Barbie and body dysmorphia is a hot topic of debate, especially in <a href="http://www.tawkers.com">social media</a>. Women's rights activists and psychologists alike are concerned with how the unrealistic physical proportions promoted by the popular Barbie doll are negatively affecting young girls. The question up for social discussion is what the fundamental problem really is: young girls' internalizing the image or society fixating on a toy?
The argument is whether Barbie is just a toy, or more than just a symbol of consumerism. Has she psychologically influenced young girls' impression of what they should look like and achieve when they grow into adult women? One claim is that the effect is absolutely negative. Aside from a predetermined visage of "beauty", the doll makes young girls self-conscious about their bodies as compared to the unrealistic "ideal" of Barbie's proportions. A study in Psychology found that low self-esteem and desire for a particularly thin body shape was more prevalent for girls ages 5-8 who were exposed to images of Barbie, as opposed to those who were not, or who were exposed to images of Emme dolls (US size 16). The fear here is the early exposure will lead to eventual propensity for eating disorders or weight cycling associated with Barbie-girl ideals.
The psychological condition itself is called "body dysmorphic disorder." Sounds serious, if you ask me. It is serious … especially if this condition leads some women to physically change their body shape and features via surgical alterations. It is not just Barbie to blame, however. The images of the "ideal woman" saturate today's marketing and are prevalent in female celebrities and models that these young girls admire. Barbie is just one of them.
This topic of the psychological effect of Barbie-like images on young women and healthy body image is being actively discussed in <a href="http://www.tawkers.com">open forums</a> on the internet. Fortunately, today's online discussion format gives everyone involved in the debate sites or outlets to investigate this issue. The interactive discussions enable people to join in, ranging from doll designers amd manufacturers to activists to young women. These types of discussions are a necessary step if we want to answer questions like: who is responsible for promoting healthy body image? Or how can we fix the body image issue?
Some claim that Barbie was never meant to have real proportions. That is all well and good, except for Barbie is marketed as the ideal for what is considered beautiful for a woman. Young girls do not understand that this "ideal" may be unobtainable without surgical alteration. What about teaching an appreciation of natural beauty? Some brands are more recently attempting to portray real women in their media for just this reason. They should be commended. What about the "real proportions" Barbie? Changing such an icon is a challenging notion, though it may be simple in practice. As someone who grew up with Barbie in my toy chest, I think the new image is ironically something that will take some getting used to for all of us, but it is a step in the right direction to empower young and impressionable minds.
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