Verified Document

Barbie As An Online Tool Essay

Nairn sees these Barbies as being tortured to destroy the doll's perfection, but the same children (I have noticed from observing female relatives) may demand a new Barbie, even after treating the old one carelessly. Additionally, not all Barbies are disposed of. In fact, there is a thriving industry of adults who collect Barbies. These Barbies embody characters from famous old films, new films, or characters from around the world. Even some Barbies marketed at younger girls that are reasonably priced like those of the Twilight series of Barbies, are clearly not disposable. Barbies run the gamut from the cheap to the beautifully coiffured, yet all of them suggest a model of femininity that is similar: adult and girlish at the same time. Even as early as the 1960s, according to the website "Barbie's Career History," Barbie was used to embody 'acceptable' female occupations for young women, including that of a fashion designer and a nurse in ways that appealed to adults as well as children.

Barbie was supposed to be subversive when first released, but she was always wholesome and all-American in her beauty to some degree, and as beauty and femininity has changed, so has Barbie. But Barbie still has close ties with the movie industry, the fashion industry, and other industries that produce very stereotyped images of femininity. Today's Barbie is girlish in her embodiment of teenage pleasures like riding bikes and caring for animals, but her marketing as a doll persona resembling famous movie characters suggests she is being marketed to parents as well, not 'above'...

A parent can buy a Barbie to collect for herself, and buy an inexpensive fairy princess Barbie for a child. It is Mattel who is truly having it all -- both audiences, adult and child, for Barbie.
The pleasure of clothing and accessorizing Barbie, even in her feminist incarnations, drives the Barbie industry, and is reinforced by the online images and 'games.' Rather than competitive play, girls learn how to adorn a potential image of themselves as potential women. The purpose is decorative, and now the decoration is more controlled than ever before -- girls buy clothes, rather than make clothes for their dolls like they did in previous eras. Barbie's image may be more empowered on the surface as a professional, but in terms of how girls are learning to play Barbie and play at being women, it is more controlled than ever.

Works Cited

Buffamonte, Christina. "Barbie's career history." Good Housekeeping. 2008.

June 23, 2010. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/teens/barbie-dolls-careers

Bindel, Julie. "Con -- Barbie: Dumb blonde or diehard feminist?" The Guardian. December 28,

2008. June 23, 2010.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/dec/19/women

Redmond, Moira. "Con -- Barbie: Dumb blonde or diehard feminist?" The Guardian. 2008.

December 18, 2008. June 23, 2010.

"Rethinking children's play." National PTA. June 23, 2010.

http://fun.familyeducation.com/outdoor-games/play/35262.html

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Buffamonte, Christina. "Barbie's career history." Good Housekeeping. 2008.

June 23, 2010. http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/teens/barbie-dolls-careers

Bindel, Julie. "Con -- Barbie: Dumb blonde or diehard feminist?" The Guardian. December 28,

2008. June 23, 2010.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/dec/19/women
http://fun.familyeducation.com/outdoor-games/play/35262.html
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Mattel Corporation Has Been the
Words: 4260 Length: 17 Document Type: Term Paper

New York: Berg. Marketing to specific people and groups is a demonstrative development that has been around for almost as long as marketing has been recognized as a viable field of study and employment. Marketing segmentation or geodemographic marketing segmentation is a development of this desire, on the part of the manufacturer to meet the most customers, who will be interested in and purchase the products they develop. According to

Creative Writing in English: Singapore
Words: 34880 Length: 127 Document Type: Dissertation

This was usually the case with the proliferation of British rule at the time; trade was the predecessor to British Colonialism. For administrative purposes, Singapore became a part of Penang and Malacca which were two other settlements in the region. By 1826 these areas were grouped together and became known as the Straits Settlement. Initially the centre of the Straits Settlement was Penang. Penang was governed by Calcutta and

Political Photography the Objective of
Words: 1979 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Proposal

(Robinson, 2002, p. 180) According to Robinson (2002) the shutter speed used can have a "dramatic effect" on the photograph. Summary and Conclusion Many technological advances took place in the 19th and 20th century and included in these changes were developments in camera and film that enabled the field of photography to expand greatly. Photographs began to be used in new ways and particularly in documenting not only events but lives

Marketing in Health Care
Words: 576 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Marketing in Healthcare Catholic Healthcare West Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) is a not-for-profit healthcare organization serving parts of Arizona, Nevada and the majority of California. With 42 hospitals it is the largest Catholic hospital system in this part of the United States. The organization focuses its services upon the poor, who cannot afford private hospital services. Regardless, the aim is also to provide high-quality healthcare to those in need. The target market

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now