Oh Barbie, you and your endless political incorrectness have reared your pretty little head yet again.
We all know the argument — the bleach blonde piece of plastic representing all that’s wrong with the way people look at women today. Impossibly long, thin legs, unimaginably enormous breasts and a waistline that can only exist with a lack of kidneys. The massive culture surrounding the concept of you, Barbie, a thin, platinum-blonde, make-up crusted woman, idolized by young girls at Toys R Us everywhere.
This sit-in-a-dream-house existence, appearance and influence on society has been debated and criticized so many times that most of us just tune it out. Just buy your little girl what she wants — a pretty doll with red lips and a frilly pink gown. And of course, as a result the millionaires at Mattel refuse to cater the doll’s image to a more realistic standard of beauty, and instead continue to count their money. Honestly, who really cares about young girls’ self-esteem when there are millions of dollars to be had?
But now, Barbie, there’s one party you won’t be invited to. According to a CNN report on Tuesday, the Iranian government has banned the sales of Barbie dolls in stores, calling her “destructive” to society and causing “irreparable damages.” This is an attempt to keep out the “negative effects of Western culture” — also left off the VIP list: Batman, Spiderman and Harry Potter. These products apparently not only bring a bad influence, but they also bring it through illegal smuggling.
This of course brings up the question: Is this really necessary? Is Barbie truly representative of Western culture? How many women today really strive to fit this standard of beauty? Surprisingly, a lot more than one may think. In a report issued by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), over 390,000 women in 2007 bought themselves bigger breasts, 456,000 had liposuction and an astonishing 2.5 million got Botox injections. Is this a direct influence of Barbie and women attempting to achieve her image of beauty? Maybe, maybe not, but they’re certainly not trying to look like natural women.
Of course Barbie isn’t the only problem to blame. Magazine models, media images and Paris Hilton certainly don’t help. But Barbies put girls on this track of superficiality young. So, if we know the influence, and Iran can ban Barbie’s negative make-women-feel-bad-about-their-bodies mentality, why can’t we? Certainly Barbie isn’t representative of true Western culture; if anything, she’s just representative of a small percentage of those who fantasize about dreamboating with Ken or who have entirely too much plastic surgery to be considered human anymore. The average woman would not drop the name “Barbie” when describing themselves or their lifestyle.
In a country where women wear headscarves and cover everything from their lips to their ankles, it is perfectly acceptable to banish the blonde bimbo in Iran. But why doesn’t the same rationality apply to Western professional women, mothers and upstanding females in society? Nobody wants to see this freakishly proportioned doll smiling brainlessly on television and our living room coffee tables. Why not just ban Barbie everywhere?
It seems as though everyone from feminists to the average man can agree this standard of appearance is virtually impossible to recreate. The problem is, it doesn’t keep women from trying. So put the plastic surgery and hair bleach aside. No society needs Barbie. Just leave her on the shelf and head to the bookstore instead.
Emily Glauser is a junior journalism major. Send her your dreamboat experiences at eg293805@ohiou.edu
Reader Comments
Yes, lets be like Iran, and sell barbie dressed only in hajibs! To further follow Irans actions, we can stone women charged with (but not proven guilty of ) prostitution, and hang boys charged with (again no actual proof given) of being gay!
Once again your laughable articles are more meant for a rag like The Onion, instead of a honest dialogue. How lost you are to reality!
konighund--
When will you stop reasoning in absolutes? Even the worst regimes in the history of civilization have had a few good ideas -- Hitler expanded the autobahn, Phillip of Spain industrialized shipyards, etc.
I don't think Ms. Glauser is advocating that our society should "be like Mike" with regard to Iran.
Columns like this prove that American women have very little to complain about, so long as Barbie dolls and Disney princesses are among feminist concerns. The end.
Says the tall blonde.
I'm 5'2".
Short blonde.
I can think of some people who might like to see Barbie on TV. Sure, it might be due to their enculturation into mainstream patriarchal society, but maybe they dig those permanently curved feet for other reasons. In any case, it's hard to sustain an argument for banning consumer goods because some people don't like them.
Dialogue between Curiosity and HerzogAEH: lulz.
Regarding the article, how about when/if you have a daughter, you just not buy her a Barbie doll and quit worrying about it? You don't HAVE to 'just buy your little girl what she wants — a pretty doll with red lips and a frilly pink gown'. You can just bring her up not to want stupid crap like that in the first place (or do what my parents did and buy actual cool stuff like Legos--your daughter will forget Barbies even exist!)
Anyway, if other women buy their daughters Barbie dolls and help enforce a negative self-image, that's their affair--who really cares about them? If the bad stereotypes bother you, the best way to counter them is to forget about them and do your own thing. People can and WILL notice.
I don't know. Did playing with Barbies really make you feel bad about yourselves? I never had any; my parents didn't buy them (I'm not sure if there were reasons for that or not). I only played with baby dolls and American girl dolls. But I find it hard to believe that Barbies actually ruin girls' self-esteem.
A. I had every Batman toy imaginable when I was little and I fully except that I will never be 6'4", jacked, and know every form of martial arts there is while saving people with my non-super powered abilities.
B. I'd refrain from referring to much of anything Iran does as rational, that is a HUGE stretch and I don't care what you're talking about.
C. Legos are THE BOMB! I still have like a 10 gallon container filled with them. Granted I haven't touched it in years, you never get away from that longing to build a castle for 16 hours and then put your foot through it when you get bored.
D. Herzog and Curiosity are hilarious
E. Casey makes a strong point in terms of radical regimes and their ideas. Hitler did pioneer the jet engine and initiate mass production of the VW automobiles. Hitler also is responsible for the whole Olympic torch thing, not many people realize he started that when he sought to create that gigantic olympic stadium half buried under Berlin. That doesn't mean he's any less a madman, nor does it justify anything Iran or other fascist regimes do. It just goes to say you can't write off everything a group does because the vast majority of what they do is insanity.
F. I agree with OneRode, just don't buy your daughter the crap and I think you'll be fine. So often people in the US look to the government to solve problems by banning something when they could just personally ban it themselves. Censorship in all forms of broadcast media and proposed bans on Barbie and Disney movies are perfect examples of things you could just make the personal choice to avoid and be just as happy.
Shew, anything else?
fully accept*
While I agree, xfactor, with item A, the difference is that men aren't held up to the Batman stereotype by society, while the (overwhelming majority of) women in fashion magazines and television essentially set the standard of beauty for women in the United States. (I don't like saying America, because, well, we're not the only one.) It doesn't really matter if it's Barbie on the toy store shelf, or any of the Disney princesses, or Padma on Top Chef, or Kate Moss on a billboard, etc, etc, etc.
Barbie and Disney are popular. To quote Oscar Wilde: “Popularity is the crown of laurels which the world puts on bad art. Whatever is popular is wrong.”
And the socio-cultural repercussions for a boy associating with Barbies and feminized toys are considerably more adverse/treacherous than, say, a girl who identifies more with comics, Star Wars or action figures.
Point is, standards are imposed for everyone, so I think we can let go of the petty tallying with regard to either side.
KC: I guess her support of a belief system that severely limits the role and power of women in society is a good thing though? Perhaps she can claim credence to her idea when she starts wearing a hijab and submits to all males.
No, the reason that there is such a huge success for the stereotype she is whining about is because (unlike what she claims) people actually want it: Men desire a sexy curvaceous woman, and females compete to be the hottest thing in a bikini on the beach. The urge to be attractive and beautiful is internal, not something created by a plastic toy company. Merely look at the the statues from Greece and Rome for example: How many slovenly unkept figures have you seen cast in bronze as the ideal human form?
No, once again her weekly war against anything considered mainstream feminine is poorly defended. Pointing out her nation of choice to emulate (Iran) needed to happen. But maybe she always dressed her barbies from head to toe in sheets and had their 'boyfriends' beat them when they stepped outta line.
I don't think that's the life she'd like to see emulated here, but if she is going to pick a goup to emulate, then she's got to accept all aspects of that group, not pick and choose.
Actually, Greek statues are stereotypical. Most show men with abnormally large genitals and typically aren't ashamed to show them fully erect. Roman statues are actually physically accurate and depict normal flaws in the human body. I've been to both Italy and Greece and seen the difference. They also never cast Bronze. If you look at the statues in the Trevi Fountain, the feminine figure are not slim.
As for you claims to all men, you're completely wrong and I'm disgusted that you think you can speak for the entire sex. I for one am not all about stick women with huge breasts and ridiculously long legs. I'd prefer a woman who fits the 10:7 ration that we are genetically predisposed to desire, not Barbie's 7:3 ratio. Take ATHRO 201 before you run your mouth off about what men want. You're one of the idiots that give our sex the bad name.
Three words, konighund: Peter Paul Rubens. Three more words: timing, timing, timing.
I dunno, she might have a point. I played with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures as a child, and I wear masks and have a shell.
Dude, I loved those too... strangely though, I still don't know martial arts...
Actually, I played with He-Man action figures and, uh, I have the Power of Gray Skull, so... sometimes, you know.
Submit a comment to The Post