Barbie or Bust

Self-Image is a popular phrase with young women in society today. Just about every girl is worried about how they look and what people think of them. I noticed recently, too that on social media girls can edit pictures and make themselves look like someone that they are not at all. Also, it seems as though young girls that are only of age 13 actually look like they are 25 on the internet because of the layers of make up on their faces. It is absurd that these young girls feel the need to grow up so fast and become someone else before they truly know who they are.

I know that most girls nowadays are all into looking like a Kardashian or other celebrity icon, but why is just being yourself not good enough? It is hard to look at someone or something and not want to become them. One perfect example of this would be a Barbie Doll. The perfect blonde hair, blue eyes, tiny waist, big bust, and large butt combination is what every girl dreamt of looking like for so long. However, these qualities are actually not realistic. Barbie has a direct impact on body image and upholds unrealistic standards.

Recent studies have anatomically broken down Barbie’s image to show people why it is impossible to look like her. Barbie, if she was human, would be 5 feet and 9 inches tall, weigh 110 pounds and have a 16 inch waist. This means that she could not menstruate or have room for some vital organs in the abdominal area. Most American women have an average waist size of 35 inches. Barbie also would have small feet that would measure out to be about a size three with small ankles. Her small 3.5 inch wrist does not do her any good either. With that being said, Barbie would have to walk like a dog using all four limbs instead of her two legs. Barbie’s head might also be dangling quite a bit because it would be hard for her abnormally thin neck to hold it upright in anatomical position (Goldstein).

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Although Barbie seems like a beautiful and amazing image for young women just by looking at her, she is actually causing a lot of harm. Women try to lose weight to look like Barbie and have found themselves seriously risking their health. For example, anorexia nervosa is becoming more prominent in young women trying to be a look-alike-Barbie. In a study, young girls were shown images of Barbie and it was concluded that they felt worse about themselves after seeing the “perfect” doll LINK (Dying…Impossible). Anorexia is not a condition to mess with and causes so many deaths around the world. No girl should have to feel like every bone needs to be out of their body in order to feel beautiful.

Makers of Barbie need to send a message to young girls that you do not have to fit their image in order to be beautiful. Barbie is a doll and we should not have to worry about our youth dying because they are not meeting the standards of their favorite toy.

 

Works Cited

Goldstein, Sasha. “Barbie as a Real Woman Is Anatomically Impossible.” NY Daily News. N.p., 15

               Apr. 2013. Web. 08 Sept. 2016.

“Dying to Be Barbie: Eating Disorders in Pursuit of the Impossible.” Rehabs.com. N.p., n.d. Web.

08 Sept. 2016

 

Picture Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/423056958718881456/

3 thoughts on “Barbie or Bust

  1. Margaret Marchok

    As a girl, I definitely feel this on a personal level! I feel as though everywhere I go, I am always comparing myself to other girls but not in a good way. I find myself going “I wish I was as tall as that girl” or “I wish I was as skinny as her.” I know I am not alone- almost every girl feels as though they do not look good enough for society. You brought up a good point about Barbie. Many girls strive to be as skinny or pretty as her, so it is very interesting to hear that she actually would not be able to live like a normal human if she were a real person. here is another article that covers the matter- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2308658/How-Barbies-body-size-look-real-life-Walking-fours-missing-half-liver-inches-intestine.html. Enjoy!

  2. Sabrina Chan

    Edited:
    In this day and age, young girls are so easily affected by everything surrounding them. This isn’t because they’re becoming more emotional–It’s because information and feedback are so readily available. While Barbie is messing with self-image, social media is as well. Social media makes it so easy to care about what other people are thinking and doing, which in turn affects ourselves.

    At any age, not just specific to young girls, social media gives us a small adrenaline rush. With each like, we feel more and more validated. According to this article ** http://www.omahacentralregister.com/1366/showcase/social-media-affects-teens-self-esteem-personal-identity/ **, written by Hayley Raney, social media negatively impacts our self-esteem by creating a sense of “perfection” that we feel we must pursue. We’re influenced by the styles and trends we see, and this can cause us to have insecurities.

    This is absolutely disheartening. Technology is supposed to help us in our daily lives, but it seems that the more technologically advanced we become, the more we regress.

  3. Sabrina Chan

    In this day and age, young girls are so easily affected by everything surrounding them. This isn’t because they’re becoming more emotional–It’s because information and feedback are so readily available. Social media makes it so easy to care about what other people are thinking and doing, which in turn affects ourselves.

    At any age, not just specific to young girls, social media gives us a small adrenaline rush. With each like, we feel more and more validated. According to this article ** http://www.omahacentralregister.com/1366/showcase/social-media-affects-teens-self-esteem-personal-identity/ **, written by Hayley Raney, social media negatively impacts our self-esteem by creating a sense of “perfection” that we feel we must pursue. We’re influenced by the styles and trends we see, and this can cause us to have insecurities.

    This is absolutely disheartening. Technology is supposed to help us in our daily lives, but it seems that the more technologically advanced we become, the more we regress.

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