Living Doll

The biggest selling toy in history, Barbie was first released in 1959, to promote the first of its kind ‘womanly figured’ doll, a TV advertisement which spoke the lines:

“My barbie doll is really real”

“Barbie is small and so petite; clothes on that figure look so neat”

“One day I’m going to be exactly like you”



Parallel to the animated characters in Disney films which present female characters as thin and attractive with long legs and ample breasts. Barbie is presented with a body shape and proportions which are physiologically impossible (Fein, 1995, p152). She is described as the pinnacle of plastic perfection (BBC News 1998), however, Barbie were a human being, her proportions would be 6'9" tall, her bust measurement would be 40”, a tiny 22" waist, and 36" hips, her neck would be twice the length of a normal human woman. Barbie would not have enough room in her tiny waistline to have full sized organs, nor would she be able to menstruate (Fein, 1995, 153).


Her body, with its buoyant breasts, wasplike waist, and endless legs defies all human proportion (Ockman 1999)

A typical young girl who owns a Barbie has an average of 7 of the dolls. It is said that the toys that children play with also help shape a sense of what is physically desirable and undesirable
“When all you ever see from growing up from dolls and media is this super-thin ideal that isn’t even healthy (but portrayed as the ultimate peak of health), it can inspire a girl to chase after these “ideals” even to the detriment of her emotional, mental and physical health. " (Kelleher 2005 p152). Barbie, through appearance, actions and accessories, has continued to disproportionately focus her attention on body issues (Jeffrey 2009). In 1965 Slumber Party Barbie came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which advised: "Don't eat." The doll also came with pink bathroom scales reading 49 kg, which would be around 15 kg underweight for a woman with a woman who is 5’9” (Lord 2004).

A range of feminist criticism has explored a variety of dimensions to the influences of Barbie. Second-wave feminists have criticized Barbie, and her impossible, unrealistic idealized body type, as an objectification by male desire. Third-wave feminist opposing such criticisms, asserting that Barbie’s body type signifies liberation from the shame previously associated with body changes in puberty, and commend Barbies independent woman image presented through her varying professional jobs (Jeffrey 2009). (eg. Barbie has been presented as a Vet, a Doctor and an athlete)

A Documentary by Asselanis’s (1996) called “I, Doll” outlines the normative effect of children’s opinions of ideal body types throughout the doll’s history. The film suggests the doll was modeled on a Hollywood ideal of beauty. The film’s underlying theme is that Barbie sets a bad body type example for children (Jeffery 2009)

Barbie's ‘perfect’ figure in line with other media driven advertisements make some girls feel unhappy with their bodies (Fein 1995). According to Niva Piran, “any failure to achieve an ideal body is viewed as the sole responsibility of the individual and representative of some internal character flaw” (cited in DeZon 2008 p. 9).

“Per Time Magazine, there is an 80% chance you have had her on at least one diet by the time she is in fourth grade. Fourth grade. Think about that. She is ten-year-old. She is still playing with dolls. Her body hasn't hit puberty yet. She is learning independence and is developing her own opinions on life. You are prioritizing weight and appearance in her life. By the time she is in college, her chance of having an eating disorder is 19%. She has put her Barbie doll away. But that image of the perfect body is still with her. No matter how thin she may be, she is still aspiring toward Barbie” (Stay-at-home mum, Betsy Gallup 2002)

Another counter argument exists, claims are made that children know what is and isn’t realistic, and understand that Barbie is not “real”. This argument is conflicted by real life examples of woman who seem affected by the ideal Barbie have placed on them during childhood. Barbie syndrome is a term used to describe the desire to have the body and looks of a Barbie doll. The Syndrome is usually associated with pre-teen and adolescent girls but is applicable to any age group. Someone afflicted with Barbie syndrome strive to attain such a body type through cosmetic means (Dorsey 2001)

Cindy Jackson's autobiography 'Living Doll'
image source: Amazon

Cindy Jackson, 48, had 31 operations over 14 years to look like Barbie “I looked at a Barbie doll when I was 6 and said, ‘This is what I want to look like.’ She spent $100,000 on the operations because she ‘wanted to look better’, “Barbie was the blank canvas I filled in all those years ago. It was still my role model.” Cindy believed she was being ‘held back by her looks’ and that with surgery to make her more like her idol, she believes she is happier and has a better quality in life. Although this example is both rare and extreme, it is interesting to observe a woman's behavior later in life, who so blatantly and clearly links her desire of appearance to a prototype presented to her as a child.

According to Fein (1995) the Barbie Doll make girls and women feel as if they have to try to somehow attain her certain body type, this is true in examples such as Cindy Jackson. Children have always innately associated themselves with their toys to give them information about their own identities. This allows them to form and develop their self image at an early age (Lind 2008). Toys such as the Barbie doll, children’s animated films, material they are exposed to through TV and advertising, combined with family influences, firmly set in place a young person’s attitudes about physical appearance and what they believe to be desirable physical qualities.


REFERENCES:

Cannon, J., (2008) "Barbie as Feminine Icon: The Subversion Narrative Gets a Second Run on Film" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, TBA, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 21, 2008 viewed online 25th September

DeZon, B. (2008) "No Mirrors No Makeup, No Men, No Problem? A Rhetorical Analysis of Curves' Strategies for Membership" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the NCA 94th Annual Convention, TBA, San Diego, CA, Nov 20, 2008
viewed online 15th September 2009

Fein, G. G. (1995). Toys and stories: In A. D. Pellegrini (Ed.), The future of play theory (pp. 151-165). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Kelleher, Kathleen. "Birds & Bees; this Cartoon's Got Legs--and Hips Too." Los Angeles Times 15 Jul. 2002: E.1. Proquest Direct. Manhattanville Coll. Lib., Purchase, NY. 23 Feb. 2005 .

Leung, R., (2004), Becoming Barbie: Living Dolls, Real Life Couple Are Models Of Plastic Perfection, Aug. 6, 2004, CBS News. viewed online 20th September

Lind,Amy. "Battleground:Women,Gender,and Sexuality",Published by Greenwood Publishing Group,2008

Lord, M.G. (2004) Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of A Real Doll, Chapter 11, William Morrow & Company; 1st edition

Ockman, Carol. “Barbie Meets Bouguereau: Constructing an Ideal Body for the Late Twentieth Century,” in The Barbie Chronicles: A Living Doll Turns Forty, ed. Yona Zeldis McDonough, New York: Touchstone, 1999.

Signorielli, N. (1997, April). Reflections of girls in the media: A two-part study on gender and media. Kaiser Family foundation and Children NOW
Viewed online 25th August 2009

Sacks, Danielle. “The Barbie Problem.” Fast Company, 10859241, May2004, Issue 82. viewed online 25th september

Doubting Disney

The Disney Princesses
image source: proprofs

What do these six girls have in common?

1. They are created by the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world.
2. They present heroine characters which are likable, wholesome, virtuos and successful
3. They are thin.

In a study to determine at what age young girls had a desire for thinness, the British Journal of Health Psychology from May 2003 concluded that the age in young girls was approximately age 6 (Lowes and Tiggemann, 2003). There is a growing concern about the messages that are delivered to young female viewers through the popular media they are exposed to. A primary example of this is Animated films (Travail 2007).

In almost all Disney movies the main, female character is depicted with a petite waistline, thin arms and legs, perfect womanly curves, proportioned facial structures and flawless skin … in other words, the idealized image of the female body type. The same goes for other movies, cartoons, television shows and children’s toys. This image could be a prime factor in problems later in life, such as body dissatisfaction and teenage eating disorders and depression (Travail 2007). “Girls developed eating disorders when our culture developed a standard of beauty they couldn't obtain by being healthy. They have been culturally conditioned to hate their bodies which are, after all, themselves.” (Dr. Pipher cited in Travail 2007)

Donna E. Shalala, Secretary, Department
of Health and Human Services
“Girls today look to the most powerful mirror we have,
the mirror of popular culture. They say, tell
us who we are and who we should be. But
too often they are seeing that they don't
measure up to the images that have been
created for them. Too often they see that
they are not good enough or thin enough
or pretty enough”. (Signorielli 1997)

National Institute on Media and the Family performed a study in 1996 in which found that the amount of time a young person watches movies and television is positively associated with the degree of body dissatisfaction they present as well as a desire to be thin. Perhaps by observing, associating and idolizing the central heroines in Disney films a young girl may effectively suffer from body dissatisfaction as attempts to look like the characters in the film is merely impossible (Travail 1997).

In Disney’s film The Little Mermaid Ariel the leading “good” character is presented as youthful, pretty and thin. In contract Ursula the “bad” evil character is seen as overweight and unattractive (Travail 1997). "Disney's representations of evil women and good women appear to have been fashioned in the editorial office of Vogue," and that Ariel, specifically, is "modeled after a slightly anorexic Barbie doll"(Giroux 34, 36 cited in Travail 1997)

Ursula takes Ariels voice - Scene from The Little Mermaid (1989)
source: youtube

Ariel makes a deal with Ursula to trade her voice for a pair of legs, Ursula tells of how she helps other 'merfolk' “this one’s longing to be thinner”. When Ariel asks what she will do without her voice, Ursula replies:
"You'll have your looks, your pretty face. And don't underestimate the importance of body language” (taken from scenes in The Little Mermaid 1989)
This scene sends a strong message about the importance of appearance. Ultimately, Ariel makes a deal with Ursula to trade her fins for a pair of legs because she is dissatisfied with her body and her identity, and believed this was the only way prince Eric would accept her, and marry her. This provides little girls with the message that in order to find love and happiness, one must change her identity in order to look like the "ideal" woman (Do-Rozario 49 cited in Travail 1997).

Young people are conditioned to idolize and have preference to these media stereotypes, whether it be in movies, cartoons, television shows or toys. It’s a vicious cycle, if media and other products presented models that were not conventionally attractive, they would be less popular, and obviously these companies would make less money. There for, they maintain this ideal which continues to influence younger generations. When Warner Brothers Television President Tony Jonas was asked why female TV characters always look like models. He said, “It's a very odd line to walk. We try to show empowered women but we also take advantage of the fact that they're beautiful, because that attracts men to watch as well. There are economics that drive some of these decisions.” Children Now Magazine

The body types seen in Disney characters such as Ariel are comparable to models in fashion magazines (The Media Awareness Network). These types suggest, and show girls that to feel beautiful, sexy and successful, they must become like the models. Girouz (1997) insists “Young girls identify with these heroines and act out their roles” These roles serve "as an influence on children's identity and action" that become "modes of communication and action within society” "(Giroux in Travali 1997). Travail (1997) proposes that central Disney heroines are role models to young girls, which set standards for which features they need to possess in order to be accepted.

Piran (2000) states “we’re seeing a homogenization and globalization of beauty ideals. It’s white. It’s thin. And the result is that people have come to identify less with their own cultures and more with an (Western) image in the media” (Piran cited in DeZon 2008 p. 41). It is suggested that if a young girl makes a connection between benevolent characters and the ideal rail-thin body type (as symbolized by each of the Disney Princesses), Disney films aggravate the average child's tendency to view overweight individuals in a negative light (Piran 1999).

Much research has shown that young people who regularly consume media images can become strongly influenced by them. A stereotypical image of uniformly beautiful and obsessively thin female in entertainment aimed at children is ever so common, Animations such as Disney present only part of the problem.


Next week: Barbie and body dissatisfaction.


References:

DeZon, B. (2008) "No Mirrors No Makeup, No Men, No Problem? A Rhetorical Analysis of Curves' Strategies for Membership" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the NCA 94th Annual Convention, TBA, San Diego, CA, Nov 20, 2008
viewed 15th September 2009
- Piran, N. (2000). The influence of media on body image. Special Issue of the "Healthy Weight Journal." New York: BC Decker. (cited in DeZon 2008)

Lowes, J, Tiggemann, M. (2003). Body dissatisfaction, dieting awareness and the impact of parental influence in young children. British Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 8 Issue 2. viewed 10th September

Piran, N., Levine, M., Steiner-Adair, C. (1999) Preventing eating disorders: a handbook of interventions and special, Psychology Press, 1999

Signorielli, N. (1997, April). Reflections of girls in the media: A two-part study on gender and media. Kaiser Family foundation and Children NOW
Viewed on 25th August 2009

Travali, D. (2007) Portrayal of the Female Body Image in Disney Films, AC associated Content, October 17, 2007 viewed 12th September 2009
- Giroux, Henry A. "Animating Youth: The Disneyfication of Children's Culture." Socialist Review 24.3 1994: 23. Proquest Direct. Manhattanville Coll. Lib., Purchase, NY. 28 Feb. 2005 (cited in Travali, 2007)

Modelling Models

Since the 1950’s the body shape of contemporary models in advertisements has changed, over the past decade it has become thinner and thinner and more recently been found to be clinically underweight. This body type which is commonly represented has been socially constructed as beautiful and desirable (Fay & Price) – (“Female Body-shape in Advertisements") A 2008 Mission Australia survey of 45,500 people found body image was one of the top three concerns of both males and females aged between 11 and 24. (ABC NEWS,2009)

"the proliferation of photographic and electronic media images of thin and in most cases emaciated looking women has in the last decade been and increasingly powerful factor in promoting contemporary body ideals to the female audience" (Gordon 2000) – (pursuit of identity journal)

“mass media (TV, movies, magazines, internet) pervade the everyday lives of people living in Western societies, and undoubtedly one of the effects of such media saturation is the pervasive transmission of societal beauty ideals” (Tiggemann, 2006, para. 2)

An overwhelming amount of studies have found a relationship between media, specifically fashion magazine reading and body dissatisfaction* and certain eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In a study by Harrison (1997) among undergraduates, media consumption was positively linked with a strive for thinness and body dissatisfaction among women. Examples such as thin television characters and magazine models are used and it is found that about 15 percent of the women met criteria for disordered eating--signs of anorexia or bulimia, body dissatisfaction, a drive for thinness, perfectionism and a sense of personal ineffectiveness. Interpersonal attraction to these social agents facilitates modeling of these agents’ behavior; her study showed that attraction to thin media personalities predicted 6 of 7 eating disorder indices (Harrison 1997).

Hofschire and Greenberg (2002) study on the media's impact on adolescent body dissatisfaction, found that reading magazines for teen girls or women also correlated with body dissatisfaction for girls and girls who identified with models has a positively correlation with body dissatisfaction. DeGroat (1997) found that reading fashion magazines is significantly related to a woman's body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. Teenage girls who viewed commercials depicting women who modelled the unrealistically thin-ideal type of beauty caused adolescent girls to feel “less confident, more angry and more dissatisfied with their weight and appearance” (Hargreaves, 2002).

A study by Bearman, Martinez and Stice (2006) found significant increases for girls over the three year course of their study in terms of body dissatisfaction. The stereotype given to girls through the media emphasizes the importance of physical attractiveness which is categorically linked with thinness.

Ana Carolina Reston, image taken from THE AGE 3 march, 2009


Representations of feminine beauty in mass media personalities and in the fashion industry reinforce the desirability of extreme thinness, not only by those who follow it, but also by those who are in it. Media personalities and models who feel pressured to attain to the set ideals of expected appearance to be successful in their industry suffer. There has been little response from organizations who have an influence on these standards. It wasn’t until 2006 that the use of underweight models was largely criticised, following the death of two catwalk models in, Ana Carolina Reston, 21, died from a generalised infection caused by anorexia and Luisel Ramos, 22, who died of heart failure during a fashion show in Montevideo after living on a diet of lettuce and diet coke for three months (THE AGE, 2009) Later that year Madrid barred models below a certain weight from walking in Shows. If models had a body-mass-index (BMI) of less than 18 they were banned. (under 18.5 is considered underweight) (THE AGE, 2006). Other fashion organisers such as The British Fashion Council (who organise London Fashion Week), refused to impend such bans (ABC NEWS 2009).

In Australia, the Federal Government has commissioned a group of fashion industry leaders to address body dissatisfaction levels among Australia's youth amid concern that the use of spindly models sets unrealistic standards of beauty that encourage young people to crash-diet at the expense of their health (ABC NEWS 2009). A similar rule to that in Mandrid was set by the City of Melbourne council in 2008 for L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Week, where models under BMI of 18 were not supposed to take part. Working backstage on the event, I witnessed two models, be dressed in baggy clothing to hide the fact that they were very underweight, and were still allowed to take part in the show. The two were the most saught after models, sending a message that ‘the skinnier you are the more work you get’. The girls had just returned from a successful modeling trip in New York, were models are told they can only get work with a 24inch waist.

Source: Vogue France April 2008

It is clear that a large quantity of explicitly thin models and characters are portrayed as attractive and competent in the media. The social learning process of modeling (Bandura, 1977 cited in Harrison 1997) provides an explanation for how young women may come to believe in the thin ideal and behave accordingly. Social learning paradigm theorizes that the more attractive an observer finds a social agent, the more the observer will strive to try to be like that agent. As media correlates thinness with attractiveness through beauty advertisements, fashion catalogues, runways and campaigns using explicitly thin models, in terms of a modeling point of view, young women are motivated to engage in behaviors to emulate these models, such as becoming motivated to engage in extreme dieting behavior in order to meet this ideal.

References

ABC NEWS “Group mulls media curbs to tackle negative body image” (03 March 2009)
viewed 25th August 2009 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/03/03/2506286.htm

Bearman, S.K., Presnell, K., & Marinez, E. (2006). "The skinny on body dissatisfaction: A longitudinal study of adolescent girls and boys." Journal of Adolescence, 35
Viewed 7th September

DeGroat, Bernie (1997). Media influence eating disorders.
Viewed 29th October

Fay, M. and Price, C. (1994) Female body shape in print advertisements and the increase of anorexia nervosa. European Journal of Marketing 28:12

Gordon, R.A. (2000), Eating Disorders, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford and Malden, MA,
Viewed 17th August

Hargreaves, D. (2002). Idealized Women in TV Ads Make Girls Feel Bad. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 21, 287-308.

Hofschire, L. J., & Greenberg, B. S. (2002). Media's impact on adolescents' body dissatisfaction. In J. D. Brown, J. R. Steele, and K. Walsh-Childers (Eds.) Sexual Teens, Sexual Media. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Harrison, K., (1997) Does Interpersonal Attraction to Thin Media Personalities Promote Eating Disorders? Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Vol. 41, 1997
Viewed on 17th august 2009

THE AGE (2009) “Skinny tyranny killed my model girl” November 17, 2006 - 6:34AM
Viewed 12th September 2009

THE AGE (2006) “Survival of the thinnest” Booth Moore and Sarah Malik October 5, 2006
Viewed 12th September 2006

Tiggemann, Marika (2006). The role of media exposure in adolescent girls’ body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness: Prospective results. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25(5), 523-541. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from Psychology Module database. (Document ID: 1060410481).