Ever since the 1965 when Barbie was originally created .
[she] has been at the center of a sociological war of words between those who adore her and those who see her as evil incarnate, bent on turning preschoolers into veritable lolitas. (Bayette 1).
But the question is, is Barbie really bad? Yes, Barbie actually does have a negative impact on the self esteem of girls, because she of her atypical body and clothes, feminine stereotypes, and racial discrimination.
Many of the reasons Barbie has excelled in the market seem unwholesome or politically incorrect for example: "The key to Barbie's continuing success is her realistic image" say's Marco Tolsa (Hein 1). Many might argue that Barbie isn't realistic at all, in fact idealistic instead. Her outlandish proportions are in no way real, neither is her lifestyle: with every job imaginable, always taking care of her sisters, being a princess, hanging with her boyfriend, yet she finds the time to sit around in her butterfly flare chair with her friend Theresa. "Barbies allows girls to imagine because clothing her predominant point is clothing the doll can teach stereotypes" (Emily 1). Barbie incourages you to buy her many material possessions, which may not be the best image you want to portray to your young girl. It seems a girl may need many possessions to be happy.
Barbie has many demeaning qualities even with all the good seat belt promoting and wonderful doctor careers. First with her atypical body, huge wardrobe, tight clothes, and hundreds of unneeded belongings Barbie can give girls the wrong idea of the ideal woman (Emily 2). Although there is not really an ideal women, these qualities of Barbie do not portray the best image of a person. Basically Barbie shows us that women have the perfect body type, have lots of clothes, and can wear tight clothes on all occasions, most of these do not apply to the every day women. Other ideals include her boyfriend of over 40 some years, Ken, who hasn't looked at anyone other than her.
