Stick thin and blonde.
These words have been used to describe the infamous Barbie for the several generations of girls that have been able to buy and experience the doll. This doll may have begun as a blondie, but Barbie soon expanded into an empire that included all different types of ethnicities, such as African-American and Oriental. Although the ethnicities for Barbie grew, modern day Barbie buyers have expressed a strong disdain for Barbie's universal body type, stating that her thin composition promotes a lack of self-esteem in young girls.
This statement directly opposes my childhood, where Barbies did nothing but inspire creativity and create happy memories.
Compared to a Doll
Barbies in and of themselves do not hurt children. The main argument centered around Barbies causing harm to kids is through what they promote. Parents have argued that when their daughters play with their Barbies, they compare themselves to the dolls and wonder why they do not have the stick-thin legs and petite figures that their dolls have.
I myself do not reflect the common physical traits of the Barbies I owned. I am 5-foot-2 with short legs and a long torso. Throughout puberty, I had my fair share of low self-esteem and continuously worked on accepting my body, just like every other girl works to. Through these times, I did not once associate my insecurities to my Barbie dolls. For one simple reason: they are dolls.
Barbies were not the only dolls I had. Other popular dolls of mine included Polly Pockets and BeautyCuties. Although my BeautyCutie clearly resembled a young girl just like the Barbie, no one argues that girls are comparing themselves to the doll's oversized head, huge eyes, and small body. Why is that? Because the BeautyCutie is not meant to look like a real girl, it is just a doll. This outlook, for me, applied to all my dolls, including my Barbies.
I won't lie, I did tend to drift toward the Caucasian and blonde Barbies because they did more closely resemble me. The main fact of the matter is that they resembled me in the most basic of human traits: hair and skin color. Young 8-year-old me never looked at my Barbies' developed chests or figures and thought about how those traits reflected on my body. Children are innocent and Barbies are gorgeous and this appeals to a young girl. There is nothing wrong with that.
Modern Barbies
The minds behind Barbie have made huge leaps to work against the negative stereotype that now shadows the Barbie. They have done this through entirely new doll designs which include female shapes that girls can more easily relate to. I took a stroll down Target's toy aisle so that I could catch a glimpse of these new dolls.
The most common trend I observed throughout the dolls is that their legs are shorter, their thighs are thicker and their waistlines have increased. I want to emphasize that I find NO issue with these new dolls. If Barbie wants to create new female forms, good for them. The new dolls are very appealing, and like the old dolls, are pretty in their own way. I know for a fact that if these Barbies had come out when I was a child, then I would have definitely scooped one up for myself.
The issue does not lie in creating new dolls with different figures, but that the creators of Barbie felt they had to.
The Truth Behind The Problem
Barbies in and of themselves do not hurt children. Barbies, like any other sort of outrageous expectation, can be used as a weapon. If my mother told my sister and I that we had to look like the Barbies we cherished so much, then there would have been an issue. I am not a Barbie, I do not look like a Barbie, and most girls will never look like Barbies. Having the appearance of a Barbie doll is an unrealistic expectation that no girl should be set to achieve.
It is no different than a child who loves football and compares himself to the pro-football players on television. Do you ban the child from watching football on TV? Of course not. You work to develop their confidence by helping them embrace the unique qualities they have until they can accept themselves for who they are.
Do not demonize the Barbie, because I can tell you that most young girls do not compare themselves to the doll. Receiving my Barbies at Christmas and playing with them with my sister were some of the best memories from my childhood and I know many other girls that feel the same way. If your child is having a problem with comparing themselves to their toys, rid them of this impossible expectation because a toy is a toy and comparison stops there.
