...LITR 301 February 18, 2014 Girl Compared to a Barbie Doll Women were considered the subordinate gender that was expected to have this stay at home homemaker attitude. They were supposed to powder their noses and look pretty. Women are discriminated against in society. Women have stereotypical gender roles they are supposed to uphold. As suggested in the poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy the Barbie doll is the idealized image of a woman and is considered to have long legs, perfect skin, small waist and a slender figure. The Barbie doll speaks for itself. It says that women should be domestic workers and maintain a feminine outer appearance. These type of values affect young girls because they are taught early that this is what a woman should look and act like. The Barbie doll has a lot of appeal and popularity for the past several years so it is difficult to alter the ideas of womanhood suggested by this doll. These ideas to be like and do as a Barbie doll cannot be overthrown because it has already been deeply planted in our society. In contrast, the short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid suggests that women are condemned to patriarchy because of socially constructed gender stereotypes. She criticizes the idealized patriarchal norms and pressures which overshadows the lives of women. Young girls are exposed to the pressures and expectations of how they should live. They are also brainwashed in believing that their role as a women is to become a domestic homemaker and that...
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...Barbie Doll. Perhaps the real mark of "Barbie Doll's" welcome has been the numerous times it has been reprinted and analysed. Appearing in 1973, at the heart of feminism's second wave, "Barbie Doll" embodied the rage many women felt at being sexually objectified and treated as second-class citizens. The poem remains popular in large parts because it continues to represent women's experience. When you read the title of this poem, automatically you get a sense of something that is not real, a typical stereotype. This stereotype is seen through modern life today, through the media, celebrities, peer groups, or the obvious child’s toy. “Barbie Doll” symbolically describes the inherently destructive nature of patriarchy. A system of social organization in which the “male” is the ruling principle, patriarchy demands women’s obedience to men. Historically, this obedience has been externally manifest through law, for example, until the twentieth century women had been denied voting privileges in the United States. But patriarchy also exhibits its power through the shaping of mind and self-image. A “good” woman is one who conforms to patriarchal expectations: she is feminine, domestic, and will be a stereotypical housewife and leave the men to be the “breadwinner”. The “Barbie Doll” is known as “Satan’s plastic sister”. The intention of the doll was perfection, and when little girls are brought up playing with “Barbie & Ken” they expect reality to be very similar in later life, as...
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...socialization of the boy or girl starts from the parents and people around them buying gender specific items. Children’s clothing and toys play a large role in socialization and with the all the stereotypes surrounding gender specific items this seemed like a very interesting area to research. My research question is: How does stereotypes of children’s clothing and toys influence gender identity? Literature Review: In Jane Little and Carol Martin’s (1990) study, “The Relations of Gender Understanding to Children's Sex-typed Preferences and Gender Stereotypes,” “Once children can accurately label the sexes, they begin to form gender stereotypes and their behavior is influenced by these gender-associated expectations. A cognitive component related to the sex-typing process, however, certainly does not preclude the significance of biological and socialization influences” (Little & Martin, 1990, p. 1437). In this study it showed that boys tended to choose more masculine clothing and the girls feminine items like dresses and frilly items. Toys were also presented to the boys and girls; boys choose more masculine typed toys like trucks, tool kits, motorcycles, army men. The girls choose toys more feminine like Barbie dolls, doll clothes, doll and crib, purse and a beauty kit (Little & Martin, 1990). In Clyde W. Franklin II (2010) study, “Becoming ‘Boys,’ ‘Men,’ Guys,’ and ‘Dudes.” Gender roles were discussed in cases where parents treat children differently depending on the...
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...Throughout the era of booming technology and ever shifting gender roles, the gradual erosion of traditional gender definitions is evident. The timeline showing the chronology of shifts in portrayal of women in media is crucial to demonstrate how traditional gender definitions are slowly deconstructed over time. Having made her first debut in the early 1960s, Barbie brought the message “Girls can be anything” to the age of a new generation of girls and women (Boomen, 2009). It is important to note that despite claims that she symbolizes the ‘cultural plastic’ phenomenon, Barbie has revolutionized girl’s doll playing (Boomen, 2009). Before the invention of Barbie, girls were still playing with baby dolls that aimed to foster domestic skills and to prepare them for stereotypical future roles as mothers (Boomen, 2009). Acting as a counter opposite to the former girls play, Barbie is not a doll for girls to simulate and practice motherhood on. In fact, Barbie acts as a platform for girls to freely create and project on her any identity they wish to take on, only to be limited by their creativity. In summary, Barbie is not confined to the traditional social expectations of women. Beneath her seemingly stereotypical idealistic exterior, she is an independent career woman with estimated eighty professions, ranging from a presidential candidate to a nurse (Boomen, 2009). Barbie does not engage in domestic duties and as stated by Lord, motherhood definitely wasn’t Barbie’s area of interest...
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...Whether it’s gender roles or just wanting to be accepted by others, people feel the need to “live” according to these guidelines. As time progresses so do the “guidelines” and if the individuals cannot keep up with these norms, they can be left behind or deemed as an outcast. Gender roles seem to be the most common. From the day a child is born societal norms are placed on them. For example a young boy’s room will be probably be blue and filled with sports items, while a young girls room will be pink and be filled with dolls and a play kitchen set. These small details, along with expectations, begin to shape their role in society. “Barbie Q” by Sandra Cisneros is a perfect example of societal expectations. In this short story Cisneros introduces two young girls who are playing with their Barbie dolls. The girls go into great detail when describing their dolls and the outfits the dolls are wearing. One can conclude that the girls are poor when the main character tells the reader that they only have one outfit for their dolls. They even had to make a dress from a sock because they could not afford other outfits. This is further illustrated when the girls begin describing how they will play with the dolls. Everyday the two girls play out the same story with the two Barbies fighting over an invisible Ken doll. One day when walking through a market, the young girls discover a set of dolls that have been damaged by a fire in the toy warehouse. Although the dolls are not clean...
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...Guerline Donisvitch “Introduction to Literature” Ann Rasmussen April 23, 2009 Barbie Doll The poem begins in a fairy-tale vein, the archaic term “girl-child” being used to underscore the mythic quality of the story. The dolls, stove, iron and lipstick are all traditional play things for young girls, but they are also markers of an identity in the making, the things that young girls grow to identify with their own social roles. The doll presents an idealized image of the body, and stove and irons tell them what kind of work is expected of them as adults. The lipstick perhaps is the most sexualized cosmetic for women, signals to young girls that they will be valued for their physical appearance. The “magic of puberty” introduces the theme of growth. It is a magical time because the body changes rapidly. She also refers to the pain that comes with puberty. When girls are growing older they are really cruel to each other. The “girl child” is told she has “a great big nose and fat legs” even though she is smart, healthy and strong. The girl was made to feel guilty for who she was, for her intelligence and abilities, and also for not being slim and “beautiful.” She apologized to everyone for not being the person they wanted her to be, but all they could see was her body and how it did not match their idea of what a woman should look like. They tried to help her be more of an idealized woman by suggesting how to compensate for her unfeminine qualities. “girl-child”...
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...the late 20th century. Until now, I dare say that her image is still very potent worldwide. Who is she? Never before has she ever starred in a Hollywood movie or performed at a famous fashion show. Surprisingly, she never exists in real life and she is literally a toy. Yes, it can hardly be any other toy but Barbie. Nowadays, girls can be seen wearing Barbie clothing, using Barbie perfume, carrying Barbie backpacks, and sleeping in Barbie pajamas, not to mention cosmetics, sneakers etc. (Morgenson 1991, 66). Mattel, Inc., the mother company of Barbie, should feel proud of her. Because on average, an American girl has ten Barbie dolls, a British or Italian girl may own seven, while five is the number of Barbie that a German or French girl has. It was Mattel’s purpose and will when introducing Barbie that she would become a lifestyle, a fashion statement, a way of life, something sacred more than just a doll. And in fact, she did! This plastic doll is worth being considered a legend, which can represent many statuses in the society regardless of gender, skin colour or classes, thus remaining attractive to different girls’ generations since its year of birth. Barbie...
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...One of the primary concerns of feminism is, and has been for a while, not only gender inequality in social and political terms, but also the way both sexes are viewed by the society. People’s mentality is a source of stereotypes, gender stereotypes in particular. Marge Piercy, a poet and a feminist, considers these stereotypes a serious issue, which is inevitably reflected in her creativity, particularly the four poems under analysis – “Barbie Doll”, “What Are Big Girls Made Of?”, “Rape Poem” and “The Friend”. The poems “Barbie Doll” and “What Are Big Girls Made Of?” concentrate on the topic of sexualization of women and young girls. The issue that worries the author most is the way the society treats females: they are perceived as mere commodities,...
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...Failure of the Barbie Doll in the Indian Market Priti Nemani* INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 97 I. GLOBALIZATION AND THE MULTINATIONAL ........................................ 99 A. Globalization Defined ................................................................ 99 1. The Key to the Kingdom: The Globalized Brand ............. 100 B. Barbie in the Global Economy ................................................. 102 1. Barbie‘s History................................................................. 102 2. Corporate Philosophy and Marketing Strategies behind Barbie ................................................................................ 105 II. MATTEL‘S BUSINESS VENTURES IN INDIA ......................................... 107 A. The Late 1980s: Barbie’s Tango with the License Raj ............. 107 1. The Licensing System ....................................................... 109 2. Limits on Foreign Direct Investment .................................110 3. Mattel‘s Joint Venture ......................................................... 111 B. India’s Economic Liberalization and Mattel’s Second Chance at Success...................................................................................113 1. India, the IMF, and the World Bank ...................................113 2. Mattel in India from 1993-2010 .........................................115 III. UNDERSTANDING WHY BARBIE FAILED IN INDIA...
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...What makes a great song? Well, depending on the genre, audiences usually listen to the beat of the song and the voice of the singer, however the meaning behind the song is the most important. Barbie Girl is a song by a band called Aqua and it meritoriously demonstrates human foolishness within society through the use of textual elements such as tone, diction, repetition, as well as visual features. This song is a feminist satire cunningly disguised in a childish, friendly pop hit targeted to young adults and teenagers as it mocks the way a majority of them may think and act as she ridicules how they are desperately trying to resemble Barbie. Aqua uses a sarcastic tone to help send across the purpose of the text. Moreover, the tone throughout the song is understood through Aqua’s use of diction, repetition and visual features. The purpose of the song is to reveal messages of sex and the roles that men and women play in a sexual relationship. Since most listeners of this song do not cautiously pay attention to the lyrics, the sarcastic tone, mixed with the childish, high pitched voice of the lead singer would give the impression that this is fun and cheerful record, exposing the mood. The fake cheeriness and high-pitched voice is used to support audiences understand the mockery that links to the message which is human recklessness within society. The strong use of wording throughout the text demonstrates the superiority of men over women and develops the tone of the song...
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...Girls should play with dolls and boys should play with toy cars and weapons. With these stereotypes comes the idea that men are “gross” and “jerks.” The poems “Barbie Doll” and “Playboy” show the dangers of allowing consumerism to take over society. The consequences of these are quite different, yet the same point is made. In the poems “Barbie Doll” and “Playboy” the imagery, tone, and syntax warn the reader about the dangers of consumerism, but each poem shows the consequences quite differently. Both poems use an incredible amount of imagery. In “Barbie Doll”, the girl is described as “healthy, tested intelligent, [with] strong arms and back.” This creates the image of an ordinary girl who has nothing seriously wrong with her. By using this image, the effect of the girl’s death increases in severity. Similarly, in “Playboy”, an image is created of a boy who is hiding and looking at a Playboy magazine. The boy studies the magazine “like a sage” and has nothing else on his mind. This image shows how absorbed people can become in consumer goods. This also relates to a child sitting on the couch watching his flat-screen television,...
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...In A Barbie World! A culture that is saturated by consumerism can be referred to as a consumer culture. Barbie can be used as a tool for consumer culture because she is perceived to be the perfect woman, an unattainable achievement. Barbie has the perfect man, Ken; she has her dream house, and car, and even a dream closet. There are life size Barbies bouncing around in T.V. and print media ads that personify this image. Barbie produces a systematic reproduction of consistency; she doesn't evolve but rather promotes change around her. Barbie’s face or body structure hasn’t significantly changed since her creation. The different nationalities that Barbie is produced in are careful not to lend themselves to stereotypes too heavily. Most importantly, the concept of Barbie hasn’t changed throughout the years. Ultimately, she is still a toy. Barbie promotes change by attaching herself to current trends and issues, such as Presidential Barbie, Olympic Barbie, and Sponge Bob Barbie. By presenting current trends in Barbie form, Mattel successfully promotes these trends to parents and children. The perception of perfection that surrounds Barbie is unattainable; however, consumers consistently find satisfaction or happiness in reaching for these goals. We have a car that works perfectly fine, but we want a new one. Our house has more then enough space, but we want a bigger one. Those shoes match absolutely nothing in my closet, but they're new and in style, so I just have to have them...
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...2012 Pink vs. Blue: the Not-So Subtle Gender Stereotypes of Our Youth From the moment children are born, they are wrapped into pink or blue blankets. Pink is deemed feminine, frilly, and solely for girls. The color blue is far more masculine, so it is assigned to the male gender. Regardless of whether that baby grows up to be, a high school jock, a mall-fiend, a conservative, homosexual, or transgender, he was brought into the world in a blue blanket and she, a pink blanket. These gender roles are enforced from children’s first breaths, and it only signifies what is to come. Yet, why is this? Why is there such a heavy emphasis on stereotypes of our youth? Does the media spark these ideas or are they based upon long-standing evolutionary concepts? Can gender roles ever be subverted? Growing up, I dabbled in both male and female stereotypes, much to the confusion of my peers. I could beat any boy at kickball, and I played it regularly during recess. My favorite color was pink, and I was obsessed with sparkles and Barbies. I’d climb trees in dresses. My classmates thought my behavior was odd because I didn’t fit into their schema of boy or girl. Was I a boy or a girl? Both? Neither? Boys never picked me for their teams simply because I was a girl. How could I be a stronger player than the boys, who they regularly saw play and fight, when I represented something so delicate, meant to nurture baby dolls and quietly brush the hair of my Bratz doll. Little did they know, my Barbies were...
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...Almost everybody has heard of the bright-eyed, smiling Barbie doll. The fashion doll is extremely famous, and has been part of many childhoods, giving girls a role model to look up too. Since the 1960’s, Barbie’s goal and purpose has been to show girls and women that they can be anything they want to. However, with this positive mindset comes Barbie’s looks. She has set an ‘ideal body shape’, and is often criticized for her unrealistic figure. When one puts their mind to something, there is often no stopping them. Especially when it comes to overcoming stereotypes and achieving one’s dreams. A character who faces these problems is Squeaky, the protagonist of “Raymond’s Run”, a short story written by Toni Cade Bambara. The story takes takes...
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...Everyone, I am sure, is familiar with gender bias. This is aimed at males and females alike. The women, in prehistoric time, were gathers while the men were hunters. In the middle ages, men were more likely to become knights than women. In more recent history, women are considered housewives and mothers while the men are considered the bread winners and career men. The women were often excited to see their husbands return after his day at a 9-5 job. The wife must make supper for the family, protect the children, instill them with values, sing good night to the baby, tuck the children in, vacuum the floors, chauffeur the children to school, wash the dog, clean the clothes, wash the floors, buy the groceries, clean the kitty litter, pack the kids lunches, and take the family to church on Sundays. This was the image of the '50s, but a very deprecating and biased image of women. The husband, on the other hand, apparently doesn't have time for this. His main priority is his job and nothing more, except continuing the traditional family name through procreation. The wife, on the other hand, is expected to obey her husband’s exact words and not disobey. She couldn't speak out, and the "be seen not heard" policy was evident. If he spoke to her, she had to say, "Yes, insert husband's name." Otherwise, if she refused to follow through, he had the right to beat or divorce or cheat on her, etc. because he's the man of the household. The wife is also expected...
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