...Barbie Assignment I remember having trunks full of Barbies and playing with them when I was a little girl. My Barbies had all different careers and were of different races. My mom even convinced my older cousin to give me her MC Hammer doll. Being of mixed race, my mother wanted me to understand diversity through my dolls. The different skin tones that Barbie had, reflected the diversity I saw in my friends growing up. So for that I think Barbie had a pretty good influence on me. When I five years old, I was rewarded for being good at the doctor’s with a new Barbie. I was so excited because all of my friends had one already. I loved playing with my new found friend, but soon wanted more. After two more successful visits to the doctor’s, Ken and several others helped me to start quite a collection. These dolls were not only toys to me, but an extended family. I spent countless hours with them every day for years. They had a permanent home against my bedroom wall that stretched 5ft long. The monstrous house consisted of four beds, complete with linens and pillows that my mother had made. The kitchen was furnished of dishes, pots, pans, and an array of “food”. The living room had a TV that I made from an old cardboard jewelry box that I drew on and mini magazines. When I was seven, for Christmas my grandma bought me a baby blue Barbie Corvette and it still sits up on a shelf in my parent’s garage. One reason why I want them to keep it is because I think it...
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...“Her good nature wore out/ like a fan belt./ So she cut off her nose and her legs/ and offered them up.” This quote from “Barbie Doll”, by Marge Piercy, refers to a young girl who wishes to change her character and her appearance in order to live up to society’s expectations. In fact, instead of being complimented or admired for whom she truly is, people would rather criticize and condemn her for whom she isn’t. As a result of endlessly trying to alter her portrait, the “girlchild” eventually “wore herself out”. This poem suggests that unrealistic societal demands are destructive for a woman’s self-esteem and well-being. When comparing oneself to an idealistic notion of female beauty and behaviour, one can only expect to feel demoralized, discouraged and devalued. Indeed, "Barbie Doll," the title of the poem, symbolizes society’s view of a perfect woman; the way society expects every woman to be. In fact, by using “Barbie Doll” as the title to her poem, Marge Piercy wants the reader to compare and contrast the adolescent’s appearance to that of a Barbie doll. Stereotypically, Mattel’s Barbie dolls have tall, thin yet curvy bodies, with symmetrical, perfect facial features, blonde hair and blue eyes. This, in turn, leads to the protagonist’s void of self-confidence. Additionally, living up to such standards - all the while being a housewife who must clean the house, raise the children and please her husband - is very demanding on the female gender. Moreover, the doll is symbolic...
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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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...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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...”Barbie-Q” At first the short story seems very unusual. The way the narrator describes each Barbie doll in such detail that makes you almost see them before you. But it’s not only the Barbie dolls. Even the flea market is described in a way that makes the pictures come alive before your eyes. But the unusual part is the role the Barbie dolls play. What is so special about these dolls, and what is their role? These are the questions that go through my mind. And my head tells me that there lies something bigger behind the story about these simple dolls. As I read the short story again I can focus a bit more on what is actually happening. It tells the story about two little girls who don’t care how much their toy costs, if it’s a little damaged, or if maybe a piece or two are missing. They just want to play, and that doesn’t require perfect dolls. All they need is a healthy friendship and a well-equipped imagination. Perfection and materialism isn’t everything, and maybe this is what the story is all about. The narrator, a little girl, who with the help of flawed Barbie dolls, accepts that things aren’t perfect, but that perfection isn’t everything, and thereby rejects the quest for perfection defined by society. Instead she speaks of a society, where flaws are a natural thing that shouldn’t matter a great deal. As she speaks of all these flaws, it’s unclear to us if she alludes to flaws of her own, but nevertheless she accepts them, which is something even some adults have...
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...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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...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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...1.No, I don’t agree that diverse Barbie offered by Mattel will cause to watered down of brand and it will not be instantly not recognized, because Mattel have created Barbie with unique and separate brand which will never be affected by the changing image in Barbie as the parent company is stable and very much rooted and recognised . 2. No, not truly the drop in Barbie sales is due to the mismatch between the Barbie’s original image and that of real girl. The others factors which were responsible for drop in sale are as follows: • Due to lack of aggressive marketing strategies • Lack of proper positioning of product in market. • Lack of proper selling channels and lack of own exclusive stores, as it sale through retailer and through online selling, which difficult for the customer who are limited to internet. • Because of the impossible slim-body ideals a Barbie doll represents. 3. No, it is not wise of Mattel to develop a strategy based on assumptions, because the market of Barbie is very stable and long running and any unrealistic and baseless experiments will decrease the sale of Barbie, as we can see in the current scenario. It will be wise decision for the company to change its products attributes according to the changing demands and need of the customer. To follow up these strategies, Barbie need to go through various researches and would have to find out the actual demand of sensitive consumers. 4. New trends in Mattel sales specifies that children also want...
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...In the poem “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, she illustrates the effect that society has on the expectations of women. This expectation is that women, like the girl described in the poem, should be perfect. She should know how to cook and clean, but most importantly she should be attractive according to the impossible stereotypes of womanly beauty. Many women in today’s society are being compared to the unrealistic physical looks and life of the Barbie doll. Through the past many years, the Barbie doll has gone from a popular toy to a role model for actual women in today’s society. The extremes to which women take the Barbie doll as a role model are implicit in this poem. The opening line of the poem says, “This girlchild was born as usual,” which suggests that as soon as a female child is born, society expects her to learn the role she will play once she hits puberty. Therefore, showing the readers why little girls are given dolls at a young age to illustrate how they should act and appear according to society. Once girls learn the roles they will soon have to play in their own lives, “the magic of puberty,” hits and girls immediately begin applying these ideals to their own lives. As if the attempt of girls trying to conform to the Barbie doll image isn’t enough, they also have other people in society telling them that they’re not perfect. “You have a great big nose and fat legs,” says a classmate to the girl. This type of pressure from peers and society can slowly but surely...
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...372: Advertising Case 2: Barbie vs. Bratz 1. Provide an analysis of the Mattel Barbie brand. What factors shape perceptions of the brand in the eyes of parents and young girls? Barbie was billed as “a shapely teenage fashion model,” and made her first appearance at the American Toy Fair in New York City and soon became a hit. (http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=160) Barbie was then and still is a popular doll for young girls. In the beginning she was popular because she was the 3D version of the very popular paper dolls, with interchangeable clothing and accessories. Today she is still very popular and probably for the same reasons; you can buy a variety of different dolls with different ethnicities, different colored hair and even different careers. Girls like Barbie because she gives them something to strive for, someone to look up to, a hero of sorts. Barbie shows girls that they can be whatever they want to be, from a mom to a teacher or even an astronaut or police officer. From a parents point of view Barbie is great because she gives their daughters confidence and something to strive for as well as the affordability aspect. Last time I looked at Walmart you could buy a Barbie Doll starting at $3.99 for a basic doll in a swimsuit plus all the accessories you could ever want from shoes and purses to houses and cars. 2. What brand problems did the Bratz line of dolls create for the Barbie brand? Mattel and the Barbie brand sued the Bratz Company...
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...It’s a Barbie World Abstract Barbie dolls have been around for many years and many young girls have gotten a Barbie as a gift at some time in their lives. Barbie is made out of plastic and has unrealistic features to her. Her body proportions are not possible and her look only relates to less than half of the human population. Barbie has the perfect, dream world where she has her dream car, house, an impeccable wardrobe, and of course the man of her dreams. Many girls grow up and admire Barbie for her looks and all the materialistic things she has and will probably grow up wanting to be just like her. This can lead to them wanting to dress in mini skirts and short-shorts at a young age and can lead to prostitution in the future. One simple doll can change the lives of young girls and parents may not even realize it. Keywords: Barbie, unrealistic features, young girls “I’m a blond bimbo girl, in a fantasy world, dress me up, make it tight.” Those are some of the lyrics of Barbie Girl by Aqua who sung a song about a Barbie doll and how she lives this perfect, materialistic world with her true love Ken. Looking back into my child hood. I was never the little girl who played with Barbie’s or had an obsession with having every addition. In other cases though, many girls are influenced by the doll and can have negative effects in their lives. Parents do not realize the effects that a Barbie doll can have on a little girl. Parents may think they are buying the perfect toy for...
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...The poem by Marge Piercy “Barbie Doll” is very different from the poem by Lucille Clifton “homage to my hips.” The authors of these poems have very different viewpoints and attitudes in expressing their story on the similar subject. Both poems present the aspect of women rejection of society’s expectations concerning the physical appearance. The poem by Lucille Clifton speaks in the first person and brings confidence and high self-esteem outlook while the poem by Marge Piercy speaks in the third person and brings self-doubt and insecurity attitude in women’s appearance. The speaker in poem “homage to my hips” by Lucille Clifton is speaking in the first person about her personal appearance. She is “celebrating a part of her body that has traditionally...
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...on the term of external challenge of globalizing progress, specifically of social connection-cultural management issue. Issue: Cultural management is one of significant challenges of internalization process. It is an important way for any firm successfully extends and operates the business to other countries. It is also a crucial key of success for the firm to have capability of meeting the customers demand (Heino 2008). Mattel is the company launched by Ruth and Elliot Handler and Harold "Matt" Matson in 1945. In 1959 the main product was officially released to the market, which called “Barbie” doll. This company becomes extremely successful in term of Internalization Process; however Matt had to face with a huge challenge in Chinese market because of lack of careful considering the social factor. In 2009, the company made a foray by establishing the world's largest "House of Barbie" valuing $30 millions in a prime Shanghai location, which built the six-story shop including...
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...you walk into any Toys-R-Us or other toy store, you will undoubtedly come across a wide section of nothing but pink. When you browse this area more closely, you will recognize the iconic name, Barbie, branded across a wide selection of dolls, houses, clothing, cars, and other accessories. Most likely, you will notice a news anchor and a computer engineer Barbie, representing the new Barbie careers of the 2010s. If you were shopping in any other decade since the late 1950s, you would see Barbie dolls with different costumes and careers. Since its inception in 1959, by creator Ruth Handler, the Barbie doll has taken on more than 100 different career paths and has become the most successful doll ever produced. This iconic and often controversial doll has had a great deal of influence on every decade since the late 1950s. From its very inception, Barbie was an innovative fashion doll, whose desirability and influence among girls quickly skyrocketed. It was the first ever adult-bodied doll, equipped with breasts, long legs, and a small waist. Previously, the only dolls for girls were baby or infant dolls that allowed little girls to play mommy. But with Barbie, little girls were soon able to imagine being much more than just mothers or wives, and could play as any career they wanted. The Barbie doll was not simply a fashionable toy, but a role model for individuality and freedom of choice for all females. It broke through gender barriers by teaching girls they could be anything they...
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...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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