Mattel wants to sell Barbies. This may seem like an obvious statement, but people seem to reject that Barbie has any effects on society. Barbie advertisements are everywhere and even when they are not the stereotypical advertisements (magazine ads, commercials) they are still selling the idea of Barbie. This video is a perfect example of how the Barbie industry has affected not only Western society, but societies all over the world. In this video they report on the opening of a Barbie Café in Taipei, Taiwan. The café looks exactly like one would expect: pink, frilly, and full of Barbie photos. One woman that is interviewed in the video said she feels "like a princess". Meanwhile, the woman's description stated she was a thirty-year-old housewife. They have created this fantasy world that not only fulfills young girl's dreams, but it also fulfills the childhood dreams of adult women.
To add to the Barbie-esque style of the café, each menu item displays the number of calories that is in it. As if women aren't being generalized enough through the massive amounts of pink and pictures of a skinny Barbie, they also add a conscious awareness of food/calorie intake. It is very important that people are conscious about what they eat and healthy eating, but it seems to push the envelope too far in this situation. Girls (and women) are seeing the images of Barbie on the wall and they internalize those images. This then affects their food choices within the Barbie café because they can directly see how many calories they will be consuming. Of course, they want to look like the images presented on the walls, therefore, they will most likely make small portion choices or eat less of the food. It can also create dietary issues outside of the café because it brings to mind how a woman should look and to achieve that one needs to reduce the amount of calories they consume each day. It starts and fuels the body image issues many women face because there is a constant reminder of needing to look thinner and constant thought of what to eat, what not to eat, and how much to eat.
The effects of the Barbie industry are so prominent in our lives that they seem normal. If one weren't analyzing the effects of Barbie, they wouldn't really think twice about the adult woman stating in the video she felt like a princess. It's expected in our society that females associate being feminine and princess-like with Barbie. Most girls want to be or feel like a princess at some point in their life. What is disturbing is that this adult woman is willing to reject the role of a female in normal society to fulfill the fantasy of becoming a beautiful princess. She would be willing to give up what freedom, independence, and self-worth she has to fulfill the dream of being a princess.
While there is nothing wrong with girls feeling like princesses or feeling special, there is something wrong when these mentalities become a way of life. These girls are being fed information about how they should act as females in society. Barbie has become a role model of how girls should look and act and she is mostly presented in hegemonic ways. She is skinny, beautiful, and often performs the feminine tasks in society (cooking, cleaning, "female"-based jobs). As she is such a large part of society, she reinforces the gender in which we perform and keeps females (and males) in the cyclical pattern that is hegemonic gender roles/representations.
To add to the Barbie-esque style of the café, each menu item displays the number of calories that is in it. As if women aren't being generalized enough through the massive amounts of pink and pictures of a skinny Barbie, they also add a conscious awareness of food/calorie intake. It is very important that people are conscious about what they eat and healthy eating, but it seems to push the envelope too far in this situation. Girls (and women) are seeing the images of Barbie on the wall and they internalize those images. This then affects their food choices within the Barbie café because they can directly see how many calories they will be consuming. Of course, they want to look like the images presented on the walls, therefore, they will most likely make small portion choices or eat less of the food. It can also create dietary issues outside of the café because it brings to mind how a woman should look and to achieve that one needs to reduce the amount of calories they consume each day. It starts and fuels the body image issues many women face because there is a constant reminder of needing to look thinner and constant thought of what to eat, what not to eat, and how much to eat.
The effects of the Barbie industry are so prominent in our lives that they seem normal. If one weren't analyzing the effects of Barbie, they wouldn't really think twice about the adult woman stating in the video she felt like a princess. It's expected in our society that females associate being feminine and princess-like with Barbie. Most girls want to be or feel like a princess at some point in their life. What is disturbing is that this adult woman is willing to reject the role of a female in normal society to fulfill the fantasy of becoming a beautiful princess. She would be willing to give up what freedom, independence, and self-worth she has to fulfill the dream of being a princess.
While there is nothing wrong with girls feeling like princesses or feeling special, there is something wrong when these mentalities become a way of life. These girls are being fed information about how they should act as females in society. Barbie has become a role model of how girls should look and act and she is mostly presented in hegemonic ways. She is skinny, beautiful, and often performs the feminine tasks in society (cooking, cleaning, "female"-based jobs). As she is such a large part of society, she reinforces the gender in which we perform and keeps females (and males) in the cyclical pattern that is hegemonic gender roles/representations.
Barbie gives girls unrealistic expectations of what it means to be a female. Her body shows unrealistic proportion sizes as her waist, hip, height, and breast sizes don't realistically add up. Many researchers have taken Barbie's proportions and scaled them to life-sized measurements to compare how Barbie sizes up to real women. The results are shocking and somewhat disturbing. When Barbie is compared to real women, the proportions are so ridiculous that no one could healthily sustain them. What is even more disturbing is Barbie has been and continues to be the role model to which girls all over the world are comparing their bodies. When a Barbie was made with the proportions of an average woman and compared to a regular Barbie doll, the differences in sizes are even more apparent. This idea of body image and the way Barbie is advertised plays a large role in how girls view themselves as females.
1. Hands
Barbie's hands are one of the most interesting of her features. Her hands are always in an opened, graceful, and dainty fashion. It looks as though she could just float or fly away at any moment. There is no real person whose hands fall to their sides like that. When anyone, not just women, stand with their hands resting at their sides, their hands naturally curl inward making a c-shape. A real woman's hands naturally rest in the opposite direction Barbie's hands rest as her hands are always pointed outward from her body. If females held their hands like Barbie does, they would all need carpel tunnel surgery by the time they were 20 years old.
Another interesting aspect of Barbie's hands are her wrists. They are measured to be about 3.5 inches compared to a real woman's wrists which measure to be, on average, about 6.5 inches (Golgowski). Barbie's wrists are almost half the size of an average woman's wrists. This means Barbie would not be able to lift anything heavy, or even moderately heavy. The maximum weight her wrists could sustain would probably be equal to the weight of her favorite clutch purse.
2. Waist/Stomach
The main cause of debate over Barbie's appearance stems from her waist size. It is obvious that Barbie is a very skinny girl. Barbie's waist size in real-life proportions is 16 inches in diameter while an average woman's waist is measured at 35 inches in diameter (Golgowski). Similar to the wrists, Barbie's waist is almost half the size of an average woman's waist; HALF THE SIZE OF AN AVERAGE WOMAN'S WAIST! Because her waist is so small, researchers have found that Barbie's body could only fit half of a liver and a few inches of intestines (Golgowski). Her waist isn't large enough to fit all of the organs a human needs to survive inside her body. Her proportions were taken and compared to an average woman's body. When an average woman is measured they take into account her height and other sizes. So, by the standards of the average woman, Barbie is grossly unhealthy.
As if her small waist weren't enough, Barbie's also has a flat and toned stomach. Her stomach is flat and smooth not showing any stretch marks, rolling of excess skin/fat, or anything that occurs naturally on a woman's body. It is understandable that dolls cannot be made to have natural rolls in the skin because they are made of plastic. But she doesn't even have a practical stomach. There are natural bulges or larger sections of a woman's stomach that aren't apparent on the doll. It seems that Barbie has time to do multiple abdominal workouts a day because that is the only way someone could have a stomach comparable to hers.
3. Legs (Thighs)
Barbie's thighs are measured to be 16 inches and an average woman's thighs are measured to be around 25 inches (Golgowski). Most women know what happens to our thighs when we sit down, they spread out making them look larger. Of course Barbie's legs are so tiny that they make it seem as though our legs are unnaturally large. Her legs are long, but so small that they can barely hold up her body. The good news is that we, the average women, are the normal ones. The skin, fat, and muscles we have in/on our legs move around and spread out when we sit. It is a natural occurrence. What is not natural is that if Barbie sits down, her legs barely bend much less show any sign of fat or cellulite. Her slight leg bend leaves her in an awkward position which bears a strong resemblance to the ways in which models are posed in magazine advertisements.
4. Feet
Barbie's ankles are about six inches around and her shoe size would be a children's three (Golgowski). When researchers calculated the size of Barbie's feet/ankles in comparison to her body, they found that if she were real, she would not be able to walk on two feet. Her small feet and ankles could not hold her body's weight and she would be forced to walk on her hands and knees to move around (Golgowski).
Barbie's foot has unnatural arch that causes her to always stand on the tips of her toes. Her feet are made to only fit heels comfortably and when she wears sneakers, the sneakers have to be made a special way to be able to fit her feet. Women's feet don't have an arch in their foot that forces them to walk on the tips of their toes all day, everyday. Women have feet that are flatter and are larger than a children's size three (an average shoe size for women is a seven). Barbie's feet are a very large representation of her as a female. If she is always standing on the tips of her feet, she is unbalanced and vulnerable. There is nothing protecting her from someone taking control of her (which is ironic because her whole life is about being controlled by others: girls, media, advertising, etc.). Barbie cannot physically stand on her own, which makes her submissive and weak. If Barbie is so dependent on others because she cannot walk on two feet or stand on her own, how can she be a good role model to girls as an independent, successful woman?
5. Bottom/Hips
Barbie's bottom region shows a flat butt and minimal curves. Most women have some sort of curve in their butt and especially in their hip area. Women's bodies are more of a pear-shape so more of their weight is concentrated in the lower parts of our body. This is often shown in the larger sizes in the butt and hip regions on a woman.
Barbie's hips measure to be 29 inches around while an average woman's hips are measured to be 40 inches around (Golgowski). What seems to have slipped the minds of those who designed Barbie's body is that women are the bearer of children. A woman is responsible (biologically, of course, because women have the right to deny bearing their own children, or having children at all) for keeping the earth populated by giving birth to children and so her body is built in a way that makes that job just a little easier. Women tend to have wider hips because of the birthing process of expelling a human being out of their bodies. Barbie would never be able to deliver children because her hips would not be wide enough to push out the baby (she probably couldn't carry a baby either because there would be no room internally under her small waist).
Overall Effects
Barbie has a very specific size which presents a certain idea of how girls should look. Barbie's proportions would not be as much of an issue if it weren't for the advertising. The doll itself does not have a voice. She cannot tell girls what to do and how to act. The information girls internalize about who Barbie is comes from the advertising. Combine the way Barbie is presented to young girls through advertising with the way her body looks and you have a recipe for disaster.
1. Hands
Barbie's hands are one of the most interesting of her features. Her hands are always in an opened, graceful, and dainty fashion. It looks as though she could just float or fly away at any moment. There is no real person whose hands fall to their sides like that. When anyone, not just women, stand with their hands resting at their sides, their hands naturally curl inward making a c-shape. A real woman's hands naturally rest in the opposite direction Barbie's hands rest as her hands are always pointed outward from her body. If females held their hands like Barbie does, they would all need carpel tunnel surgery by the time they were 20 years old.
Another interesting aspect of Barbie's hands are her wrists. They are measured to be about 3.5 inches compared to a real woman's wrists which measure to be, on average, about 6.5 inches (Golgowski). Barbie's wrists are almost half the size of an average woman's wrists. This means Barbie would not be able to lift anything heavy, or even moderately heavy. The maximum weight her wrists could sustain would probably be equal to the weight of her favorite clutch purse.
2. Waist/Stomach
The main cause of debate over Barbie's appearance stems from her waist size. It is obvious that Barbie is a very skinny girl. Barbie's waist size in real-life proportions is 16 inches in diameter while an average woman's waist is measured at 35 inches in diameter (Golgowski). Similar to the wrists, Barbie's waist is almost half the size of an average woman's waist; HALF THE SIZE OF AN AVERAGE WOMAN'S WAIST! Because her waist is so small, researchers have found that Barbie's body could only fit half of a liver and a few inches of intestines (Golgowski). Her waist isn't large enough to fit all of the organs a human needs to survive inside her body. Her proportions were taken and compared to an average woman's body. When an average woman is measured they take into account her height and other sizes. So, by the standards of the average woman, Barbie is grossly unhealthy.
As if her small waist weren't enough, Barbie's also has a flat and toned stomach. Her stomach is flat and smooth not showing any stretch marks, rolling of excess skin/fat, or anything that occurs naturally on a woman's body. It is understandable that dolls cannot be made to have natural rolls in the skin because they are made of plastic. But she doesn't even have a practical stomach. There are natural bulges or larger sections of a woman's stomach that aren't apparent on the doll. It seems that Barbie has time to do multiple abdominal workouts a day because that is the only way someone could have a stomach comparable to hers.
3. Legs (Thighs)
Barbie's thighs are measured to be 16 inches and an average woman's thighs are measured to be around 25 inches (Golgowski). Most women know what happens to our thighs when we sit down, they spread out making them look larger. Of course Barbie's legs are so tiny that they make it seem as though our legs are unnaturally large. Her legs are long, but so small that they can barely hold up her body. The good news is that we, the average women, are the normal ones. The skin, fat, and muscles we have in/on our legs move around and spread out when we sit. It is a natural occurrence. What is not natural is that if Barbie sits down, her legs barely bend much less show any sign of fat or cellulite. Her slight leg bend leaves her in an awkward position which bears a strong resemblance to the ways in which models are posed in magazine advertisements.
4. Feet
Barbie's ankles are about six inches around and her shoe size would be a children's three (Golgowski). When researchers calculated the size of Barbie's feet/ankles in comparison to her body, they found that if she were real, she would not be able to walk on two feet. Her small feet and ankles could not hold her body's weight and she would be forced to walk on her hands and knees to move around (Golgowski).
Barbie's foot has unnatural arch that causes her to always stand on the tips of her toes. Her feet are made to only fit heels comfortably and when she wears sneakers, the sneakers have to be made a special way to be able to fit her feet. Women's feet don't have an arch in their foot that forces them to walk on the tips of their toes all day, everyday. Women have feet that are flatter and are larger than a children's size three (an average shoe size for women is a seven). Barbie's feet are a very large representation of her as a female. If she is always standing on the tips of her feet, she is unbalanced and vulnerable. There is nothing protecting her from someone taking control of her (which is ironic because her whole life is about being controlled by others: girls, media, advertising, etc.). Barbie cannot physically stand on her own, which makes her submissive and weak. If Barbie is so dependent on others because she cannot walk on two feet or stand on her own, how can she be a good role model to girls as an independent, successful woman?
5. Bottom/Hips
Barbie's bottom region shows a flat butt and minimal curves. Most women have some sort of curve in their butt and especially in their hip area. Women's bodies are more of a pear-shape so more of their weight is concentrated in the lower parts of our body. This is often shown in the larger sizes in the butt and hip regions on a woman.
Barbie's hips measure to be 29 inches around while an average woman's hips are measured to be 40 inches around (Golgowski). What seems to have slipped the minds of those who designed Barbie's body is that women are the bearer of children. A woman is responsible (biologically, of course, because women have the right to deny bearing their own children, or having children at all) for keeping the earth populated by giving birth to children and so her body is built in a way that makes that job just a little easier. Women tend to have wider hips because of the birthing process of expelling a human being out of their bodies. Barbie would never be able to deliver children because her hips would not be wide enough to push out the baby (she probably couldn't carry a baby either because there would be no room internally under her small waist).
Overall Effects
Barbie has a very specific size which presents a certain idea of how girls should look. Barbie's proportions would not be as much of an issue if it weren't for the advertising. The doll itself does not have a voice. She cannot tell girls what to do and how to act. The information girls internalize about who Barbie is comes from the advertising. Combine the way Barbie is presented to young girls through advertising with the way her body looks and you have a recipe for disaster.