This paper gives a brief overview of the effect of Barbie’s in today’s world. Ranging from a variety of positive and negative views that influence the women’s physical looks today. A plastic toy that has been very popular for the past fifty years has slowly found its deeper meaning. I will first give you a brief overview of how this research is mapped out. Starting with the background information about Barbie then rolling into the positive and negative effects, later wrapping it up and leaving it up to the audience to decide what kind of influence this doll has made to the world.
Boys played with cars while girls played with Barbie’s. I mean what girl did not have a Barbie growing up? That is all a girl ever wanted for Christmas. Playing with a doll that had an abundance amount of trendy outfits that you could switch up every day, made them irresistibly hard to not buy. Numbers of study show how this non-living thing has set social norms for little girls globally. Typically Girls chose Barbie’s as their favorite doll brand. Sutton Smith argues that “particular toys enter into the lives of some children and become, as it were, [the] central to their identity” (Smith, 1986, p. 205).
Whether people accept it or not Barbie have an influence on children of today tremendously. Negative Effects on Society Playing with and ideal doll in a make believe life where she has a perfect body, a perfect house, and a perfect family all seemed so desirable to have. Barbie’s perfect skinny figure and attractive face should be exemplary to every woman. But why? It is what has been most appealing to the eye since Barbie’s were created. I. Age Groups Psyc info database recorded “A total of 162 girls, from age 5 to age 8, were exposed to images of either Barbie dolls, and then completed assessments of body image.
Girls exposed to Barbie reported lower body esteem and greater desire for a thinner body shape than girls in the other exposure conditions. However, this immediate negative impact of Barbie doll was no longer evident in the oldest girls. These findings imply that, even if dolls cease to function as aspirational role models for older girls, early exposure to dolls epitomizing an unrealistically thin body ideal may damage girls’ body image, which would contribute to an increased risk of disordered eating and weight cycling” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016).
Society has taught us that looking pretty makes you feel more confident, smarter, and appealing to others. Younger girls developed this body image goal that has been often impossible to reach. An idea that sticks with them throughout their lives. A girl has always been told to look presentable because if she did not then she will not be respected or be taken seriously by anyone is totally un true II. Plastic Surgery You cannot change genetics. You are born the way you are you have zero control of that or so you think. In the last 20 years plastic surgery has become an incredibly popular.
A study showed “Dissatisfaction and body dysmorphic disorder in cosmetic surgery patients. Of 132 women, 100 women (response rate, 76 percent) completed two body image measures prior to surgery” (Sarwer, Wadden,al. , 1998). Perfect body image has become crucial important. As the study shows above 100 women felt dissatisfied with their body and were willing to re construct themselves to fit standards. Thirty-two women felt no need to do any cosmetic work to themselves. The numbers are large and they continue to grow becoming one of society’s norm.
III. Discrimination Is Barbie racist? Many people argue that Barbie is discriminating every other race that’s not blonde hair blue eyed. “Given the controversy in the literature over the influence of Barbie dolls on girls, we asked the participants what they thought of Barbie. The general consensus was that Barbie’s body is unrealistic. They should make a fat one. They are all so skinny and that’s mean to fat people”(Smith p. 67 ). When walking through the Barbie section at the toy stores there never seem to be much diversity in the dolls.
They all looked the same just with a different outfits. People started to question the company whether if they were against all other races and body types. We live in a country full of different people with different backgrounds. Parents then stopped buy Barbie’s for their children because of the crucial dicrimation it was showing thir children. Positive Effects on Society People never had deeper thoughts about Barbie, until the past recent years. Most of the time little girls were worried about whether or not Barbie had all her accessories and looked pretty once clothed.
Never once thought that a girl should strive to look like Barbie or that she was the embodiment of feminine beauty. I. Role Model “Barbie is a great figure to have in our society, but it should be understood that she isn’t real. She’s fun to play with and she encourages little girls to use their imagination and dream big” (Barbies-positive-influence. , 2016). If anything Barbie could be a good role model for all younger girls. From various professions and a lovely house, an endless amount of friends, Barbie set the example of a successful woman in life. II. Creativity
Twenty 6th-grade girls at a suburban middle school in Connecticut participated in a 10-week support group that met once a week during lunch to talk about issues important to them, and to promote self-esteem and a positive outlook. When discussing as a group about Barbie’s the girls told story about them styling their hair and attending make believe events. They used “imaginative play. All of the girls reported engaging in make-believe or imaginative play with Barbie dolls as children. Many described creating intricate and extended play scripts, illustrating family life, imagined adolescent life” (D. ilkson). Creativity now is extremely hard to come up with.
As technology rises children spend less and less time playing and creating ideas compared to previous generations. III. Experience Living through a fantasy childhood is what made growing up with toys so much fun. Pretending to be a super model or a mom of three baby dolls is why girls keep styling their hair and playing with other girls are the memories that are stuck with us forever. Previous generations never had a problem with the doll, to them it was simply just a toy they enjoyed playing with.
Sharing stories with future generations and sharing personal experience with the toy is what made it remarkable. “Through out history, [.. ] dolls have been promoted and shared perceptions, self denitions and[.. ] image formation” (D. Wilkison, p. 19). This new view of the doll has sparked controversy. Whatever your stance may be you have to keep in mind that there is no such thing as perfect in this world. Girls who played with Barbie realized that she is just a doll and they were more influenced by her independence, career aspirations, and the joy she brought to us as we were growing up.