Barbie Based A Barbaric Culture - 2099 Words

Barbie-Based: A Barbaric Culture Perfectly perky and popular, slim waisted and long legged, silky plastic hair and a flashy smile frozen in time, Barbie has been lining toy store shelves and influencing young girls’ dreams since 1959. The teenage fashion model has managed to secure close to 150 careers, represent 40 different nations and cultures, and has collaborated with more than 75 different fashion designers, all amounting to an impressive resume theoretically thicker than a phone book. A cultural icon for the American wasteland of plastic and hollow female beauty standards, labor ideals, and domesticity, she remains the world’s most popular toy doll. Barbara Millicent Roberts was born in fictional Willows, Wisconsin in a time when the annual wage was about $5,000 and the average worker paid 25 cents per gallon of gas. Her essence mirrored the classic 1950’s sophisticated glamour chic. Inspired by legendary stars like Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and Elizabeth Taylor, Barbie’s prominent features included high-arched brows, porcelain skin, pursed and pouty red lips, and a coy sideways glance. Her slim-waisted, long-legged, model-esque curvy figure was also an accurate reflection of the female beauty ideal in the late 50’s. Unlike the mass of baby dolls populating stores, Barbie was an â€Å"adult† doll who seemed to embody all the desirable traits of stylish consumption and maintained an idealized labor discipline in her modeling career. Her clean-cut and wholesome middleShow MoreRelatedStereotypes, Stereotyping and Ideals Essay5008 Words   |  21 Pagesindicate that female body images presented through models, mannequins, and even Barbie dolls are strikingly deviant from the actual female form. One such example occurs in the January 1998 issue of Marie Claire magazine, which states that the average American woman is 5’4† and a size 12. She has a 37-inch bust, a 29-inch waist, and 40-inch hips. A mannequin is 6 feet tall, a size 6, with measurements of 34-23-34. A life-size Barbie doll would be 7’2,† with bust, waist, and hip measurements of 40-22-36, respectivelyRead MoreTo What Extent Does Gender Equality And Changing Gender1771 Words   |  8 Pagesbeen labeled be cause of their sex. Regardless of how strong a woman is, or how sensitive a man is, society will hold them to a certain standard because of their gender. Especially if that individual grew up learning certain traditions within their culture. Gender roles is defined as ‘normal’ standards created by society in many countries all over the world. The gender roles are that, â€Å"†¦ masculine roles are usually associated with strength, aggression, and dominance while feminine roles are associated