Argumentative Essay On Barbie

Barbie has been an iconic toy since its introduction in the 1959 Toy Fair in New York. Quickly almost every little girl in American had to have one. Barbie went from a simple plastic toy to a role model and why wouldn’t she be? Barbie has had 130 jobs, ran for president 5 times, rides in a little pink corvette, and left Ken over 10 years ago but, she also has an eating disorder. Barbie’s waist, neck, and chest measurements are so disproportional that if she were a real woman she would have to, “crawl on all fours”, and, “would not [be healthy enough to] menstruate” (Katz). She may be an independent woman but does America really want our boys and girls growing up with the schema that this is what a “perfect” girl looks like? In the early 1990’s
At the beginning of her popularity she was stereotypical roles such as teacher, stay at home mom, and nurse (stone 40) but around the 1970’s, female empowerment exploded. Barbie became a doctor, pilot, and astronaut. This would have helped Barbie’s reputation except, all of her career dolls came complete with sexy outfits and an evening gown to wear on her “glamorous dates” (stone 40-41). This might have lead girls to think that you can be what you want to be and still remain feminine, but to other girls it meant, “‘You can be who you wanna be… if you’re pretty’” (stone 42). The idea that all you had to do to be successful was look cute in your outfit angered parents too. One angered mother retorted that in her own career, “[being treated equally] took a lot more than slipping into a power suit,” (stone 45). Even though Barbie has held jobs as important as President of the United States, when the same college students were asked in a survey, what job they thought Barbie would hold, they wrote she would be a housewife, cheerleader, model, and, “nothing professional,” (Yates). Mattel’s company has tried to empower women by modernizing Barbie through the decades but, Barbie is still seen as a “housewife” (Yates) because they have modernized every aspect of her but her
Barbie has exhausted every career possible and has been a sister, cousin, friend, and mother. A whole new look for Barbie could heighten her sells and give the company a whole new advertising angle. Barbie is the leading doll company in the U.S. If Mattel changes their look, other dolls will soon follow just to keep up with the competition. Once the shock of the changed Barbie is over they can begin a collection of dolls that reach every healthy body type according to race, gender, and the apparent age of the doll. A mother doll can fit the measurements of average, healthy woman over 30 and tween dolls can vary catering to the many different body types tweens have. This will endorse more creative play and give children more options. This will also help Mattel tremendously because with new and different body types, all new clothes and accessories will be bought to fit the new Barbie which will increase their