Barbie Research

I am still looking to possibly incorporate some feedback I get about readers' personal experience with dolls. Based on the research I did online, here are some of the research components I added to my essay:

          Stephanie Hoskins, a contributor of Divine Caroline, strongly asserts that Barbies lead women to developing a dysmorphic disorder. A dysmorphic disorder is a disease where one fixates on a perceived “flaw” in their bodies. This, she continues, can lead women to surgically alter their bodies to match the Barbie image (“The Negative Effects…”). While there are some women who spend millions of dollars to get their “perfect body,” I don’t believe Barbie has gotten the credit she deserves (“The Barbie Effect”). 

          Before Barbie (B.B.), the only kind of doll was the baby doll. “Khabibo,” owner of the blog “Ms.Goodie2shoes,” may argue that the baby doll stereotyped women into becoming mothers. After all, that was historically what the majority of women went on to become. The invention of the Barbie doll, however, gave children the opportunity to role play and picture themselves as adult women with careers (“A Barbie World”). (Google “Barbie professions” and you will find hundreds of links with hundreds of different jobs.) Khabibo, an African-American, references the day her grandmother bought her an African-American Barbie doll as the day she finally believed she could do anything. “Growing up, listening to Barbie's fairy tale, she had it all. The dream house, the dream car, as many careers as you could imagine, and the dream boyfriend. But for me, it seemed like only a Caucasian girls lifestyle...But that day my grandmother put that African-American Barbie in my hand, I knew that I could really accomplish it.” While it may be plausible to argue that Barbie has restricted a girl’s image, she certainly did not limit a girl’s identity––she has broadened a girl’s identity. 

          At age five, I was too young to think about “identity” and “body image.” Sure, I liked the “pretty” dolls and the ones that could sing, but I played with Barbies because it was fun. We played "House," sometimes, but it never entertained us for as long as "Barbies" did. By voicing the dolls, we ourselves did not have to be a part of the game, so we could explore those things and say those things that made us uneasy in real life. It wasn't really us saying it, after all. Looking back, I realize that I played Barbies to try and make sense of the world around me. There were so many questions I had about the world that I was not yet old enough to explore myself.