Barbie Between Reality and Fantasy

           For every young girl Barbie is not just a plastic doll but a role model. It all began when a woman, Ruth Handler, saw her little daughter playing with paper dolls, so she wanted to create a doll that could entertain her daughter and stimulate her imagination and that is when Barbie was created. However, it did not cross Handler’s mind that this doll would negatively affect girls’ lives for generations.  However, Mattel finally realized its mistake in 2016 and released a new collection that reflects reality. By the arrival of this new collection, this stereotype, which has been standing for years, began to crack.

          Barbie is well known for her blonde hair, blue eyes, small nose, delicate lips, fair white skin, thin waist, and long legs; all in all a perfect bikini body. Those physical features were fixed in every Barbie doll, and even when Mattel decided to create a colored one, they did not name it Barbie but Francie and made it a counterpart to the original doll. Francie was “made from the same mold and shared the same features as Barbie as if she was just dipped in chocolate”. On the other hand, the 2016 new collection has introduced new Barbies. They came in different shapes and sizes: chubby, skinny, slim, tall, and short; features such as narrow eyes, big nose and full lips, as well as variant colors of skin.

             Since Barbie was created, she has become a symbol of beauty and perfection; thus, a stereotype. However, why did Barbie became a stereotype?! One of the main reasons behind it is that humans instinctively seek perfection, so when Barbie appeared, it somehow became a worldwide idol because people finally found a real symbol of perfection. Another thing is that humans are kind of obsessed with putting and following standards as it gives them a sense of security and there is no perfect standard for beauty more than Barbie.

             The main purpose behind creating Barbie was boosting young girls’ self-esteem and stimulating their imagination, thoughts, and emotions. In addition to making girls believe that they can become whatever they want, which was shown through the vet Barbie, pilot Barbie, doctor Barbie, teacher Barbie…However, those two messages were badly interpreted as many girls started to feel insecure about their bodies and considered Barbie a symbol of perfection. In addition, they thought of Barbie as the basic standard for beauty. As a result, girls suffered of low esteem and eating disorder and resorted to plastic surgeries such as reducing breast sizes, and lip suctioning their hips. Girls also believed that to become whatever you want, you have to be pretty, you have to be a Barbie. Through the new collection, Barbie restored its message and finally represented real women as they do not look the same. It also represented worldwide women not only the American sweetheart.

             In conclusion, not only the now and then Barbie changed in regards to the physical features but also in the impact that it left behind. Two of the main reasons why Barbie became a stereotype are that humans are always looking for perfection and also like to set and follow standards, and there is nothing that would meet those needs rather than Barbie. With the 2016 new collection, Barbie restored its original purpose and message of boosting girls’ confidence and making them believe that they can do anything they desire.