The argument is Barbie either provokes a negative image to women or the image of a strong woman proving “girls can do anything” boys can do. How an individual perceives the Barbie determines the effect the doll has. This carries on to younger girls and their mindset on body image. The narrator in “Barbie-Q” follows under the empowering opinion. Proof of this is stated in the quote: “So what if we didn’t get our new Bendable Legs Barbie and Midge and Ken….and had to buy them on Maxwell Street, all water soaked and sooty.…
Society has a specific view on beauty that plays into the lives of children and adults that captivates society every day. Those who do not fall into these ideas of beauty are shunned out and chastised for their differences. First, Natalie Angier looks into the world of toys, and how the way these toys are being represented is shaping the minds of the children of tomorrow. Adding to this, in Andre Dubus’s short story, “The Fat Girl”, Louise, the female protagonist, is chastised and condemned as a result of her being overwhelmed which ultimately extinguishes her self-esteem. To close, in Marge Piercy’s poem, “Barbie Doll”, the central character must accommodate her entire life in to fit into society’s view of beauty.…
Children are like wet clay, easily molded and shaped, and the messages that we convey to are crucial to their early development, such as the very toys that they play with. Most parents associate young boys with action figures while most girls are commonly associated with dolls, but this begs the question, what is the difference between a doll and an action figure? I went to Walmart to compare two different toys, Barbie dolls and G.I. Joe action figures to see the differences and the possible effects that it could have on children. Upon entering Walmart, I noticed that there was a lack of ethnic diversity in both the customers and the employees. A majority of the people in the store were Caucasian, and from what I could tell, the customers…
If Barbie was marketed to boys under five, boys that had not yet formed full societal stereotypes, perhaps they would treat the dolls relatively similar to how they do their other dolls. But if you gave a Barbie to an adult man and asked him to “play” with it, it would probably seem perverse to do so. However, “playing” with this plastic representation of womanhood, fixed in her identity, is symbolically…
The case that I chose to represent misappropriation of trade secret was Mattel, INC v. MGA Entertainment, INC also known as Barbie v. Bratz. This particular case struck my interests because Barbie© was a very influential toy in my childhood in result I promoted the use of entertainment by Barbie© to my daughter. This case was very enlightening due to the history of these two companies and how each of them posed a threat to one another. Also, threatening the complete future existence of Bratz©.…
In short “Barbie Doll” is about a young girl that is given dolls as an influence on how she should act, dress, and look. Though out her life she was smart and amazing in her only way but she still felt self-conscious. So she conformed to what the world wants her to be, and…
Beauty, a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. Beautiful, of a very high standard; excellent. These two words control all aspect of a woman’s life. They spend most of their time making themselves look nice to please society. For instance, they wear make-up, designer clothes and shoes, nice jewelry, and they make sure their hair is always done nicely.…
Gender roles and stereotypes have always been an issue in society, and they still are to this day. Although feminism and woman’s rights have come so far in the past years, there is still more progress to be made and the sexist labels do not only happen to women. Having gender stereotypes, that begin when we are young, creates the platform for many of these sexist issues that women, as well as men, are still facing. The article “Why Boys Don’t Play with Dolls” written by Katha Pollitt expresses the ideas of male and female stereotypes along with feminism.…
Toys and Books: Tools for Teaching Gender Specific Behavior Toys are the most obvious, and therefore the least expected, method of influencing a child's behavior. It's a subtle method that starts when children can't even walk yet. At first the toys a child is given are gender neutral toys such as The Little Tikes Go and Grow Lil Rollin Giraffe, Fisher-Price Lil’ Snoopy, and The Playskool Poppin’ Park Elefun Busy Ball Popper. These toys are slowly replaced with more gender specific toys like Thomas The Tank Engine and Minnie Mouse and the Smile & Style Mirror by VTech as babies grow older. These toys are colored coded according to the gender of the child who is supposed to play with them.…
Barbie Doll In the poem “Barbie Doll” written by Marge Piercy, the author addresses the stereotypical ideas of what society believes a woman should look like and how a woman should act. The title lends itself to help reinforce these themes of appearance and femininity by implying that women are to fashion themselves around the famous 1959 Mattel doll, Barbie, whose appearance some argue provides an unrealistic expectation for women to strive to achieve. Piercy goes on to show what happens to the unnamed main character of the poem, when faced with the challenge of conforming to these social norms of beauty and femininity.…
Right before the Barbie dolls were released they did several studies to see if the new dolls made an impact on the children. This study included 162 little girls that ages ranged between five and eight years old. This study had taken place in 2006 before Mattel had their drop in profit. They gave the girls were told to look at a picture of either the Emme doll, no doll, or one of Barbie. The Emme doll is sort of like the like of the new Barbie’s, it is just a regular doll that has a more realistic body type compared to the Barbie.…
While boys have toys such as superman and trucks that portray masculinity, and electronic advancement, girls have Barbie dolls that shape their personalities, deteriorate their self-esteem, and defined their intelligence. Margie Piercy’s poem “Barbie Doll” provides insight on the script that woman are expected to play. The third stanza of the poem states, “She was advised to play coy, exhorted to come on hearty, exercise diet, smile, and wheedle. Her good nature wore out, like a fan belt. So she cut off her nose and legs and offered them up.…
Diversity in dolls is very important because it can show little kids more options in different things like culture. Dolls such as “Barbie” are usually only found in one appearance but MATTEL says they are going to change that. First of all, diversity in dolls will be be very important to children in many different ways. Diversity in dolls can help kids want to learn more about different cultures such as the Hispanic culture.…
In many books, cartoons, and movies the Barbie doll are portrayed as a bubbly, gullible, and unintelligent girls. When the first Barbie doll was released, all she cared about was fashion, beauty, and physical appearance, regardless if it will be at the expenses of her other interests or passions. One example is the “I Can Be A computer Engineer!” Barbie doll picture book. In this book, Barbie wanted to create a new game for class.…
Barbie is My Favorite Doll When I was a little girl, I thought nothing in the world could delight me more than a Barbie doll. She has often stayed with me in spirit and acted like a model for me to follow, when I have grown in my childhood. Indeed, Barbie doll is like a life-like figure, who stimulated my imagination, encouraged me to move on when I felt sad, enlightened me when I was in the dark. Interesting, Barbie doll was also my faithful friend, always lending its ear to listening to my stories, happy or sad. In proper perspective, Barbie doll may be just a toy for young children, nothing more, and nothing less.…