She is the epitome of beauty, perfection, and success and plays one of the key
roles in the developing age of a girl. She is the first icon that a girl
familiarise her self with and Barbie has, and continues to
make a cosmic impact on a woman’s life. The Barbie doll is one of the most successful toys of the 20th
century and, arguably, the icon of female beauty and the American
dream. According to its manufacturer, Mattel.Inc, every three seconds a Barbie doll
is being purchased. Not many people would want to admit how influenced they are by this
iconic doll but I still remember my first Barbie, and the
blissful contentment I had by receiving her in the tender age of five
years. The toy doll has since made a significant impression in my
life and career as a designer, and she’s is one of the key ‘people’ I give
credit to, for the success I have achieved through my profession.
The reason I consider Barbie as a person is because she’s not just a
plastic doll to play with, she’s a dream, a vision, a star, and a remarkable
character, a lifestyle, that motivates a little girl to achieve her goals
and to be a success as a ‘woman’.
But after seeing Barbie being blamed for so many things I decided to
write an article about the doll that had made a significant impression for the
past 50 years and still continues to do so, and why people shouldn't blame
"her" for the self-image problems of girls and women.
The controversy against Barbie
It is evident that during recent times the media, educators, parents and feminists have
blamed the doll for various reasons. If every time anyone writes or speaks
about the issues of young women’s unhealthy obsession to achieve the
perfect body, it doesn’t take long for the name ‘Barbie’ to be mentioned.
Some claim that the toy represents the paradigm of adult female beauty
to which young girls learn to aspire. It has been argued that Barbie dolls
reflect a highly sexualized image and restrict girls' play by emphasizing
prescribed roles. The media say that some people fear that by dramatizing
stereotypical feminine roles during play, girls will internalize and later
embody such roles. There continues to be disagreement over the messages the Barbie doll
sends and the toy's place in the lives of young girls. Despite all these
controversy and the demand to change the image of the doll, Mattel.Inc have
been largely – I’d say completely – unresponsive to those concerns and the toy
remains to be the best selling toy in the world.
The positive influence of Barbie
Barbie is a powerful, intelligent, skilled and someone who will always be
linked to the color pink. She represents’ women of all colors,
nationalities, occupations and in her own way, also represents a
little girl.
Independence & Creativity
Since the introduction of Barbie in 1959, she was an adult and had a
career, which represented her independence and power during a time
when little girls in the world were playing with baby dolls and taking care of
them like mothers. ‘Independence’ was the first and the key impact the doll
made in a girls mind and I believe this greatly develops intellect to regulate
a goal-driven attitude in a child. When looking at how people played with the Barbie and their stories,
I really appreciate the wonderful creativity that builds in a child’s mind. The
genius of Barbie is that the doll can be anyone in the mind of a
young girl and assist her to project possibilities and to mirror or
to extend their own lives.
Barbie is a single woman - she's not necessarily married or with children
- and I think it's a good thing that young girls play withBarbies and have
narratives where women have the freedom to be themselves, hang out
with girlfriends, have careers, go backpacking and climb Mount Everest or
simply be a super housewife and have kids. Barbie allows the
imagination to take wings. It is also essential to keep in mind the fact that young girls have the ability
to distinguish between fantasy and the real world.
The Beauty
No matter what negative remarks the doll receives, Barbie is
beautiful inside and out. She is not an action hero who beats up or shoots up
anyone who opposes her - She’s got wholesomeness - She’s a hard
worker and is liked by all her friends. She hurts nobody and yet she is like so many women who live in
abusive environments where they are blamed for things that aren't their fault,
treated with suspicion, resented, used as punching bags when someone has had a
bad day, and brutalized. This pretty little doll, with her miniature accessories and the
ability to capture the imaginations of little girls (and not so little girls)
everywhere isn't really guilty of anything other than being perfect and
perfectly feminine.
Barbie will always represent perfection, which something a human being
cannot achieve, yet she stands as a benchmark in a girls life to accomplish her dream
of becoming the best, to be beautiful, to be classy, and to be loved by all.
