Barbies: Your Opinions

[MarysLittleFlower]

Wow, you should see monster dolls! 

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS27FGj7-k2_IW1RP4xE_uKqkFpJ6SAQ04Ydv7gGP35d_V8LwzD

 

I don't like these... I don't like dolls that look so unrealistic

[MarysLittleFlower]

I'm wondering if maybe the issue is not just the Barbie's figure but just how the doll appears... of example, compare these two:

http://lizziesartycrafty.blogspot.ca/2010/12/dolls-reproduction-ponytail-barbie-gets.html

 

and

 

http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/2013/01/28/do-your-daughters-play-with-barbie-dolls/

 

 

[Basilisa Marie]

I LOVED my Barbies when I was a kid.  I gave them all names and cut their hair and made clothes for them, and my great aunt made fabulous huge dresses for them.  My Barbies never went to the mall.  They went on whirlwind adventures and defeated mad scientists and saved each other and saved Ken (er...more like my brother's Max Steel doll) and Max saved them and there were ALL THE MARRIAGES.  

 

The whole body image thing didn't bother me, because I thought the Barbies were so weird looking that of course real people didn't look like that.  But that's also probably because my dolls weren't into clothes so much as breaking into a villain's lair in a snowstorm.   :)

 

Oh, and I think ethnic Barbies are a great idea.  The more the merrier.  I had light brown hair growing up, so I always liked the brunette and tan Barbies best.  

Edited May 23, 2013 by Basilisa Marie

[Ice_nine]

I'm not really sure if the "If you play with Barbie's, you will begin to compare yourself to Barbie" theory holds much water. I played with G.I. Joe's, and I never once thought "How come I'm not tall and muscular like G.I. Joe is?" Maybe it's different with girls, I don't know,

 

No offense but you are a man . Yes people will judge you by your appearance, but it is not of utmost importance. For you perhaps your looks would be important in finding a mate, but FOR EVERYTHING WOMEN DO, their appearance is generally overemphasized. 

 

Also we're talking about subconscious fx, so that you didn't conciously compare yourself to gi joe is not surprising.

[PhuturePriest]

No offense but you are a man . Yes people will judge you by your appearance, but it is not of utmost importance. For you perhaps your looks would be important in finding a mate, but FOR EVERYTHING WOMEN DO, their appearance is generally overemphasized. 

 

Also we're talking about subconscious fx, so that you didn't conciously compare yourself to gi joe is not surprising.

I know I'm a man. That's why I said it's probably different because of that. And I know we're talking about subconscious stuff here. That's what I'm talking about. I've never subconsciously compared myself to G.I. Joe. But again, that's probably because I'm a guy and I don't deal with the stuff women go through. I know women are objectified a lot more than men are, so it's probably different for them.

[Guest Allie]

I first started designing clothes for my Barbies and I still like to go back and look at them... when my nieces let me .  I never wanted to look like Barbie except for the blonde hair. I don't know the impact of the ethnic Barbies but I loved them too. Had a big Barbie collection.

[Ice_nine]

I know I'm a man. That's why I said it's probably different because of that. And I know we're talking about subconscious stuff here. That's what I'm talking about. I've never subconsciously compared myself to G.I. Joe. But again, that's probably because I'm a guy and I don't deal with the stuff women go through. I know women are objectified a lot more than men are, so it's probably different for them.

 

 

Sorry if my post seemed harsh. Sometimes tone gets lost on the internets but I didn't mean to be like  I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR, if I came off that way. I've seen you're understanding of women's issues grow leaps and bounds on pm. Good for you.

[Ice_nine]

also the boob to waist ratio is just like severe back problems waiting to happen #let'sbereal

[PhuturePriest]

Sorry if my post seemed harsh. Sometimes tone gets lost on the internets but I didn't mean to be like  I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR, if I came off that way. I've seen you're understanding of women's issues grow leaps and bounds on pm. Good for you.

 

Oh, you didn't seem harsh at all. I was just trying to clarify a few things (And perhaps sounded unintentionally hurt or offended).

 

And indeed, they have grown. Having been used and objectified myself, I know what it's like, and I know that women experience it a lot more than guys do.

[KnightofChrist]

Speaking of Barbie, this is very strange...

 

Feminist Group ‘Crucifies’ Barbie Doll

 

[ploomf]

I had a ton of Barbies growing up. I loved them, dressing them up, cutting their hair, crash landing them on a deserted island in the backyard and making the live off raspberries until they were rescued, I had a ton of fun with them. Never thought I had to look like them or anything. I consider Barbies to be pretty harmless personally.

[ploomf]

Speaking of Barbie, this is very strange...

 

Feminist Group ‘Crucifies’ Barbie Doll

 

Well I don't know about anybody else but I sure feel more liberated now. :rolleyes:

[homeschoolmom]

Toxic fumes... :stars:

[Papist]

Barbie alone will not do harm to a girl's self-image. The parents' guidance, or lack there of, is more the culprit.

[Spem in alium]

Wow, you should see monster dolls! 

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS27FGj7-k2_IW1RP4xE_uKqkFpJ6SAQ04Ydv7gGP35d_V8LwzD

 

All I can say is: Lord, help us.  :unsure:

 

saved each other and saved Ken (er...more like my brother's Max Steel doll) and Max saved them and there were ALL THE MARRIAGES.  

Reminds me of my Barbie games. My sisters and I never had a Ken, but were happy stealing and using my brother's Action Man doll. He meant we could have awesome weddings. 

[4588686]

They taste delicious.  

[jazzytakara]

Playing with Barbies didn't really impact me. I had a fair amount of them growing up and I never viewed them as something to try and look like. I didn't relate my body to a plastic doll as it was fake and I was real. They were more so for me to use to enact stories or rival against my porcelain/ceramic figurines (I didn't have a lot of dolls, but I was given a lot of decorative figures for my shelves, so I used them too). I also preferred Christie over Barbie (for those of you not familiar with Barbies friends, Christie was Barbies 'black' friend', similar to Teresa being the brunette with slightly tanned skin friend), so I don't feel Barbie impacted my perception of different races and cultures.

 

Barbie never impacted my opinions on race or beauty, it more had to do with how I was raised and what I saw in television shows/magazines. Family members telling me I needed to suck it in impacted me more than a doll ever did. The bodies of celebrities and models in the media were real life people I identified with, and it was those unrealistic interpretations that got to me. 

 

I personally think that Barbie is over analyzed , Barbie has been a popular toy since the 1950's, and in the beginning she was just a pretty doll with fancy dresses, now they have career based Barbies, etc. But despite Barbie being a girly doll, the feminist movement and women's rights have improved and strengthened over the years, so I don't see how Barbie has been a negative impact, its just a doll. What we need to concern ourselves with more is how the female image is portrayed in the media, dangerous diets are popular because people want to look like the stars they see on TV, but celebrities don't live the same way we do/they have different resources than we do. If you work 12 hour days, raise a family, volunteer, or anything really, you aren't going to always have time to work out or cook a healthy meal. Many celebrities have the finances to afford healthy food, some even have people cook the food, raise their kids, clean their houses, train them, etc. Also some celebrities film a movie for two months and then have maybe 6 months off in between. Long story short, it is unrealistic to aspire to be the same figure as  *insert name here*.  There are even medical things to consider, genetics, body structure that all account for weight loss, gain, and maintenance.  Also how our parents raise us and the societal values we are exposed to impact body image, how we view other races and cultures, more so than a doll ever will. 

 

I read an interview that Kristin Bauer, where she told people about acting, that if you want to succeed in this business you need to get used to being hungry. I don't think that is healthy at all. Jennifer Lawrence said she wanted to maintain a healthy figure her quote being that she didn't wants kids to think 'I want to look like Katniss, so I'm going to skip dinner.' However, in a recent photo of her she seems to have undergone a lot of weight loss, I'm hoping it was just the angle of the photos or the outfit  rather than having one of the few healthy looking actresses caving to the industry calling her fat in Hunger Games...

. 

Anyway, I think we should work on spreading healthy body images and respect for others through the people who actually impact society. Real people, rather than dolls, will have a much better chance at improving self-esteem than plastic and rubber ever will.

[CatholicsAreKewl]

Barbies teach children that immodesty is fashionable. I prefer the Fulla doll:



 

[TheLordsSouljah]

I don't like these... I don't like dolls that look so unrealistic

Agreed. They're just.... gross.

[Tufsoles]

I always seemed up set growing up with the barbie dolls. I never found a "barbie-esqe" doll growing up that was olive complected, dark auburn hair, and Hazel eyes. I wish there was a doll that looked like that. sad day.