Barbie Essays - 1716 Words

Barbie Since the beginning of time, toys have often been an indicator of the way a society behaves, and how they interact with their children. For example, in ancient Greece, artifacts recovered there testify that children were simply not given toys to play with as in the modern world. The cruel ritual of leaving a sick child on a hillside for dead, seems to indicate a lack of attention to the young (Lord 16). The same is true of today’s society. As you can see with the number of toy stores in our society, we find toys of great value to our lives and enjoy giving them to children as gifts. Ask just about any young girl what she wants for Christmas and you’ll undoubtedly get the same answer: â€Å"A Barbie.† But what exactly has caused†¦show more content†¦In fact, the Barbie doll was so popular that three years after her release in 1959 Mattel was still filling orders from her first year (Long 17). It wasn’t until the late 1960’s that critics began â€Å"comparing Barbie to a Playboy Bunny and calling her a corrupter of youth† (†Bad Girl† 3). One woman commented, â€Å"She’s an absurd representation of what a woman should be† (â€Å"Bad Girl† 3)-–and that’s exactly what many others thought she was, too. With such impossible real-life measurements of 5’9† tall, 36†-18†-33† bust, waist, and hip (Benstock and Ferriss 35), it’s easy to see why mothers across the country banned the doll from their homes and refused to let their impressionable young daughters be influenced by a piece of painted plastic (Bestock and Ferriss 35). Since dolls have often been responsible for teaching children what society deems important or beautiful, many concerned parents wondered why Mattel did not design a doll that taught more valuable lessons than dressing pretty and being dangerously skinny (Edut 19)? Who said a runway model was best suited for teaching a child what is beautiful anyway? â€Å"According to a Mattel spokesperson, a Kate Moss figure is better suited for today’s fashions† (Edut 19), and that is one reason why Barbie must be so disproportional. Actually, another reason for Barbie’s anorexic figure can be traced back long before Kate Moss and the fashion runway. Barbie wasShow MoreRelatedBarbie And The Barbie Doll1006 Words   |  5 Pageslays, Barbie. You might be wondering who this Barbie person is. I am not talking about a real person. I am talking about Barbie, the doll. B. Girls all around the world grew up playing with a Barbie doll. When first released she was a plastic, white skinned, thin, long legged teenage girl. She wore a tiny black and white stripped bathing suit with a pair of sunglasses sitting upon her head on top of her blonde colored hair. C. The whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the Barbie doll littleRead MoreHippie Barbie1064 Words   |  5 PagesHippie Barbie, written by Denise Duhamel uses the symbols of the contemporary life of the fairy-tale lifestyle into reality. The words and ideas used in this narrative poem give fantasy a different perspective. It is inferred that the speaker is a female Barbie specialist, who reflects her knowledge by using the popular Barbie doll as the main character. Throughout the poem, she gives key points that have female perspective; for instance, kissing Ken, thinking about having mixed-race children, andRead MoreIn a Barbie World1972 Words   |  8 PagesIn A Barbie World! A culture that is saturated by consumerism can be referred to as a consumer culture. Barbie can be used as a tool for consumer culture because she is perceived to be the perfect woman, an unattainable achievement. Barbie has the perfect man, Ken; she has her dream house, and car, and even a dream closet. There are life size Barbies bouncing around in T.V. and print media ads that personify this image. Barbie produces a systematic reproduction of consistency; she doesnt evolveRead MoreTo Be or Not to Be Barbie Essay1730 Words   |  7 PagesEvery woman grows up knowing that they one day want to be beautiful. In Marge Piercy’s â€Å"Barbie Doll† she gives an in-depth look at what negative effects the concept of beauty can have on an individual. From infancy to a full-grown adult woman, beauty has been a way of thinking and lifestyle. As a little girl you are given petite shaped, blonde, blue-eyed dolls. While boys are given brawny soldiers and mechanical toys. What do little girls do with these dolls? They put on fresh makeup, change theirRead MoreBarbie Case2561 Words   |  11 Pagestoy. Yes, it can hardly be any other toy but Barbie. Nowadays, girls can be seen wearing Barbie clothing, using Barbie perfume, carrying Barbie backpacks, and sleeping in Barbie pajamas, not to mention cosmetics, sneakers etc. (Morgenson 1991, 66). Mattel, Inc., the mother company of Barbie, should feel proud of her. Because on average, an American girl has ten Barbie dolls, a British or Italian girl may own seven, while five is the number of Barbie that a German or French girl has. It was Mattel’sRead MoreIts a Barbie World1114 Words   |  5 PagesIt’s a Barbie World Abstract Barbie dolls have been around for many years and many young girls have gotten a Barbie as a gift at some time in their lives. Barbie is made out of plastic and has unrealistic features to her. Her body proportions are not possible and her look only relates to less than half of the human population. Barbie has the perfect, dream world where she has her dream car, house, an impeccable wardrobe, and of course the man of her dreams. Many girls grow up and admire BarbieRead MoreBarbie. history Essay1679 Words   |  7 PagesBarbie Purpose statement: The purpose of this speech is to inform the audience about Barbie. INTRODUCTION: I. Did you know in every second of everyday, two Barbie dolls are sold somewhere in the world? A. Barbie was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler. B. She was introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City. II. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for fifty years. A. She has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuitsRead MoreIs Barbie Ever Be The Enemy?1255 Words   |  6 Pagesmay ask themselves, how can Barbie ever be the enemy. She is the top selling doll in the world, her franchise is worth over a billion dollars, and 99% of girls from the ages three to eleven has owned a Barbie doll according to (Barbie Media). Also, recent studies have shown that the average American girl between the ages of three to eleven owns ten Barbie dolls, according to â€Å"Barbie† by Sara Pendergast. So, what has led to so much controversy towards the beloved Barbie. Well, the major obsession regardingRead MoreThe Barbie Phenomenon Essay1049 Words   |  5 PagesThe Barbie Phenomenon The Barbie phenomenon took the world by storm. The creation of the eleven and one–half-inch tall â€Å"glam gal† didn’t begin at a large corporation’s drawing board, as some might think. She actually came straight from the hands of her loving â€Å"parents†, Ruth and Elliot Handler. The Mattel Corporation, founded by Ruth and Elliot Handler, has successfully marketed the Barbie doll for over four decades and still continues to sell the doll throughout the world. It is amazingRead MoreBarbie vs. Bratz Essay794 Words   |  4 PagesBADM 372: Advertising Case 2: Barbie vs. Bratz 1. Provide an analysis of the Mattel Barbie brand. What factors shape perceptions of the brand in the eyes of parents and young girls? Barbie was billed as â€Å"a shapely teenage fashion model,† and made her first appearance at the American Toy Fair in New York City and soon became a hit. (http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=160) Barbie was then and still is a popular doll for young girls. In the beginning she was popular because