Come On Barbie, Let’s Go Party!

Drowning Barbie

This year Barbie is having her 50th birthday, and while Mattel is rolling in profits, praise, and some continued criticism, I plan on remembering my own Barbie the last time I saw her-drowning in a pool when I was 10. OK, I know that sounds awful and violent, but seriously, when I was 10 years old I threw a pool party with my girlfriends that we called the “No Barbie Party.” It was that age when we decided that we were too old to be playing with dolls, though I’m sure some of us continued to dress her up in the secrecy of our own rooms. We celebrated and signified our coming of age and growing out of dolls with a ritual that involved taking all of our Barbies and drowning them in my pool.

So while Barbie is celebrating her birthday and women are wishing they could look like that at 50 (or any age), I have my own critiques, criticism and nostalgia about this unrealistic doll that in many ways served as a quasi-role model in my life once upon a time.

1950s versus 2006 Barbie

The Barbie doll has undergone many transformations over the years, mostly so she more closely resembles the ideal female in our society, and the fact that she has become an oversexualized, shopaholic, anorexic gold-digger worries me. What message are we sending about our ideals and values with this type of “idealized” image? What message are we subliminally sending to the young girls of today that look up to Barbie the way I once did?

Barbie dolls are made with unrealistic body proportions-oversized breasts, nonexistent waistlines, permanently pointed feet for their high heels, and yet lacking genitalia below the belt (all except for her younger sister, Skipper, who somehow still managed to maintain some girlhood innocence). I don’t remember consciously paying attention to Barbie’s body type when I was a kid (although, I did notice there were no private parts!), I just wanted her clothes, the lavish dresses, her pink convertible, and her mansion. It was my younger brother who liked to undress her and look at her plastic boobs. So while I managed to escape any potential body image problems, looking back, I can’t help but wonder what effect this naked image of the female body had on my brother-or men in general.

I recently asked some male friends what they thought and all their answers were along the lines of I wish I could find a woman that looked like that… if only she could be real. I was shocked!! There was no room for reason in their imaginary fantasy. Despite explaining that if Barbie were blown up to life-sized proportions she wouldn’t be able to walk, stand, or probably even sit up, the crude remarks thrown back in response were that a woman like that wouldn’t even have to stand up… I’ll leave you to ponder that one.

Some people think that the Barbie doll is a harmless toy, but in an era when girls are becoming sexualized too young, women and teenagers are diagnosed with eating disorders in increasing numbers, and plastic surgery has become a norm, it is naive to think that Barbie does not, at the very least, reflect these problem. I only hope that when people are rushing out to buy the 50th anniversary version of Barbie for their niece or daughter they understand that they’re not just purchasing a doll, they are buying a symbol and sending a message. Is this a message that any of us really want to send? You will have to decide.

Olivia's favorite shirt. You can get it from our web site!

– Jaimie

8 comments March 11th, 2009

Please don’t help your 6-year-old be sexy.

When my friend’s three-year-old daughter answered the door wearing some kind of brownish makeup smeared all over her face, her mom and I had a good laugh. She had done it herself; we joked that she missed a couple spots, and the little girl busted out a belly laugh that almost knocked her over.

Most of us have played in our mom’s makeup. But yesterday on Salon’s Broadsheet, Tracy Clark-Flory commented on some real, high-quality makeup for 6- to 9-year-old girls that Mattel and Bonne Bell are going to be releasing in 2008. MGA Entertainment (which makes Bratz) already has been selling makeup for girls through Markwins International and Added Extras.

OK, moms, teachers, aunts, we ought to stop this craziness, and quick. Let’s not dismiss this as “just playing dress-up.” Already, there are Bratz-branded padded bras for 6 year olds (which they call “bralettes”) that came out just months ago. And by buying little girls their own makeup, we will continue to make them into sexualized beings way too early.

Yes, these are padded bras for little girls.

I’m not just some overprotective woman saying, “Keep the girls young and cute!” According to the American Psychological Association (APA)’s “Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls” published February 2007, the early sexualization of young girls contributes to a host of psychological problems, including issues of cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and healthy sexual development. Who wants their daughter to have these problems? Since makeup is one of the accessories of women’s sexuality, you’d better believe that buying little girls fancy, real makeup serves to help our culture sexualize them.

(The report defined “sexualization” as occurring when a person’s value comes only from her/his sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is sexually objectified, e.g., made into a thing for another’s sexual use.)

If you’re a parent or teacher of a young girl, check out these APA recommendations on what parents can do to prevent early sexualization.

And I’d add to that great list: Think good and hard about the toys you are giving the young girls in your life. Do they encourage sexuality too young? Just let them be little girls, running around and playing, not obsessing over their eyelashes in the mirror every day.

Taking Action: Four Ideas
1) Talk back to Bonne Bell and Mattel: Tell them that marketing makeup to 6-9 year olds is a bad idea and that you won’t be buying their sexualization of little girls. (Click here for contact info.) And if you own Mattel stock, use your stockholder status and contact (888) 909-9922.

2) Hit ‘em in the bottom line: Don’t buy Bonne Bell or Mattel products (that means American Girl, Hot Wheels, Barbie, or LipSmackers lip balm, etc.)

3) Make a stink: In 2008 when the line launches, go to your local mall or Bonne Bell retailer and stand outside with copies of this article or your own writing, and talk to people entering the store.

4) Encourage your friends not to buy makeup for their young daughters: Remember, little girls pretending to be Mommy sometimes (with Mommy’s makeup…) is fun role-modeling, but putting on makeup to look “sexy” or “grown-up” is inappropriate for girls’ development. Make sure you tell your daughters that it’s not important for them to be sexy at age nine.

– J.B.

18 comments June 13th, 2007