Preview

How Does Barbie Affect Society

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1252 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does Barbie Affect Society
Barbie
The Effect of Barbie’s in Society Research
Vivian Ramos
Waubonsee Community College
Abstract
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
…show more content…
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

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Barbie is a bad role model

    • 1576 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Central idea: Barbie is a bad role model for young children, because of Barbie’s unrealistic body proportions and unattainable lifestyle. Young girls become aware of their physical appearance and become insecure, and this can lead to long term effects.…

    • 1576 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The worldwide role model for generations of women, Barbie, does not fall short of perfection. Although, what many girls do not know, are the horrors of what a real, life-size Barbie would be like. Dr. Margo Maine, in her book, Body Wars, reveals the truth behind a human Barbie: “If Barbie were an actual woman, she would be 5'9" tall, have a 39" bust, an 18" waist, 33" hips and a size 3 shoe” (“Barbies” 1). While these characteristics might sound appealing to some women, this “perfect” frame would cause a woman many problems (“Barbies 1). With these proportions, Barbie would not likely menstruate and would need to walk on all fours as if she were a household pet (“Barbies 1). The doll’s head, hands and feet…

    • 2953 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy is about a girl who struggles with her body image. The speaker in the poem acts as an observer; watching the girl encounter different experiences as it related to her body image. Today’s generation is much similar to the life of the girl in this poem. Girls are forced to keep up with rising standards that are overwhelming and destructive. This poem uses form, imagery, and word choice to express how society chooses not to accept girls who do not represent the “ideal” woman.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since March 9th, 1959 the United States has had a very influential piece of plastic, called the Barbie. Barbie was created by Ruth Handler, of Mattel Inc. after discovering a doll in Germany named Bild Lilli. The Barbie doll was named after Ruth Handler’s daughter, Barbara. The Barbie was introduced to the United Sates at a time when the word “teenager” was becoming a popular trend on television and in movies. A teenager is the time between childhood and adult life. Mattel took the opportunity to release Barbie at this ideal time. It was released as a teenage fashion model. Although the Barbie was pricey, many girls loved the idea and the Barbie doll became a very popular toy. With becoming popular Barbie had a huge impact. Barbie has negatively influenced body image, stereotypical female rolls, and enforced commercialism. Although, it has modernized…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Humanities Final Paper

    • 1547 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Venus de Willendorf is a statuette that first appeared during the Upper Paleolithic period. The exaggerated carvings of the body parts were how the artists of that time viewed women, fat and fertile. History often takes from the past to reinvent the future. Today’s society has the Barbie doll. Ruth Handler created it in 1959. Its long legs and slim figure has been worship by so many, that real women have undergone intense cosmetic surgeries to resemble the doll. Both figurines have gained notoriety based on the representation of women of their era, displayed their own meaning of beauty and cultures’ perception of it.…

    • 1547 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Barbie: The Ideal Woman

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Society today, has changed people in the way how they act, and dress. The short story Barbie Q explains that a Barbie is the ideal woman. The Barbie is an example of what women believe to be perfect. The quote “So what if we didn’t Get our new bendable legs Barbie in nice clean boxes and had to buy them on Maxwell street all water soaked and sooty”(Cisneros). This quote means that anyone would buy a Barbie for a cheaper price because they didn’t have the money at the time and who would care if the dolls were wet or smoked. For example the barbie with the melted leg putting a dress on the doll would cover the leg. this event talks about women these days where men rate the women from very beautiful to ugly as they show in the story where the…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    According to Sassatelli, consumer society refers to a society where “daily desires are satisfied through the acquisition and use of ‘commodities’, goods which are produced for exchange and are on the market…in the consumer society we not only satisfy our most elementary daily needs through commodities. We also conceptualize the purchase and use of goods as acts of ‘consumption’. Furthermore, we are accustomed to being addressed as ‘consumers’ ” (Gall, 2013: 3). Barbie was born in the 50s of the 20th century. American society became prosperous after World War II. The population of middle class gradually expanded and became the main symbol of American society (Schudson,…

    • 1959 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Stone, Tanya Lee, “The Good, The Bad and The Barbie: History and Impact on Modern Culture.” Viking Juvenile (2010)…

    • 1525 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Barbie

    • 2219 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Mattel’s Barbie doll has enjoyed a long and profitable history. Invented by Ruth Handler, the first Barbie was marketed in 1959. This simple Barbie, named after Ruth’s daughter, wore only a black and white swimsuit and sold only for three dollars (“The Pros and Cons”). Today, Barbie is the best selling fashion doll around the world. Currently she is sold in 140 countries with annual sales of approximately $1.5 billion. Somewhere in the world, a Barbie is sold every half-second (Dittmar, Halliwell, and Ive). Barbie makes up more than 80 percent of Mattel’s profits (Lawton). In the United States among girls between the ages three and six own an average of twelve Barbies. Ninety percent of girls aged nine to ten own at least one Barbie (“The Pros and Cons”). Barbie has not only been a profitable toy but a culture icon for the past 50 years. Although a powerful socioculture agent, the Barbie doll, is good for fantasy play, she promotes stereotypical gender roles and unhealthy body images in young girls.…

    • 2219 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The author of this article stated that many people have different beliefs on the doll. Some people believe that the Barbie doll is responsible for young girls developing poor body image issues. The Barbie doll was created with a perfect body, making some people believe that this will give little girls the idea that they have to look this way. Other people believe that the Barbie helps build young girls imaginations. They say that she is considered a positive role model because she is able to be anything she wants. There are also people who are not Barbie activists, but not against Barbie. The author labels these people as "Barbie moderates." These people say that Barbie does not portray the ideal perfect woman, but she does not give off negative thoughts to young girls. These people do not agree with banning the doll because they say Barbie is not the main thing to blame for giving there girls negative body images.…

    • 297 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Irony In Barbie Doll

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the poem “Barbie Doll”, by Marge Piercy, the use of imagery, symbolism, and irony expresses a tragic, cruel society that emphasizes appearance above personality and unrealistic beauty ideals above health and happiness. Throughout the poem a young girl is raised and bullied to believe that her appearance is the most important aspect of her self. Her self worth is torn apart until she dies. The use of imagery, symbolism, and irony works to deliver a heartbreaking message about the flawed society that existed and continues to exist.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    She is still the beauty standard for many women. Many women try to use skin treatments, plastic surgery, and even rib removal to achieve Barbie’s perfect look (Pendergast 4). They spend thousands of dollars on clothes and makeup trying to achieve the look that Barbie has, but many people think that it is way over the top (Stone 60). Barbie has influenced many women, young and old, to achieve that look, but it still has a negative effect on many women.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    No matter how old you are Barbie will still be a part of your childhood memories. Barbie is a fashion doll that has been changed throughout the years to suit the styles that were trending that year. Barbie has always had a big influence in the pop culture. Fashion is one of the major changes Barbie has developed throughout the years especially in what was trending in that specific year. The people’s interests have also played a big role on Barbie.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Almost the entire aisle was only of the white race. Some of the white dolls had professions that required higher education, like the baby doctor and the zoo doctor. The black and Latina dolls were very underrepresented and were portrayed in a very racist manner. The makers of Barbie followed every single stereotype known to man of these two ethnicities. The Latina doll had a lot of children and one of the black dolls was a hair stylist with extra weave extensions as her accessories. I strongly believe that this is a very bad message to young girls of all colors. To the white girls, they are being shown subliminally that only women of their color can obtain a higher profession. To the Latina girls, they are being shown that it is of the norm to have a lot of children. To the African-American girls, the dolls are teaching a lack of acceptance of how they naturally…

    • 1228 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the article, Early Adolescents’ Experiences with, and Views of Barbie, “particular toys enter into the lives of some children and become, as it were, central to their identity. Toys present messages about gender, adult roles, and values that children internalize” (1). In other words, this article discusses the role that Barbie…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays