Research concepts and applications

Mattel Corporation has been the owner of the Barbie brand and exclusive marketer of said brand for its entire existence, and in fact the original Barbie creator was also the creator of the Mattel corporation. The Barbie brand has gone through only a limited number of changes over the many years, but recently the Mattel company has introduced a new line of Barbie dolls and accessories that are said to be more modern reflections of the doll. The new Barbie dolls are known as "My Scene" Barbies, and they are marketed toward tween girls (girls ages 7-12) and anyone who has an interest in obtaining dolls that are more reflective of diversity.

The "My Scene" Barbie collection was launched in 2002. (Mattel history Website) These Barbies are also more reflective of actual body shape than the dolls have been in the past. Mattel has come under fire for decades with regard to the fact that true body shape and size is not reflective of real people. (Norton, Olds, Olive & Dank, 1996) the noted change that occurred in 2000 expresses the desire of the Barbie to be more reflective of actual physique of a woman, and Mattel totes is as an "athletic figure" more reflective of a real person, with a bendable waste that has a belly button. ("Jewel Girl Barbie Doll Provides First Peek at Barbie Millennium Makeover" Mattel Press Release September 2000) the "My Scene" collection consists of Kennedy (White), Chelsea (Latino) and Madison (African-American), all of whom have the same body with varied skin tones and hair colors.

Some experts also connect the development of the "My Scene" Barbie collection as a reaction to dwindling sales as a result of competition from another doll line, Bratz. (Peers, 2004, p. 191) Though Mattel press releases do not speak, specifically of the cultural issues that are addressed by the changes, others are quick to comment on the fact that this physical change to the doll was a long time coming and that reflecting diversity means more than simply making an exact replica of Barbie with darker skin and hair, which has been the standard in the past. (Peers, 2004, p. 175) Additionally, the sales of the Christie (the African-American Barbie introduced in 1968) dolls had lagged in the 1990s, despite the fact that Mattel also introduced a Latina Barbie "Theresa" in 1988 and an Asian Barbie "Kira" in 1990. (Peers, 2004, p. 175) (Mattel History Website) the suspicion is that even though these, "multi-cultural" Barbies were reflective of diversity they all had the same body shape "the ideal" and the same non-representative styles, with only limited facial differences to denote ethnicity. (Ducille, 1994, p. 46-48)

More than simple instruments of pleasure and amusement, toys and games play crucial roles in helping children determine what is valuable in and around them. Dolls in particular invite children to replicate them, to imagine themselves in their dolls' images. What does it mean, then, when little girls are given dolls to play with that in no way resemble them? (Ducille, 1994, p. 48)

Ducille argues that representing multiculturalism through limited expressions can be just as damaging as simply not having a reflective item at all, "...the inhabitants of these foreign lands -- from Disney's Princess Jasmine to Mattel's Jamaican Barbie -- are just like us, dye-dipped versions of archetypal white American beauty. " (Ducille, 1994, p. 49)it can also be argued that the Mattel marketed to more than just cultural diversity when it introduced Becky in 1997, a doll confined to a wheelchair, who was essentially just a Barbie sitting in a wheelchair. (Mattel History Website) Ducille also gives evidence to the idea that despite the large spending power of the Hispanic, Asian and African-American populations in the U.S. And elsewhere the marketing of Barbie, had only white dolls until 1990, when the company realized that these large segments of spending power might not even be aware of the fact that there were multi-ethnic Barbies. (Ducille, 1994, p. 49)

When little girls fantasize themselves into the conspicuous consumption, glamour, perfection, and, some have argued, anorexia of Barbie's world, it is rarely, if ever, "in their own image that they dream."2 Regardless of what color dyes the dolls are dipped in or what costumes they are adorned with, the image they present is of the same mythically thin, long-legged, luxuriously-haired, buxom beauty. And while Mattel and other toy manufacturers may claim to have the best interests of ethnic audiences in mind in peddling their integrated wares, one does not have to be a cynic to suggest that profit remains the motivating factor behind this merchandising of difference. (Ducille, 1994, p. 50)

While some attack Mattel and Barbie for offering negative images, regardless of multi-cultural intentions others commend Mattel for constantly seeking to develop the image of Barbie to meet the modern market demand and keep the toy alive for more than forty years, a significant marketing feat in any market but especially the toy market which is frequently a fad market that changes as seasonally as hemlines. (Furnham, 2001, p. 562)

The My Scene Barbies, share shelf space with traditional Barbies, as well as seasonally marketed Barbie dolls and toys from recent multi-market schemes, such as movie figures, from the five or more Barbie movies which have come out in recent years as a response to the Mattel Miramax partnership, which began with the "My Scene" movie in 2004-2005. ("My Scene Goes Hollywood" Mattel Press Release August 30, 2005) the divergent issue of body ideal and reality, regardless of its constancy as an issue is not specifically addressed, by the company with its reflective changes in the body image or the expansion of cultural representation (Norton, Olds, Olive & Dank, 1996) but it is clear that the company is responding to market demands and competition as they have been shown from other competitors that it is possible to sell diverse products, such as Bratz and other more representative dolls and take a significant share of Barbie profits in the process.

It must also be noted that the "My Scene" Barbie collection has been challenged by parents because the dolls are considered by some to be reflective of inappropriate dress. In one very humorous article discussing the issue Golberg complains of the fact that his very young daughter received a whore for Christmas.

My daughter -- not yet four years old -- got a whore. Okay, not a real prostitute. Not even a pretend one. She merely got a doll that dresses like one. Oh, and spare me the eye-rolling about how I've become a curmudgeon. I've been to Las Vegas, I've ambled through the seedier parts of cities, and I've quaffed more than a few cocktails at the right (or wrong) bars; I know what hookers look like. No, I have never sampled their wares, but while I've also never ridden an elephant, I've been to enough zoos to know what they look like. In short, this slattern effigy my daughter opened on Christmas morning (we do Chanuka and Christmas at the Goldbergs') was a gum-snapping, six-inch-heeled, F-me-pump-wearing ho. Fo sho.