Craving a barbie body - All Dolled Up

Issue 66 March 2010

Only 1 in 100,000 women could attain Barbie’s vital statistics. With 1 in 100 women between 15 and 30 suffering from anorexia, Aisha Mirza, explores how the doll fits into the beauty myth.

“I can be anything, from a rock star to a race-car driver, and so can you!” squeals Barbie as I visit her cyber walk-in-ward- robe. Unfortunately, it would seem that Barbie’s version of the American dream extends only to those who weigh 110lbs (7st 12lbs/50kg) or less. If Barbie were a human woman, she would stand tall at 5 feet 9 inches, rendering her size three feet quite inadequate for balance – especially when taking her F-cup breasts into consideration. Human Barbie’s waist would measure around 18 inches and she would lack the requisite 17-22% body fat required to menstruate, thus representing the body of 1 in 100,000 real women. When the figures are laid bare, it seems clear that Barbie’s physique is that of a plastic doll belonging to a fantasy world. But the truth is Barbie is very much a part of the real world too, and she symbolises generations of women who strive to be ‘beautiful’.

Courtney E Martin, author of ‘Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters’ writes, “Our bodies work on their own success/failure scale. We can work four years to get a degree, but can be failures in an instant once we step onto scales.” Such a sentiment will not be a surprise to women who have felt the inescapable pressure to be smoother, flatter, huskier, poutier and archier, and then the inevitable disappointment when their bodies don’t comply. From the corsets of times past that made fainting a predilection, to the Monolo pinkie toe amputations of today, women have a long history of enduring pain to be ‘beautiful’, and society has a long history of encouraging that. It is within this framework, where women are willing to lose dangerous amounts of weight and actual body parts in order to be validated as ‘beautiful’, that the potential danger of a Barbie doll becomes apparent.

 In 1965, six years after Barbie was born, Mattel released ‘Sleepy Time Gal Barbie’ who was decked out in pink pajamas and eager for slumber party fun. Her sleepover accessories consisted of scales pegged to 110lbs and a dieting handbook with one page of advice that read, “Don’t eat.” Barbie’s love interest, Ken, went to his slumber parties with cookies and milk.

Barbie has competition however, and it is not the “Islamic” Barbie spin-offs which are winning the day, but Bratz. With giant lips and erotic clothes, these ethnically diverse and arousing dolls have hit Barbie sales globally. The Bratz offshoot dolls, ‘Babyz’, takes the trend of sexualising pre-pubescent females to a whole new level by presenting actual baby versions of the dolls in a nappy, bra and make-up, with bottles of milk dangling from their necks and swinging by their thighs. Bratz also have a line of ‘bralettes’ -padded bras- which are currently providing ‘support’ for girls as young as six in Australia. Meanwhile, the hair removing product, ‘Nair’ has released ‘Nair Pretty’ with a target market of 10-15 year olds. Other additions to the girl product market have included Barbie Mac cosmetic range, Playboy Bunny Girl stationery available at WHSmith, Playboy Bunny Girl t-shirts available at supermarkets, a pole-dancing kit with the words “Unleash the sex kitten inside...” which Tesco had to remove from the toys and games section of its website following complaints. BHS also had to remove its padded bras and sexy knickers for the under 10s. Yet these small victories for the concerned consumer cannot halt the increasing sexualisation of children’s products by marketers who recognise the KGOY –Kids Growing Older Younger - market 

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