Barbie was first introduced in March of 1959 by an American toy-company called Mattel, Inc. Barbie dolls were all the hype back then for girls of all. Barbie was supposed to be the perfect doll that nearly every girl owned, but it was not as perfect as it seemed. Little girls wanted to look like her and be perfect like her, which with Barbie’s extremely unrealistic figure was not remotely possible. Barbie only had measurements of 39-19-33, which in real life would leave a woman with half a liver and not able to walk on two feet. Barbie contributes to many things, some of which are body image issues in young girls, eating disorders like anorexia and stereotypes of gender roles.
Barbie’s unrealistic body proportions and flawlessness may have a negative impact on the way young girls see their own bodies. Studies done by researchers have shown that about 40% of young girls have admitted to having body image issues or being dissatisfied with the way they look. Barbie dolls teach girls they should not only want to be thin, but that they should actually be thin, that they should be perfect and beautiful all the time; which is not the case. Author of Ken and Barbie at Life Size, says that only about 1 in 100,000
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There was a study done where a group gave girls a Barbie doll to play with and other girls Ms. Potato Head. The girls that played with Ms. Potato Head saw no difference in their future, but the girls that played with Barbie said they could not do as many jobs as boys could. Take Dr. Barbie for example, on the package says she is specifically a “baby doctor”. She does not wear the appropriate attire to be a doctor; she wears pink jeans with glitter on them. The message this gives young girls is that although she can be a doctor, she is more towards the feminine and the stereotypical aspect of it, which can be said for every Barbie