Myia Ragland
Prof. Megan J. Hall
English 1101
December 6, 2002
“HEY GIRL! MEET YOU AT THE MALL! WANT TO GO FOR A RIDE! YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND! SEE YOU LATER!”
Recognize the dialogue? Yes. It’s our old friend Barbie. For over forty years she has been the close companion of millions of girls. Statistics claim that “today, 90% of girls between ages 3 and11 have a Barbie doll” (Hymowitz 17). Most people love Barbie, and generally wouldn’t think there to be a problem with her. She is every young girl’s dear friend for the reasons that she does not look at the exterior, she does not care how much money you have, and she does not look at one’s faults. Though probably not realized consciously, this is what young girls and even women look for in a friend. Yesterday, today and tomorrow contains the love of Barbie and things will continue this way until a better doll is presented to the public. So, with this Barbie mania going on among young girls one would not expect anything to be wrong, right? On the contrary, in many ways Barbie has repeatedly presented causes, possibly yielding catastrophic effects, which underline the argument that she is not the ideal role model or companion for young girls. Because of her origin, the effects from her exaggerated body and image, Barbie has certainly proved that she is not the safe and excellent friend parents thought she was.
In 1959 Barbie was supposedly created by Ruth Handler and later made her debut. She “saw her little girl, Barbie, playing with paper dolls of teenagers. Mrs. Handler thought kids would enjoy playing with real, solid, teenage dolls. Her husband agreed [and] they started making the dolls in their garage” (Georges). She believed that “Barbie was created to project every little girl’s dream of the future” (Georges). Sounds a little perfect to be true, doesn’t it? Well the creation story is quite the opposite. Barbie in actuality was created by Jack Ryan. Mr. Ryan had been an inventor and designer during his lifetime and when he consulted for Mattel he designed Barbie (Prager 706). She was originally based on a prostitute from a German comic strip named Lili (Hymowitz 17). She was later made into dolls sold only in adult stores (Hymowitz 17). In 1958, Mattel bought the rights to Lili and made her into Barbie as we know her today (Hymowitz 17). More than likely, little people know this and it can be a shocker. This completely reverses the affect of Ruth Handler’s story and further supports that from the beginning Barbie wasn’t meant to be a role model. What parents have to ask themselves is whether or not they want their child to interact with a prostitute inspired doll. With this information available, parents will think the next time they go down the Barbie isle.
Not only was Barbie created after a prostitute, but she was created with such an overemphasized appearance. Barbie is usually a young girl’s first example of unattainable beauty. “Barbie has huge breast, a miniscule waist, a flat butt, narrow hips, legs that stretch a mile, with absolutely no excess fat. Plus she usually has blonde hair with a Stepford wife/airhead smile on her face.”(www.geocities.com). Her appearance alone has created dents in the self-esteem of young girls in the past four decades. After the so called creator of Barbie died in April, “some news noted that Barbie’s plasticized-and-idealized proportions were virtually impossible for girls to aspire to” (Solomon). Critics claim that pint-size makeup and dolls such as Barbie overemphasize appearance and sexuality too early (www.geocities.com). The New York Times reported that “if the 11.5 inch doll were 5-foot-6, her measurements would be 39-21-33. London’s Daily put the figure at 39-18-33. According to the Times, one academic expert calculated that a woman’s chances of having Barbie’s figure were less than one in 100,000” (Solomon).
As society has changed, it has become normal for a young girl to want to look her best and Barbie has definitely contributed to this. Not to say that wanting to look one’s best is wrong, but it is wrong when you result to desperate measure that may yield catastrophic results. In an article entitled “Barbie’s Body Images,” the author, Mary Dorsey Wanless, states that “statistics on eating disorders are frightening. Researchers estimate that anorexia occurs in about 0.5% of all US adolescent girls, and bulimia in about 1-2%. Symptoms of various other disorders and milder versions of anorexia and bulimia occur in about 5-10%. Furthermore, there is little way to estimate how many cases go unreported.” Some many argue that Barbie is not the reason for these disorders in young girls. On the contrary, Barbie is just like the pop stars that are pictured with perfect bodies. She falls right into that category and young adolescents aspire to obtain that perfection. She is not the only factor that may have contributed to this, but she just may be the first that girls are exposed to, considering that 90% of girls from age 3 to 11 own one. “Meanwhile, liposuction and other plastic surgeries are very common among middle age women, who continue their desperate, if ultimately futile, attempt to construct for themselves the perfect body” (Wanless). Now people have to keep in mind that middle age women grew up with Barbie at their side. In 1998 alone, 22,000 American teenagers had cosmetic surgery (Wanless). Is this a coincident or is Barbie presenting herself as a friend that we wouldn’t want our children to interact with?
Everything about Barbie’s image is not so bad, is it? She has been presented in court as a lawyer and as a veterinarian. It appears that Barbie is helping young girls aspire to greater things. Little do people know Barbie has also been present in lingerie. That’s right. Not a night gown but lingerie. In the article entitled “Lingerie Barbie gives the word peekaboo’ a whole new meaning” Mark Patinkin, a columnist for Providence Journal, is completely shocked at the fact that this doll is being advertised and sold in a very popular children store known as FAO Schwartz. Barbie ensemble consists of a merry widow bustier, lace, a matching peignoir, and not to mention stiletto heels. In “Our Barbies, Ourselves,” Emily Prager states that Barbie looks like someone who got her start in the Playboy Mansion and that she could be a regular guest on the Howard Stern Show. What image is Barbie projecting the impressionable mind of young girls? Is this the type of influence a parent would wish their children to be exposed to?
Barbie has truly made her mark on history and not so much in a good way. Catastrophes have and will follow her path unless something is done. In a poem entitled “Barbie Doll” by Margie Piercy, it sketches the fate of the young girls who strive to achieve the artificial appearance of Barbie and the result if people don’t take action.
This girlchild was born a usual/ and presented dolls that did pee pee/ and miniature GE stoves and irons/ and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy./ Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:/ You have a great big nose and fat legs./…She was advised to play coy,/ exhorted to come n hearty,/ exercise, diet, smile, and wheedle./ Her good nature wore out/ like a fan belt./ So she cut off her nose and her legs/ and offered them up./ In the casket displayed on satin she lay/ With the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on,/ a turned-up nose,/ dressed in pink and white nightie./ Doesn’t she look pretty? Everyone said. Consummation at last./ To every woman a happy ending.
Will you stand around and watch young girls destroy themselves trying to attain the unattainable? As expressed in this poem, women will never hear from people what they want to hear until they’re not here anymore. Let’s ban Barbie and save our next generation from this plague.