Emily Praeger Barbie Doll Symbol

Tucker Johnson

Dr. Sheppard

English 113

16 March, 2018

Symbolism Behind a Barbie Doll Have you ever thought something as simple as a childhood toy could change other’s perspectives of women all around the world? As crazy as it sounds, this idea of basing self-worth off of a doll, is something that has recently surfaced. Emily Praeger talks about the impact that Barbie has made not only on women’s viewpoint of themselves, but the way men expect women to look. Praeger begins to analyze the impossible standards of physical perfection, by illustrating the symbolism behind this doll. More often than not, women think being one specific size is what makes you lovable, and a Barbie doll has furthered this idea. The invention of the Barbie doll, though

She begins to see even more symbolism behind Barbie, such as the idea of feminism and also the idea of inequality. Praeger begins to question Dr. Ryan’s intentions of creating Barbie, “The question that comes to mind is, of course, Did Mr. Ryan design Barbie as a weapon? Because it is odd that Barbie appeared about the same time in my consciousness as the feminist movement—a time when women sought equality and small breasts were king. Or is Barbie the dream date of weapons designers” (Praeger 354). This quote raises the idea that this doll could have been created for another underlying symbol, that Barbie may have been created to counterattack feminism. This is something that created an uproar, because what was Dr Ryan actually trying to achieve when creating this doll? It almost seems as though she was created to symbol injustice between men and women. Praeger figures this out whenever analyzing Ken, “And then, there was Ken with that truncated, unidentifiable lump at his groin. I sensed injustice at work. Why, I wondered, was Barbie designed with such obvious sexual equipment and Ken not? Why was his treated as if it were more mysterious than hers? Did the fact that it was treated as such indicate that somehow his equipment, his essential maleness, was considered more powerful than hers, more worthy of the dignity of concealment” (Praeger 355). This quote shows the differences between Ken and Barbie. The symbolism of these dolls could go deeper than being a set expectation for women and men, but could also symbolize inequality between male and