Essays

Barbie gets a pretty bad rap these days, and why shouldn’t she? If she were a real, live human she’d be 5’9” with measurements at 36-18-33. (The average American woman’s measurements are 40-34-43.) This means that Barbie wouldn’t even have enough fat to have a menstrual cycle. Only 1 in 100,000 people have the probability of getting a body like Barb’s, whereas likely 1 in every 1 girl who has one wants a body like hers!

Barbie
Photo Source: Migraine Chick via Flickr

Life goes on as usual for the Barbie franchise. People are still donning party hats and toasting to her 50th birthday. The latest celebratory move was nabbing Bollywood star Katrina Kaif. Apparently the Indian versions of the Barbie will be modeled after her face.

Painting by MonsalHere's a painting by Seattle-based artist Mon Sal, who has found Barbie to be her muse. The artist, born and raised in El Salvador never played with Barbies until she was an adult, having been brought up in a Marxist household, Barbie was a forbidden object in her household. Now that the artist resides in the US she can't get enough of Barbie. She is currently working on a website to showcase her art, this is just a sneak preview of what is to come.

Growing up I was always somewhat of a tomboy. However, this never stopped the endless gifts of Barbie dolls, accessories, houses, cars and everything else that came with doll’s collection. Embarrassed by the girly gifts, I always pushed them aside. I wouldn’t be caught actually playing with them. Not me, the girl who is tougher than all the guys out in the play yard. I’d rather dig in the dirt for worms and go fishing than touch those dolls.

Dolls are toys. I know this. I know it in the same way that I acknowledge that movies are 'only' entertainment. But does this mean that they have no social significance or impact on our lives? Women have campaigned for years to widen Barbie's waist, make her available in various skin colors, and generally make her more accessible to young girls. But at the end of the day, she is what she is - an overly perfect vision of a woman.

She has everything - money, success, romance - in doses that most of us can only dream of. It is no wonder that I felt a little conflicted whenever I played with my Barbie as a child. Where was the reality? Who else in my life looked or acted like that? Granted, I say this knowing that children who grew up in Hollywood may have had a different experience, but in my little corner of the world women were not slim, buxom, immaculately dressed, perfectly coiffed, accomplished and rich.

MeduserThis year Mattel out-did themselves again by releasing in their Gold-Label Collection this marvelously beautiful doll Barbie as Medusa.