Mielke



 **Barbie World**

History of Barbie: "The Barbie doll was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler, whose own daughter was called Barbara. Barbie was introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City. The doll was intended to be a teenage fashion doll. There has been some controversy over Barbie's figure when it realized that if Barbie was a real person her measurements would be an impossible 36-18-38. The Ken doll was named after Ruth's son. Barbie first had bendable legs in 1965."

14 February 2010
 * What would Johnson Say"**

The article “Barbie Doll – the Perfect Figure” published by Terri Edwards, explains that certain artifacts can affect how patriarchy plays a role in our society. She describes how girls feel they have to be as pretty as a Barbie doll, which relates to Johnson’s analysis of patriarchy by dressing to impress men. All three of these artifacts (male dominace, male identification, and male centeredness) promote male privileges. In the article, “Barbie Doll – the perfect Figure” illustrates how women can be controlled by men and how they control their lives, and the power that they have over them. Corresponding with this, Edwards explains how women are realizing what is going on in today's society and are now fighting back against patriarchy and wanting to control their own lives. Barbie's give off a certain figure in order to be noticed by men, which Some girls will go through any type of pain to attain. There are a few things that are male identified. For example, in Edwards article she asks”why no one talks about Ken’s figure?” I thought this was an interesting point because young girls are the ones who always appear to be striving for a Barbie shaped figure. The idea of male centeredness is by the way Barbie dresses is to impress Ken. With her short skirts and low tops Barbie is always striving to catch Ken's attention. An example of dominance is that Ken is the one always driving Barbie's pink car. Ken is constnanly escorting Barbie around, doing the "man's job." This demeans women because traditionaly men are thought of to be suppior to women in these tasks. With all three of these main patriarchy issues, this clearly shows how genders can shape the lives of women and men in the home, workplace, and beyond. With all these different aspects, it is not as noticeable to see how they’re connected to the social structure that shapes us.

What would Hager say? 7 February 2010 The conflict with Barbie having such a wide Varity of occupations could be a good thing but also is ghastly. The different jobs Barbie has could be fantasized by males, for example the school teacher or students both wear appealing clothes. In my opinion, both Ken and Barbie’s sexuality is noticeable but not really recognized. I think we look at Barbie’s as a little girls’ toy, but really what kind of message is the doll giving with her skinny body and wide eyes? First off, I think Hager would say that Barbie’s are very sexual. The funny thing is, we notice this but don’t really think anything of it. They have been created in such a way for little girls, with hidden sexuality that a male could easily fantasize about. For example, Barbie’s have long legs, long hair, wide eyes (symbolizing the innocent look), a skinny figure, pointy feet so they can only wear high healed shoes, and the most obvious are the big boobs. As little girls they don’t look at it like that, at least I didn’t, it was just a fun toy to dress up and play fantasy house with. However, Ken dolls I think are the ones to be worried about. According to Hager, “girl’s cool was still largely definedas subdued sexuality, fashionable display, and unabashed consumerism [in the form of Barbie]. For boys, the cool was purified, violence shorn of the dross of reality, emotion, and moral message(4).” Girls could fantasize about them just as easily has the boys would towards Barbie. Ken dolls could be viewed as of how cute they are with their hair, body figure, and there are even dolls that one could shave its face (I had one!). The Ken dolls can also give off sexuality with their defined muscles and overall very built body. I can see now why my parents never bought me as many Ken dolls as I had Barbie. Anyways, my point is that little girls can fantasize about Ken dolls just as easily has boys would about Barbie. Hager explains the coolness girls verse boys, girls are defines as sexuality, fashionable display and likes to consume, which is all in the form Barbie is made up to be. Today, Barbie is challenging patriarchy because of all the different occupations they have for the dolls. For example, one could buy Barbie as a vet, doctor, astronaut, surgeon, and even a NASCAR Driver. I think Hager would say this is a good start to advertise women’s rights towards jobs but the way the company is marketing them in such a way, the occupations seem to be very very girly and modernized. Meaning, that the point of women getting into the field is to show people that women can do the same thing as men and with Barbie advertising them in such a way makes us women seem like a dim-wit. For instance, the NASCAR Barbie’s car could be hot pink or the suit of the astronaut could be pink, making women look like they have less power. In conclusion, Barbie’s image and occupations could have an effect on our younger generations, or already has; by the way the company is marketing such a product. Society should be more aware of what kind of toys they are buying their kids and not buying them just because the kid wants it, since it seems like the kids are controlling the parents these days. And look at our society now.

What would Schrum Say? 3/14/2010  Since we were on the topic of Magazines and what kind of message they give girls, I thought I would see if there is a Barbie Magazine, and sure enough there is. However, this type of magazine is geared more towards little girls from ages 5 to 11. A lot of the topics we discussed in class about Kelly Schrum’s article, “Teena Means Business”, is a lot the same but geared towards younger girls than Seventeen is. They advertise a lot of the same consumer goods.

It is nice that there is a magazine for younger girls that with their age of interests unlike back in history were the young ones seemed to have nothing but adult interests. Instant I think it makes girls better by enjoying their childhood rather than instant adults. However, the Barbie magazine isn’t what it used to be.

I think Schrue would say that the Barbie magazine may look good at a quick glance, but in a deeper look it advertises consumerism and again Barbie’s sexuality. With the main advertising of the dolls leads to kids wanting more to add to their collection, by this they soon want to dress them in different clothes. When a youngster looks through the Barbie Magazine she could easily want that as her life, look, popularity, etc. Also, a cleaver idea of a blond blue-eyed girl wearing lipstick shows just how good one would look in a Barbie magazine t-shirt. Everything about the magazine seems to do with training girls to become women who read glossy magazines and who therefore in some way buy into the ideal of the modern woman that these magazines present. Sex, beauty and fashion are the staples of these magazines, Barbie magazine has simply taken out the first part.

In conclusion, the magazine may be good for business and consumerism, but in reality portraying the message of having to be perfect as Barbie’s looks, life, and popularity may be the a downfall in how society is today. What would Brumberg say? March 21, 2010

According to the author, Joan Brumberg, of the article “Sanitizing puberty”, her main point of the article is this: “American girls and their mothers typically think first about the external body what shows and what doesn’t, rather than about the emotional and social meaning of maturational process. (3)”

Now comparing this to Barbie is that it’s all about the outward appearance. Barbie’s don’t have emotions or a say in anything, therefore kids can play with them however they want. For example, they could cut Barbie’s hair, Ken could slap Barbie, Barbie and ken could have intercourse, etc.

For Barbie is all about the looks on the outside, and comparing that to today’s society this is pretty much the message girls are getting. As long as one is pretty on the outside it doesn’t matter what’s going on in the inside.

 ** What would Zipes say? April 4, 2010 **


 * There are so many different views one can look at just Barbie dolls in general. One can nitpick about this or that and the other may think its no big deal, it all depends on the person. The article, “The phenomenon of Harry Potter or Why All the Talk?” written by Zipes, seems to like to look at every little aspect about Harry Potter that probably isn’t that big of a deal. Now comparing that to Barbie’s, there can be a lot of little things that people don’t like about them for this and that reason. However, things and stuff become a phenomenon for many different reasons but usually because its unusual. For example, the books and movies of Harry Potter are very unusual and fantasy like which I believe why it became popular. And for Barbie’s, I don’t think today they are as popular as they once where because people are getting used to them. However, the makers of Barbie’s seem to be trying many different things to keep Barbie alive. For instance, making Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson or Jessica Simpson as Barbie’s, or whoever is more popular star for the younger girls today. **

What would Beavis and Charles say? April 11, 2010 Children need limits and we as the adults need try to do this; however when kids are older parents or adults can’t do much about it because they will play behind our backs. Furthermore, the problems happen when a child plays a video game that is not age appropriate and without limits. Since young kids have brains like sponges we can control this at a young age, its just up to the parents to inform them of this (which these days a lot of parents are still a kid themselves). There are so many games out there for boys and girls, its almost getting out of hand to an extent. We all know that video games for boys are all about driving fast, shooting, and chaos. I feel these need the most limitations. Video games for girls on the other hand are more about fashion, shopping, pets and other more feminine things. What a difference. Barbie video games have been around for a long time so there are all kinds to choose from. I think these games for the most part exercise the minds of young girls, because the Barbie games teach how to match clothes, there is a detective game which also keeps the mind going in a positive way. In the end, video games are teaching the boys about war and the girls to run the world.

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"Let Women Jump" May 5, 2010 Originally Barbie was just made as a white doll until latter one when they created a wider range of dolls from Hispanics to African Americans. Furthermore, the very first African American Barbie doll came out in 1967 and was referred as “colored Francine.” Francine lacked a lot of African American characteristics; it was pretty much like the white doll but with black skin. In the past years they have done a little remodeling of African American Barbie’s until in 2009 they came out with a new and improved Francine with the intentions of being a more realistic depiction of the African American Dolls. An Oreo doll, America’s Favorite Cookie, was out on the market for awhile until they received many complaints from consumers about it being racist. I find this funny because it could go both ways of being racist, such as the black doll considered being black on the outside and white in the inside, which is physically visible. But I think the White doll could be raciest too because they could be considered trying to act black on the outside but are really white. I have friends that if their skin wasn’t white one would think that their main culture was African American. This brings me to another point of the African American people are considered to have excellent singing and dancing skills in their blood since birth, but really its just how they grew up and learned. So all this crap about whites not being able to dance or sing is not true. According to “The Introduction” of the article “let a Women Jump” explains, “…learning to embody practices passed down by siblings, family members, and friends. Therefore, I disagree with the article being that Double Dutch is a black girls game, if they didn’t want white girls to play it and feel like we copied them, maybe they shouldn’t have came to this free country. America has a wide range of cultures with many different practices and some practices wear off on other cultures.



"What Girls Wear" May 6, 2010 There is probably a lot that Lamb and Brown would cristize about Barbie, but I think the main idea they would declare that Barbie’s clothes are way too sexy for the dolls and not appropriate for little girls to be playing with. Barbie does have a wide range of clothes to choose from, however the colors of them are mostly a stunning pink and red, just like little girls clothing. So what kind of message is Barbie to girls by how they dress? One can tell the difference between guys and girls clothes pretty easily, whether it’s by the size, color, print, or fit. Obviously, when girls, or boys, play with the Barbie dolls they learn at an early age which clothes are for what doll. Furthermore, kids learn at an early age between the difference of gender and what is expected of each gender, for example girls wear tighter, lower, brighter colored clothes compared to boys wearing somewhat bagger and more down to earth colored clothes (without sparkles and glitter). When kids do see guys or girls wearing out of their normal “gendered” clothes they are often looked by others a bit weird. Junior high and high school are a tough age for girls, and for guys, but girls are way more conscious and like to dress to impress. Lamb and Brown explain that girls aim really high to get male attention or approval in what they wear, therefore they dress like Barbie with the short skirts and low tops. Young girls learn how to dress to impress at a young age by picking out outfits for Barbie and Ken and depending on what occasion the girls have the dolls going to, by this they learn how to dress the dolls for that occasion. Let’s just say some girls have Barbie syndrome, which may be caused at a young age. How Barbie is viewed today with her perfect figure, cute and sexy clothes with girly-girl colors, high heal, and shopping sprees could have effect on females in the future.

“It’s a girl thing: Tough Female Action figures in the toy store” By: Inness In the article, ‘“It’s a Girl Thing”: Tough Female Action Figures in the Toy Store,’ by Inness, she describes the distinctions between the female and male action figures, also as how each are used and sold. Action figures are considered Boy’s toys so therefore it’s unusual to find female toys. Female action figures are often sexually represented and are only helpers to male leads, which I think Barbie is a good example of this since she portrays a sexual image. Babrie has none of her own "super hero" type of doll, if she does its all copycated in her sexual image, for example "Batgirl" is after batman or "super girl" is after Superman. Boys and girls learn that they are different from each other at a young age, whether it’s playing with action figures or Barbie dolls. By this they learn what is expect of them, for example boys action figures are more super hero, strong, masculine, saving the world type of message compared to Barbie who is a girly-girl, giggly, make-up face, dressing to impress guys, consumers etc. Inness says, “Gender Roles influence how children and adults construct their identities.” Barbie isn’t unique, nor is the typical boy action figures, this message that the toys are giving off doesn’t inspire boys and girls to be there selves at all. Also, Inness has a point that we learn about the differences rather then the similarities at a young age and carries on into adulthood. Inness says, “Barbie, G.I Joe, and other dolls and action figures create a gender-divided universe in which boys and girls learn about their differences, not their similarities (79)” Boys and girls learn their roles of their gender at a young age just by playing with toys, as it comes down to it Inness describes that women have the role of neutering and caretaker compared to the guys who protect, provide, etc. But in the end, who says the women have to be the stay at home caretakers and who says that men have to provide? I think that it is in the blood of us women that we are natural at caretaking and neutering but also guys could do it as well just takes a little more effort for them.

“Anti-Babies” Sherrie A. Inness The article “anti-Barbie’s: the American Girls Collection and Political Ideologies” by Sherrie A. Inness focuses on the industry of the American girl dolls. Inness says,” The five historically based dolls were created by Pleasant Rowland, who wished to create what one writer called "anti-Barbie’s...dolls that could teach American history, family values, and self reliance (166)". The idea of American girl dolls was to get away from the image of Barbie, the high fashion doll that looked as if she was from a strip joint and taught girls how to have the “perfect look.” Inness discusses the three different forms of ideology suggested by Sutherland: politics of advocacy, politics of attack and politics of assent. Politics of Advocacy Politics of Advocacy may be described as “pleading for and promoting a specific cause, or upholding a particular point of view or course of action as being valid and right” (Inness 172). Barbie totally depends on men to take care of her, which goes back to Johnson’s article about patriarchy. Barbie doesn’t come off very independent or strong willed to me; she’s more of a consumerism and high fashion type of doll. Which is one of much reason’s I believe the American girl doll collection was started to be just the opposite, more practical and more educational. Politics of Attack: Politics of attack is explained in Inness article as “the reverse side of the coin…the politics of attack is generate by the authors’ sense of amusement, outrage, or contempt when they encounter something that runs counter to their concepts of right and wrong, good and evil, justice, fair play, decency, or truth (173).” The American Girl books compared to the Barbie’s books are way more educational unlike all the fashion and useless stories about how Barbie shopping day was. American Girl books are more reality, for example I have the Josephine doll that grew up in Mexico and gives more of a reality stories rather than a fairytale type of message. Politics of Assent: Barbie has a lot of hidden sexuality with her skanky clothes and innocent wide eyes. Inness explains that “The politics of assent not only affirms the status quo but continually reinforces it…by inhibiting change and supporting tradition; it has great potential impact on the shape of society-for good or ill” (Inness 175).