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To think that Barbie advert can piss off?

223 replies

TammySwansonTwo · 14/11/2017 12:51

Starts with a small girl giving a lecture to a room full of adults, then switches to showing her actually playing with barbies. Then says something about how when you're playing with Barbie you can be anything you want to be.

Huh, really? Like something other than an anatomically inaccurate sexualised image of a woman? DFOD.

Anyone seen it?

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TammySwansonTwo · 14/11/2017 15:34

It's just a doll.
It's just an advert.
It's just a magazine.
It's just a joke.

That's what I hear so often. I find it concerning that some don't consider the cumulative effect of all these things. Just letting kids figure it out for themselves - that's worked out really well for us so far, as demonstrated by the rates of eating disorders, body dysmorphia and lack of body confidence in older girls and young women.

Is Barbie directly responsible for this in isolation? Of course not, but denying that these things send messages to our children is not being realistic.

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MrsJayy · 14/11/2017 15:37

The barbies in the advert were not overly sexualised as you suggested I like the advert and I think you are making it something it isn't.

MoistCantaloupe · 14/11/2017 15:39

You can buy petite, curvy, tall barbies on the website.

I think the new advert is much better than the previous ones i.e. 'Play in the pool with Ken!' As at least they are taking some responsibilities for the effect their brand has on consumers. But, I do see the irony. And although they do have a petite and curvy doll, it wouldn't be good to have a more diverse range. I bet no one buys curvy.

MoistCantaloupe · 14/11/2017 15:40

Would not be...not wouldn't.

TammySwansonTwo · 14/11/2017 15:47

I didn't say the dolls in the advert are sexualised.

The standard Barbie proportions are based on research showing breast-hip-ratios deemed to be the most sexually attractive - the larger that ratio, the more sexually attractive. That's what girls need, I guess. And if it's irrelevant, why are they like that in the first place?

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Icantreachthepretzels · 14/11/2017 15:56

We do all understand the cumulative effect of all the aspects of the world we live in. But some things are more dangerous and damaging than others. Some things are seemingly harmless but actually insidious and we are all allowed to make our own personal judgement on what is damaging and what isn't.

Girl's self confidence and body confidence plummets at puberty. This is when eating disorders start to sky rocket. But these are children that are already beyond the barbie phase. I don't imagine many 15 year olds struggling with an eating disorder (something I have close experience with) would cite barbie as the pernicious influence. 15 year olds don't think about barbie dolls. Magazines, films, t.v shows and the way boys (and other girls) at school are treating them are the problem.

The advert is specifically demonstrating that barbie-and by extension girls - can be whatever they want. Girls watching that advert see a real life woman lecturing to a whole load of people, and being listened to. Then the girl playing with a barbie shows it's something that they themselves can aspire to, that they should want. That isn't something that little girls in the past saw a lot of, and as a result, the world is full of men running boardrooms and speaking in lecture halls. The barbie advert normalises women in positions of authority.

So then the gripe boils down to ...well she's too pretty. That's misogynist in and of itself. To claim its a realism issue - she's made of plastic ffs, how realistic is she ever going to be? And as people have pointed out, there are now a whole range of different looking barbie dolls. Is it perfect? no. But it's certainly not indefensible, either.

As to the ratio problem - I imagine that's actually aimed to be pleasing to the eye of the people with the actual purchasing power - the adults. They are more likely to buy it if they think it looks good. But it is meaningless to the children they are buying it for. The extended range actually supports that - I bet it wasn't the 5 -9 year olds crying out for a chubby barbie doll, it was parents that wanted 'realism' from their plastic tat.

NamasteNiki · 14/11/2017 16:02

Who on here let their Dds watch beauty and the beast?
The cartoon and / or the new god awful Emma Cannot Act Watson film.

Belle ostracized for reading Hmm

Has an abusive captor and then develops Stockholm Syndrome and lives happily ever after HmmConfused

Problem with Barbie who after 60 years has never married Ken?

TammySwansonTwo · 14/11/2017 16:04

Your argument makes little sense to me I'm afraid. Of course they're past the Barbie stage and wouldn't single out the effect of barbie on their self image - it gets in there way before they even consider these things, that's the issue.

It has nothing to do with her being too pretty, and everything to do with promoting a sexually idealised and impossible body image to children. I'm legitimately surprised that this is seen as an outlying opinion.

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RunningOutOfCharge · 14/11/2017 16:19

Sorry but what’s wrong with long legs and a small waist?

Because that’s my body shape unfortunately.... I’m 5ft 11 and have to buy tall range and wear a belt!! It’s a pain but it’s not wrong or odd!!

Icantreachthepretzels · 14/11/2017 16:19

Your argument makes little sense to me I'm afraid. Of course they're past the Barbie stage and wouldn't single out the effect of barbie on their self image - it gets in there way before they even consider these things, that's the issue

But my point is it doesn't get in there. Little girls of barbie playing age are happy and confident and believe they can be whatever they want to be. The problem doesn't set in until they're much older. Now that suggests to me, at least, that the things that influence them and trigger the crisis in confidence is something else entirely.

Like I said, children do not view the world as we view the world, they do not process things as we do - and to rely on adult perspective and understanding to explain what children are thinking is a deeply flawed way of doing things.

Barbie is a piece of plastic that they bring to life, she does whatever they want her to (my sindys were the royal family of an unspecified country and had a penchant for putting on loads of layers of clothes and riding their horse on expeditions to the north pole). She exists to create fantasies. She is something they can dress up and move around and act out fantasy situations with. That's all she is to children.

It is only to us adults that she is a freakishly disproportionate monstrosity, that feeds into an idealised and over sexualised version of womanhood - if that's what you think of her. plenty of adults don't see her that way, even if they know her waist is too small. But the adult view of barbie is not the child's view of barbie!

And how anyone can be angry at an advert encouraging little girls to fantasise about public speaking and being an expert in their field is completely beyond me.

whatabreakthrough · 14/11/2017 16:19

I bet no one buys curvy.

Even children know that curvy is the new name for fat!

RunningOutOfCharge · 14/11/2017 16:20

How is it sexually idealised though?? It’s a body

whatabreakthrough · 14/11/2017 16:21

Sorry but what’s wrong with long legs and a small waist?

Because that’s my body shape unfortunately.

Why unfortunately?
Long legs and a small waist is a lovely shape to be.

RunningOutOfCharge · 14/11/2017 16:26

Unfortunately because I can only buy clothes from a ‘tall’ range

So it’s next or new look

Can’t wear much from primarni or any standard range

I’ve got a 34 inch inside leg!! It’s a bit of a pain but I’m your barber dill and now I’m being told by some randomer on the internet that it’s wrong/sexualised/not real

Everything gapes at the waist too

TheHoundsHorse · 14/11/2017 16:28

Have a look at the new style barbies. Then have a look at the Monster High and Bratz dolls. The actual shape of the dolls is equally out of proportion. Barbie can be a doctor, a teacher, a gymnast, a police officer, a horse rider, an astronaut, a vet or a businesswoman.

To think that Barbie advert can piss off?
To think that Barbie advert can piss off?
To think that Barbie advert can piss off?
MimsyFluff · 14/11/2017 16:29

I agree OP. I hate the tiny dresses, shorts and skirts, the low cut top and high heels. DD1 had them when she was little then when DD2 was around 2 we found Lottie dolls and that's wheat we have now. I found DD1 preferred them because it was a child, interesting sets and the quality is ten times better.

Lordasriel · 14/11/2017 16:30

I prefer the Barbie dolls to the Bratz dolls.

TammySwansonTwo · 14/11/2017 16:32

I've already explained why it's sexualised. And as you can see, it's not because of ridiculous ideas like "it would look weird if it were based on realistic proportions" m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/normal-barbie-nickolay-lamm_n_3529460

Nothing wrong with being tall and slim whatsoever. Nothing wrong with being short and wide either.

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TammySwansonTwo · 14/11/2017 16:35

Also, very young girls are affected by these things, no question: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/30/children-as-young-as-three-have-body-image-issues-while-four-yea/

And this, which appears to be very alarming:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991547/

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Icantreachthepretzels · 14/11/2017 16:35

I think the barbie's in the shorts look almost 'normal' sized. And I love that one has really short hair! They're actually far less dis-proportioned then the bratz and monster high dolls. Add in barbie's 157 different careers over the years, and actually, she's looking pretty good to me! I think the Barbie brand has worked hard to keep up with the times - they just need to encourage the boys to play with them as well -after all Ken is as varied as barbie is, now.

TheHoundsHorse · 14/11/2017 16:36

Bratz dolls are hideous! I just don't get why Barbie gets all of the hate, yes she is out of proportion but all children's dolls- girl or boy- are, all of them! Disney princesses are too, but so is Batman! I think Barbie is more of a fashion doll than anything, nothing wrong with being interested in fashion. Some women are really tall, slim and blonde, nothing wrong with that either.

MimsyFluff · 14/11/2017 16:37

The range is bigger now and last year we got some cheap for DC's friends birthdays

TammySwansonTwo · 14/11/2017 16:38

From that second link:
Although there has been discussion about the extremely thin body of Barbie, only one experimental study actually tested the effects of exposure to images of Barbie on body image in a sample of young girls’ from the United Kingdom (Dittmar et al. 2006). In that study, 5- to 8-year-old girls were exposed to images of Barbie or to images of Emme (developed by Tonner); a doll with more realistic body proportions that was endorsed by the American Dietetic Association as a healthy role model for young girls. They found that girls between the ages of 5.5 to 7.5 years old had lower body esteem scores and a greater discrepancy between actual and ideal body sizes or actual and adult body sizes (relative difference between the actual body size of the girl and her desired adult body size) if they were exposed to images of a Barbie, whereas exposure to images of the Emme doll had no effects on these variables. However, children between the ages of 7.5 and 8.5 experienced greater actual and adult body discrepancies if exposed to images of Emme, whereas no effects were found for exposure to images of Barbie in this age group. Dittmar et al. (2006) reasoned that the age difference they found can be explained by the fact that the girls under the age of 7.5 are still developing a self-concept and therefore use Barbie actively as a reference norm, whereas girls older than 7.5 years have already internalized the thin ideal as a cognitive self-concept structure (see also Vygotsky 1991).

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MimsyFluff · 14/11/2017 16:38

Posted to soon* we got them cheap on Amazon on black Friday and I'm hoping to get some more cheap this year on black Friday

RunningOutOfCharge · 14/11/2017 16:39

That second article op

Which ‘normal sized doll’ did the kids get given then? What’s ‘normal’ ?

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