Barbie dolls are so popular all around the world. When she first appeared, she was marketed "Teen-age Fashion Model". The girl has the so-called "killer-body", which is the dream of girls, and, boys.
However, this is where the main criticism from. If someone wants to have this body shape, she will have to be 5 feet 9 inches, with vital statistics at 36 inches, 18 inches and 33inches. According to the scientific research (by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland), it is impossible for a woman to keep healthy under this situation. The misleading information provided may result in girls’ anorexia while they are pursuing the killer-body, as well as many diseases caused by lack of enough nutrition and energy during the progress of dieting.
Apart from this, “Barbie” became a derogatory slang which describes girls with appealing appearance and empty mind. She has so many beautiful clothes and jewelries, and lives a life like a princess, seems to do nothing other than shopping and attending parties. “Will we ever have enough clothes?” “I love shopping!” “Wanna have a pizza party?” These sentences that came from the Teen Talk Barbie released in 1992, especially the sentence “Math class is tough!” proves this kind of view in some way.
However, according to the Zeisler’s “In examining how feminism has informed pop culture and vice versa, it’s instructive to look at the way the evolution of the women’s movement has been mirrored in pockets of popular culture”, what we should detect is the development of Barbie Dolls and how it reflects the feminism.
The change of Barbie’s eyes in 1971 is regarded as a main change in Barbie’s development. The influence is obvious: looking straight forward makes she looks more welcoming and remove the scornful expression in her eyes while looking down to one side. She seems to have a steadfast goal and is confident about it. The last picture of doctor Barbie really shows this point. She looks reliable and kind and will never frighten children going to the hospital.
Her body shape has been changed, too, including the waist and hips. She looks more like a real girl than ever before.
Until now, Barbie has become a doctor, a pilot, an astronaut, a candidate in presidential election, and so on. She is never a girl with empty mind again. She is a symbol of American culture in some way, and is showing a very different role model. Her “killer-body” is of less importance and she is playing a different role.
What do you think that Barbie represent from your point of view?
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