Fake Females

          Don't you hate it when nothing about a girl is really them? If you met Barbie as a human being, what would she look like? There are differing views. One source says Barbie would stand about 5’6”, weigh nearly 120 pounds, and have the measurements 38-18-34. 38 inches for her chest - 18 inches at her waist - 34 at her hips. It is speculated that if Barbie were human, she would be so thin that she would not be able to menstruate. This is because she would not have the body fat percentage necessary to do so. Statistics say the Barbie body type is likely to occur in one out of every 100,000 women.
          No matter what way you look at it, Barbie's body is not average...and also not easily attainable.
What impact does this have on young girls that spend hours and hours playing with these dolls? Do they want to become like Barbie and look like her?
We know that the more time we spend with anything, the more influence it has on us. If you spend weeks studying for a test, you'll probably do better than if you just spend a few minutes studying.
I think the same is true with our time. If we spend hours and hours playing with Barbie dolls, they are bound to have an influence on us. Just as if we would spend hours and hours playing video games.
           In 1965 Mattel came out with a “Slumber Party Barbie” that came complete with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 pounds. The doll also came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight. And inside this book it gave the advice: “Don’t Eat”. The matching Ken doll also came with slumber party accessories, but his were milk and cookies, sending a very different message.  Mattel received many criticisms about Barbie and the impact she has on young girls around the world. In the summer of 2000, they decided to change Barbie to a more modern look.
“The new Barbie will have a more natural body shape – less busty with wider hips.”
What caused Mattel to make these changes? One influence may have been a drop in sales. According to the Los Angles Business Journal, Barbie sales dropped from $2 billion to $1.5 billion in 1999.
           My final message; there are many other influences on our body image that just toys and advertising. Many times it is the thoughts within our minds and how we see ourselves. We can get to the point where we begin to believe lies about ourselves.