Lead Barbie designer at Mattel has stated that Barbies absolutely do not influence little girls in any way when it comes to ideals of body size. Furthermore, the doll’s inhuman proportions were made that way simply as a functional necessity, “for girls to easily dress and undress." When asked whether Mattel would ever consider altering Barbie’s stacked and skinny body to reflect realistic proportions, they say that, while it’s not out of the question, there are two important points to ponder: One is that moms like to hand Barbie outfits down over generations, and changing the doll’s body size could seriously mess with that tradition. Plus, making such body-size changes wouldn’t happen without a clear reason, they note, adding, “So to me, there isn’t an objective to change the proportion of Barbie currently.” I believe people are getting overly-sesitive about her body shape, I mean she's a fictional character whether or not they intend her to be something to strive for shouldn't be a main focus when buying. Why no simply buy for the joy of giving a doll to someone?
http://shine.yahoo.com/love-sex/barbie-s-body--never-meant-to-be-realistic---designer-says--say-what-214351321.html
comment by Rhyann Lee 5th period. I think it would be really interesting to see Barbie with a natural body type. who cares if they cant fit the same clothes it would be a great change
ReplyDeleteOkay, the problem with Barbies is that when you're playing with them for your entire childhood, as well as tons of other dolls with similarly unrealistic proportions, you begin to think that's how you're meant to look too and it's not at all. I honestly don't think marketing this stuff to young girls is healthy, and I don't plan on giving them to future children.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think as a child I looked at a Barbie and thought to model my body shape after her. I don't think that's the main mindset of a little girl playing with a doll. However, I do agree that it would be interesting to see the dolls in different sizes and I don't see why it would be an inconvenience to make them.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you. I think in this modern day and age people have become WAAAYYY to sensitive about these issues. You're 100% correct - shes a DOLL. A toy. Honestly, this topic really upsets me. People need to calm down about any little problem. It seems to me that people have become accustomed to getting everything they want at a whim, such as changing Barbie's body, and have also wanted to make everyone feel accepted. Though this is a good intention, it's just too much. We don't have to censor everything we do and make it more "correct".
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