America is a culture defined by physical perfection. Mattel Barbie dolls are a pop-cultural trend that has influenced generations of young girls throughout the world. However, that influence has not come without a fair share of controversy. Many critics of the doll have longed argued that Barbie causes negative effects on girls. These effects range from unhealthy body images to unrealistic careers to believing in materialistic things. Barbie does not represent the average American women. Barbie is made specifically for adolescent pleasure, yet they do not portray any accurate information in order to affectively develop a young women’s mind.

When an icon carries as much influence as Barbie in everyday culture, its weight becomes imperceptible and taken for granted. When this happens, it becomes extremely necessary to dig even deeper to be aware of the implications that the doll carries. But Barbie is not just a toy. Playing Barbie allows girls to create a whole world of fantasy, separate from their real life environment. It can be an escape to a place they have never been to before, or somewhere they go everyday. Barbie to little girls’ is like being stranded on a

Barbie has become such a symbolic image.. But, if Barbie were human, she would stand 5 foot 4 inches tall, weigh 110 pounds, and have a 39-inch bust, 18-inch waist, and 33-inch hips. These measurements sound virtually impossible; no woman could have that body shape. I have never heard these statistics before, and I wonder the impact it has on girl’s of today’s world. The image of Barbie’s perfect hourglass figure, along with the repeated advertisements of skinny models and actresses getting what they want, led me to believe that there was something wrong with society today. Models’ frail bodies are unattainable by normal women; the problem is that fact is irrelevant to most young women. For women to have a body like Barbie’s, they would have to undergo extensive cosmetic surgery most of their life. Talk about an expensive habit.

The slender shape of Barbie complemented with skinny modeling in advertisements pressures young women to maintain that girlish figure absent of hips, thighs, fat and, most importantly, absent of power. Emphasis is on the youthful and innocent look of prepubescence, not a matured and full look that is natural to being a woman. Focusing girls’ energy upon t

Some topics in this essay:
Playing Barbie, Mattel Barbie, , playing barbie, real woman, little girls, barbie girls,