This is he-man

[McBear]

I've just seen (on fb- sorry) a picture with an image of barbie and he-man. Underneath barbie, it has the caption 'This is barbie. Throughout the years she has been the centre of much controversy because feminists claim she represents an unrealistic, unhealthy and unfair standard of beauty leading to a 'crisis' for young girls and their self esteem.

Underneath he-man it says 'This is he-man'

I'll try and find a link to the picture but it did get me thinking... He man is the 'epitome of manliness' as are a lot of comic book heroes/boys dolls. (Not including weedy captain America and Peter Parker, though obviously they 'improve' when they are handsome, tall and muscular) Why are they not seen as damaging to young boys?

I, personally, think it's because of the pressure society puts on women and them stereotypically seen as weaker. Women are taught to compete for male attention, men compete for jobs/sports and therefore success.

It does raise a good point for me though that men are shown the same ideals but do not feel the same pressure to comply.

Ha ha. I'll start with the coastal issues at your request.

although still eye roll at people that think barbie is some sort of important feminist issue

buffy, i love your water aid analogy and am gonna steal that one.

Oh a cape that you wear. Forget the coastal issues.

False pairing for a start. GI Joe or Eagle Eye Action man is the nearest boy equivalent to a barbie. They didn't have a particularly distorted bodyshape. Barbie doesn't have a cowardly tiger that turns into a battlecat, she has a (pink) car or a (pink) moped or a (white and pink) horse or any of a bunch of lame-o jobs... it's distractingly close to reality and that's the insidiousness of the whole thing.

Barbie annoys the shit out of me but sadly my DD (4) thinks she is fantastic. Barbie having loads of jobs is irrelevant against the larger weight of the "just look pretty and be pink" message being pushed over.
www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/barbie-limits-girls-career-choices/

Wasn't going to post any more on this thread - but had to, just had to, come back to shout BINGO (more important issues etc etc) - and to roll around with hysterical laughter at the failure to spot Buffy's explicit sarcasm. Oh the irony

It's telling boys that to be a superhero, or to be a 'real man' you must be big and strong and muscly. I think that's a big problem because we should be telling boys (and girls!) that you can be a superhero and important without muscles or height, and by being you, any body shape, any build. By making sure boys and girls receive that same message, then the boys would learn to be more accepting of the fact that girls can be superheroes too...after all, they've learn the body doesn't matter really.

Buffy for me has it spot on.

When my daughters were young they adored the Powerpuff Girls as they always won. My son loved them too, as did I. They showed female super heroes and are a massive positive. I think anything that empowers my DDs is a good thing, even if it's a cartoon.

I actually think that women put the pressure on women to look a certain way.

How?

All those women owned magazines maybe? The woman owned newspapers? Fashion houses? Fashion retail CEOs?

Those women?

Machair if women do do that then why do think it is?