Life in Plastic

Like many girls, I played with Barbies when I was a kid.  Every now and then I would get a new doll or some new outfits for them. When my friends came over we played with (and fought over) them, dressing them in various outfits and playing pretend. To be honest though, I don't recall ever comparing myself or other adult women to Barbie. At 7 I knew that she was just a toy and never saw her as anything more. After an hour or two, Barbie and her friends were put back neatly in their box and replaced in their spot under the bed.

My sister, on the other hand, turned 7 last month. While she's never played with dolls much, she loved watching Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse on Netflix.  I happened to be sitting in the same room a few times, and I was appalled by the show. Not only is Barbie super skinny, she's got this huge house with a closet the size of the White House and 36 hot tubs and an elevator. (I'm not exaggerating the closet btw. Her friends got lost in it once. Another time, Ken gave it A.I and then it trapped her friends.) The show depicts Barbie's adventures with her sisters and friends, visiting all sorts of places (of course, Barbie has a specific outfit for all occasions, including her outfits for her 130+ careers). Anyway, my sister doesn't watch it anymore, and I'm glad. 

 Barbie has always been a subconscious negative influence on young girls' self esteem, considering that Barbie is supposed to represent the ideal, successful young woman. With the show, though, which makes Barbie seem more "real" and brings her to life, has an even more detrimental effect. Nonetheless, society is progressing away from rigid beauty standards and is beginning to become more body-positive. Hopefully one day we'll have a more realistic Barbie doll.

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