toys be Toys” campaign website claims that “themes of glamour and beauty in toys and playthings directed at even the youngest girls tips over into a worrying emphasis on outward appearance. Stereotyped attitudes about boys are equally harmful as the constant assumption reinforced in toy advertising and packaging that boys are inevitably rough, dirty, rowdy…which feeds low expectations of boys that undermine their performance at school”(“Let Toys be Toys”). These outcomes are not acceptable, and gender-neutral toys may aid in combat against these old age ideals, and could possibly help make the