Curvy Barbie Dolls

There has been a lot of hype about the new “curvy” Barbie doll that has hit stores recently, and the reactions vary dramatically. On one end, there have been women for decades that have been saying that barbie dolls are not a toy little girls should be given. On the other, there are people who say that it’s a doll, not real life, and it should be treated as such. From my perspective, I don’t think that Barbie is the reason for girls suffering from eating disorders or aspiring to be a too-thin, too-fake woman. I think that Barbie is a pretty doll that was fun to play with when I was younger. I never once thought about the fact that she was so tiny. All I thought about was the imaginary world I had created for her. Her looks weren’t so important. I do, however, see the latter side of this argument.
My grandma, for instance, refused to let my mother have a barbie doll because the style was so unrealistic. It has been said that, “a typical Barbie doll stands at 11.5 inches, which, at a 1/6 scale, would make her 5 feet 9 inches tall. Her vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (bust), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to a study by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to menstruate.” To give young girls this doll as a role model, is absurd. Of course there are angry women out there, mad at the creators of Barbie for highlighting unattainable standards for woman and especially for targeting such a young age group. This is inevitable given the emphasis on the “perfect body” stereotypes, blonde, skinny, nice chest, blue eyes, perfect make up, long legs, nice butt; almost every feminist will stand up against something that promotes a this as a body norm.
So if you were to put it that way, that Barbie is being used as a role model for young girls, then yes, I do agree that Barbie should not promote this irregular body as a body norm. I am against young girls being taught that they need to be tall, blonde, and skinny to be pretty. But I do not think that Barbie dolls are role models. I don’t even think that having Barbie dolls exist creates this problem.
Here’s why: there are tons of different types of dolls out there. Tons. I enjoyed the fact that my Barbie was pretty, we are all attracted to pretty things; but, I also thought my American Girl dolls were pretty, I thought my Polly Pockets were pretty, I thought my mom’s old dolls made of felt were pretty. I just liked to play with dolls. I liked to imagine worlds with drama and excitement and fantasize about an entirely different life. I escaped into my room for hours and could become a totally different person. I was not absorbed with wanting to look like a Barbie. I have never in my life looked at a Barbie doll and wished I looked like that. I have, however, looked at models and been jealous. I have looked at girls in my grade and been jealous. But I have never been jealous of a doll, because it’s was always just that, a doll.
Honestly, I think the idea of a curvy Barbie is all with good intent. However, the curvy Barbie is just going to draw the attention of the girls who play with them to the body sizes of the different barbies. Skinny Barbie’s skinniness is now emphasized and so are curvy Barbie’s curves. Whereas when I played with Barbies, I really couldn’t care less about her body shape. Now, the different body shapes will be accounted for when these kids choose which doll they will be playing with.

Sources:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/b/barbie_doll/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/business/barbie-now-in-more-shapes.html?_r=0