Mr. Pierstorff
English 101
19 October 2012 Why Barbie is a Good Role Model
It happened every year. My sister and I received journals from mother to begin the school year. Looking back, I recall flipping through the blank pages to the inside of the back cover. I spotted questions like name, age, height, and what do you want to be when you grow up? My mother always filled these in. Mother asked me, “What do you and your sister want to be when you grow up?” I put my hands on my hips, spreading my legs, giving my best Superman pose. The answer was easy. I was going to be a policeman. My sister was next. She was four, just starting preschool. She answered, “I want to be a mommy and a housewife.”
Fast forward three years. We had the same journals, same questions, different year, and mother filling in the blanks asking the same question. This time I wanted to be a fireman. So, when mother asked, that’s what I told her. Next, my sister answered, “Doctor”. This surprised me. I remember feeling jealous. She picked something better than me. It was at that moment that I realized where my sister got this idea that showed ambition and lofty goals. She got it from her doll, a Barbie. This doll had changed the way my sister viewed herself. She no longer wanted to be a housewife. Now she wanted a career, one requiring an education.
Barbie has been helping shape the future of young women for fifty-three years. This has happened through Barbie’s inspiration to dream big and set lofty goals. She teaches girls to respect themselves and others. She also teaches girls to think for themselves, be independent, and take charge of their own life, not waiting for a man to complete who they are. She also shows them the importance of physical fitness and staying healthy.
Ruth Handler, Barbie’s creator is a woman of vision with big dreams. As a young girl after graduating High School she
Cited: Beal, c. The development of gender roles. New York, 1994. Bryjal, George J. and Micharl P. Soraka. Sociology: Cultural Diversity in a Changing World. City:: Allyn & Bacon, 1997. 214. Henecke, Deb Moore. "Rethinking Barbie." Image (2012): 1-3. Quarterly article. Rogers, A. Barbie Culture. Thousand Oaks, CA., 1999. Sage. Sutton-Smith, B. The ambiguity of play. Cambridge, MA:, 1997. Harvard University Press. Johnson, Kristi. Evaluation. (7 March 2000) http://www.otal.umd.edu/~vg/mssp96/ms07/eval.htm Johnson, Kristi. History. (6 March 2000) http://www.otal.umd.edu/~vg/mssp96/ms07/hist.htm Riddick, Kristin. Introduction. (6 March 2000) http://www.people.virginia.edu/~tsawyer/barbie/barb1.html The Barbie Doll Story. 1999. (29 Feb. 2000) http://www.barbie.com/history/story.asp BillyBoy. Barbie Her Life and Times. New York: Crown Publishers, 1987. Johnson, Kristi. Barbie 's Effects on American Suburban Culture. (6 March 2000) http://www.otal.umd.edu/~vg/mssp96/ms07/cult.htm