Every little girl wants to be like Barbie. She has a great house, nice car, and a good-looking boyfriend. Barbie has more to offer to little girls, she is someone to look up to and admire. She teaches little girls many valuable lessons in life. In the article Our Barbies, Ourselves, author Emily Prager depicts Barbie as a negative role model for children. I found this idea highly disagreeable. Barbie is a great role model for little girls. .
The article Our Barbies, Ourselves discriminates mostly against Barbie's physical appearance. "Barbie looks like someone who got her start at the Playboy Mansion"(706), and "her breasts are so out of proportion to the rest of her body that if she were a human, she"d fall flat on her face" (707) are two such examples. Barbie's looks are nothing to discriminate against; they are something to be admired. Little girls wear make-up and high-healed shoes to practice being grown up like Barbie. Girls do not notice how out of proportion Barbie's breasts are; all they know is that her breasts mean she is grown up.
Emily Prager's opinion of Barbie is only skin deep. Barbie has way more to offer children than her appearance. Not only is Barbie good-looking, she is intelligent. She is the perfect mix of beauty and brains. Barbie can be a doctor, a veterinarian, or a schoolteacher. All of these professions require intelligence along with a college degree. This teaches children that intelligent people can be pretty. It also helps to eliminate the "dumb blond" stereotype because Barbie is a smart blonde. .
Barbie shows the benefits of a good education. Barbie's college degree has got her great careers. Barbie even went to medical and law school. If girls see how good Barbie did with her education they are likely to follow in her footsteps by graduating high school and continuing their education.
Barbie shows girls that they can be anything they want to be. Barbie has taken on every male dominated career field imaginable and won respect.
