In today’s society, I see parents and teachers alike, including me, are concerned about how toys affect children. To be more specific, how toys can impact the way that children feel about themselves in terms of self-image. Although all types of dolls can impact the children playing with them, Barbie dolls have been the center of this debate, especially since they have been the typical skinny blonde girl for decades. The main debate suggests that Barbie’s specific body type sets up girls to feel that they need to look like the doll. When Barbie only sells one type of doll- the small-framed tall blonde- it discludes many other types of bodies, ethnicities, hair colors, etc. Due to the lack of diversity in Barbie dolls the question forms- …show more content…
When, in reality, there are so many more body types and ethnicities for a person that need to be considered- especially since then children may feel like their body is good, and not compare themselves to the unrealistic Barbie. Children should strive to be confident about themselves and not want to look like Barbie, and playing with the same face of Barbie may lead to children wanting to look exactly like the doll. In fact, Laura Stampler, writer of the article,”Barbie Lead Designer Blames Moms, Not Doll’s Crazy Proportions, for Girls’ Body Issues,” states that,”Kim Culmone, VP of Design at Mattel explained why the company still produces a doll with measurements that if real, would result in a woman with half a liver who could only walk on all fours.” Why set up children to feel like they need to look a certain way, especially when that role model is extremely unrealistic? Even if children aren’t realizing it, playing with these Barbie dolls force them to see one type of person, with a unproportional body, and may make them want to look like that doll. That’s why having many different types of Barbie dolls is so important- because children will not feel forced to look or act a certain …show more content…
However, the line is still limited, not to mention the fact that there are no more news regarding releasing more diverse Barbies. The more kinds of Barbies there are, means the more children will feel that every body type is equal to the other, and that it’s ok if they don’t look at all like Barbie, since that is unrealistic. Children will be more keen to play with a Barbie doll that looks like them, and according to,”Viewpoint: Barbie’s Problem Is Far Beyond Skin-Deep,” Filipovic explains that the line is,”a feminist victory, especially for parents who want to allow their kids the creative fun of playing with dolls but don’t want to send the message that looking like Barbie is something to which girls should aspire.” Parents can see what damage this is causing and how the unrealistic Barbie impacts them. Spending so much time playing with the dolls, children, especially while growing up, may see themselves as less than compared to Barbies, which parents shouldn’t want their child to believe. Companies producing toys for children should take this fact under consideration, because if children are constantly playing with their product, they shouldn’t have to compare themselves to Barbie. According to the article mentioned earlier, written by Laura Stampler, “A 2006 University of Sussex