internet, we need to have another talk about barbie

hello! i'm here to reply to a post i made about barbie last, like, may or april (maybe even march) on my other blog. i'm mostly doing this because i've become a lot aware of the problems plaguing our society as a woman, and while my post had good intentions it did get a little misguided. so let's have at it, shall we?

original post found here

i highly doubt that barbie i the reason that so many girls have low self esteem and want to attain impossible figures. it makes sense on paper, but think about it. barbie is, first and foremost, a toy. she's made of plastic. also, there's the fact that there are pressures from the media to look like what's desirable, like the ladies in the magazines. and guess who's not in the magazines. of course there's probably people out there who do want the look like barbie, but don't blame everyone's low self-esteem on a doll. or at least think about it. 

so i'll admit, i still stand by this a little bit. but i'm not going to deny the fact that, yeah, barbie has probably hand an impact on girl's self-esteem and self image. but the thing i still stand by is this: you can't blame everyone's low self-esteem on a doll. you can't. it's never as simple as that.

that being said, i do believe that barbie is the source of some negative self image issues. but one things that's nice about the mattel company is that they recognize this and change barbie to help combat these problems. today's barbie has a much different body shape than barbies i had as a child specifically because of this. they;re trying t make barbie as good a role model as they can and making sure she has something close to and attainable body shape is definitely a step in the right direction. but let's not erase people' struggles by saying that barbie has never caused someone to feel bad because they can't look like.be as good as her.

barbie doesn't come in pink packaging and lots of pink (not only pink, but lots of pink) clothes because she's meant for girls. this is something called characterization. over the years mattel has turned barbie from just a fashion doll into full fledged character. she has a whole family, likes and dislikes, she even has an entire name. so it makes sense that barbie would have a favorite color right? and guess what that color is? pink. 

let's not kid ourselves here; the color of barbie's packaging has, at least in the past, had something  to do with marketing towards little girls. it is true that barbie has turned into a character over the years, but you can't just deny that marketing pink to little girls was never a thing because it's barbie's favorite color.

nowadays the packaging for barbie dolls has included other colors depending on the series/doll line the toy belongs to and whether or not said doll is barbie. the packaging for barbie's friends has less pink in it. and, even better, they don't take the pink off for ken dolls, which is really cool. but these are recent things that came along with the developments of barbie's characterization and the creation of actual personalities for her friends, and we shouldn't pretend that it's not.

(aside: this is one of the things the bratz always had going for them. the very first bratz dolls came in dark blue boxes, as did the boys. mga, the company that makes bratz, doesn't pander to to girls, and they acknowledge their male fanbase, which is nice.)

and probably the most important thing, barbie is not a slut, nor is she dumb. the movies have established that. for one, being a slut isn't even such a bad thing, let alone something that you call a cartoon character. also 'slutty' isn't a style of dress, it's a lifestyle choice (for lack of better word). and to top that off, barbie doesn't dress in what is traditionally thought of as 'slutty'. a regular barbie's style is probably best described as feminine, and the clothes are not overtly revealing. and there isn't really any evidence to prove that barbie is 'dumb'. there's the whole 'math is hard' thing, but not everyone is good at math, you know? it's not a sign of stupidity. besides, barbie has had what seems like a hundred jobs, which means she's qualified for every one. 

this is the one that has the strongest argument. barbie's not a slut, but what really needs to be acknowledged here is the fact that a) being a slut isn't a bad thing and b) people are slut-shaming a doll because of they way she's dressed. how sad is that? literally slut-shaming a toy. the bratz got this one flung at them a LOT when they first came out. but it's just so upsetting that people are slut-shaming a  female, real or fictional, because of the way she dresses. that's not even mentioning that barbie's clothes are in no way provocative."but look at the hem lines/length of her shorts!" you might say. well to that i say, "who cares?" really, why is it so bad for a girl to wear a short skirt/dress or short shorts? many people own clothes just like that,  but when it's a doll it's suddenly a problem?

of course it needs to be said that very real people deal with this stuff everyday, and honestly it's not fair.just the very notion that we should according to what might or might not appease a man is insulting, and it's even worse that we're imposing this on our kids. barbie's clothes reflect the style of the times. that's all it is, that's all it ever will be. and there's nothing "slutty" about that.

(aside: congrats to mattel and mga for not caving to the peer pressure on that point. i'd rather my kids (if i had them) get their fashion trends from dolls rather than magazines. i'm serious; a lot of fashion magazines are special editions or spin offs of the same magazines that bash celebrities, which teaches really bad attitudes and behaviors. barbie is never gonna spy on britney spears from a bush from the latest scoop. who would you trust?)