why ban the barbie?

I used to own two Barbie dolls as a kid and all my cousins did, but I cannot really remember if it influenced me negatively. However, I agree with the author of this blog to some extent. Any change or influence on a child’s mental attitude is at a sub-conscious level and children definitely try to compare themselves with idols (like Barbie).

The Barbie has slowly but surely brought in a culture of thin looking females. From my interpretation, I cannot exactly claim to know, but feel that either Barbie first influenced the modelling and fashion scene or vice versa. I believe that a perfect body shape that most women idolise is not more because of the Barbies than it is because of the super models walking the ramps. According to marketing psychology, people need constant exposure to a message in order for them to believe or at least remember it (i.e., for message awareness to convert into behaviour). Lets say, being a busy person, I hardly watch television (not exposed to advertisements) but definitely read magazines and books. It has been very long since I broke my Barbies, but if a negative image of body shape is still there in my mind, it is because of the reality around me. So many people wanting to be thin, that the fad has turned into a fact. Nevertheless, Barbie is still just a doll and in actuality, we see so many super-models and so-called beauties on glossy magazine covers and in the media all the time. Young kids being exposed to these sorts of messages believe that Barbie is a reality. This makes me think that although Barbie doll is a cause for young girls’ negative body image, the major cause is the media which exalts the stick figures.