Ugly Barbie?

The above screenshots are from a website that sells dolls named barbies with stylish clothes and an enhanced image that is idolized by most little girls. Looking at the screenshots , we automatically find her attractive and beautiful. Dressed up in finest clothes and always looking so together and pretty, but at the same time, promotes an image which is not pretty at all. Heavy breasts with larger hipsize and extra skinny waist, in other words "an hour glass figure" might look pretty in this dolls but infact is ugly from a health point of view. In a recent study by a group of Developmental Psychologist of the University of West England, it was found out that the Barbie Dolls have affected the life of nearly 200 elementary aged girls, to be more specific the age group of five to eight. Since every girls want to be as “pretty” as Barbie, what they don’t know is that “pretty” is the last word that will come to mind once they have reached the stage of being the Barbie. A lot of girls will go through a lot of tortures including the usage of Botox, Restylane and face lifts; a phenomenon known as the Body Dysmorphic Disorder. When girls look at the signature tiny waist of Barbie, they obsess about their body figures and they start to develop anorexia. Such people will go through all the possible procedures including plastic surgery but even then they won’t feel better about themselves.  Dr Margaret Ashwell, former director of the British Nutrition Foundation, stated that “Children can be influenced at an early age and we need to be aware of that and take appropriate steps”. We must not forget about the fact that severely malnourished people can not only develop cognitive impairment but also anorexia, which is hard to come back from if proper actions are not taken in the very beginning. Anorexia, as we all know, is an eating disorder in which one refuses to maintain a healthy body weight due to the concern of the one’s body shape. Now when girls look at the Barbie dolls and their “Spaghetti like thin bodies”, they start to feel insecure about their own body shape, hence putting  themselves into practices of malnutrition.

 Without caring for the medical aspects and feeling insecure about their body shape and weight, they develop a habit of not eating a proper diet just to look “thin” like the Barbie dolls, it consequently leads them to anorexia.  Barbie is, without a doubt, one of the most famous toys in the world today but the question that still remains is: is it setting our little girls up for issues? We all, especially girls, need to remember that even if we are not as skinny as the Barbie, they are still beautiful.
Realistically none of the girls would actually want barbie like figure proportions. If she were a real human, she'd be 7'2" tall with a figure measurements of 39-23-33. Think about your quest of becoming barbie, give it a second thought for if it's really worth it!

Life-Sized Barbie’s Bizarre Body: Eating Disorder Awareness Week Read More at FYI Living: Http://fyiliving.com/health-news/life-size-barbies-bizarre-body-eating-disorder-awareness-week/#ixzz1P8b80Vte." FYI Living. 20 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 June 2011. <http://fyiliving.com/mental-health/life-size-barbies-bizarre-body-eating-disorder-awareness-week/>.

Knipper, Cathy. "Eating Disorders Real Life Story – Teen Creates ‘Real Barbie’ to Fight Eating Disorders." Social Workers. Web. 12 June 2011. <http://www.helpstartshere.org/mind-and-spirit/eating-disorders/eating-disorders-real-life-story-teen-creates-real-barbie-to-fight-eating-disorders.html>.