The Barbie Brouhaha

Hi all: I'm taking a blogging vacation this week, so I hope you don't mind if I pull out some vintage posts while I take a break. Here's one that originally ran back in March 2009, but its message is a good one for all those moms who are worried about the Barbie dolls their daughters got during the holidays.

Today is officially the 50th birthday of Mattel's Barbie doll and you know what that means...the Internet is abuzz with stories about all the ways that Barbie causes low self-esteem and body image issues in girls and women. I'll admit that while I played with Barbie dolls for a short time during my childhood, I was way more into my Sunshine Family dollhouse -- that groovy, happy family of hippies -- than I was into Barbie and all her associated glamour. In fact, my mother was none too pleased with me when I sold all of my Barbies and their "stuff" -- including a big pink plastic bus -- to a friend who lived a few streets over. My asking price? A few dollars.

But I digress...

Back to the issue of Barbie and whether she's harmful to the female body image. Here's my not-too-exciting answer: Maybe. You all know by now that I'm a common-sense kind of gal; if you've got a little girl who plays with Barbie non-stop and has begun talking about how she wants to look like Barbie, then maybe you've got a budding problem. But a little girl who plays with a doll and then puts the doll away to go out and run around with a soccer ball? Not so much.

The key, I think, is talking and as my kids will attest, I will talk and talk until I'm sure they hear me. You certainly don't have to launch into a discourse about cultural implications and society's oppression of women with a five-year-old. However, it's not entirely inappropriate to bring these topics up subtly in an age-appropriate way. For example, sitting down to play Barbies with a three-year-old might involve a discussion of what Barbie's going to have for lunch -- just as a reminder that healthy women do, in fact, eat. An older girl might enjoy a simple discussion about toy design that could start with the question, "If you were going to make a doll for other girls to play with, what would she look like?" The great thing about interacting with kids is that there are many ways to open the door to these topics...you just have to let their answers be your guide.

I get asked a lot about media images and their effect on body image and it's a topic I address in my book. My mantra is that all of these images -- Barbie included -- have the potential to be harmful if girls are left alone with them. What girls need most from us isn't heavy-handed declarations; instead, they need context. They need to know that Barbie represents one team of toy designers' 50-year-old thoughts about women and beauty. If you and I were both asked to paint a beautiful sunset, our pictures might have some of the same elements, but they wouldn't look the same. It's all about perception and interpretation.

Girls can get that concept...but they need moms to guide them. So the next time your daughter brings out the Barbie dolls, get down on the floor and play with her. It's a window into her world and a great way to subtly shape how she sees herself and her place in the world. 

Comments

[Tracie Yule]

I think that this is a very commonsense answer to the question of Barbie.

My three old daughter has started playing with Barbie and she received a vet Barbie with dogs from Santa. She was actually more interested in the dogs than the actual Barbie, which isn't surprising since we have a household full of animals.

A lot comes from example with children and I hope that my daughter learns from me that how you treat people is more important than how you look.

[Brit]

I know this was posted ages ago, but I just wanted to note that even if something is presented as aesthetically perfect, it may not be perceived as so.

As a young girl, I was annoyed by the proportions of the Barbie doll. When I would make skirts for them, I would feel right about the proportions, but once on the doll, it would seem too short to please me. I would even stuff extra padding under their clothes to fill them out. No one really told me, but I could tell that they didn't reflect real people.

My point is that even when left relatively alone (no one is alone as we are enculturated from birth), young girls may still not be harmed by such an aesthetic statement. It would depend on the character and personal strength of the child.

[Dara Chadwick]

Brit, thanks for stopping by. You make an excellent point.