Barbie: Prostitute or Professional?

When I was growing up, my parents never let me own Barbies. I used to resent them for it, but after my trip to Toys-R-Us, I understand why. Walking into the store, I was instantly overwhelmed by the huge amount of noisy, flashing toys. I had no idea where to look first, but, being in an all-girls group, I was immediately dragged to the life-size Barbie mansion. What I found in there was completely shocking to me. I had never really understood why Barbies were so controversial, but seeing the way these dolls represented women disgusted me. The makers of Barbie had for some reason rereleased a bunch of their Barbies that were created in the past six decades. These included a variety of dolls: Barbies on vacation, Barbies in the workplace, and even (gasp!) black Barbies. The most shocking was the black Barbie from the 50’s with the caption, “She’s black! She’s beautiful! She’s dynamite!” I don’t think I will ever understand why the makers thought it would be acceptable to rerelease this in 2010. However, I thought the line of Barbies in the workplace said the most about what this company is trying to teach children about gender. These were created in the 60’s and, though Barbie was seemingly doing this to show women are able to have jobs, the message that came across to me was one that was very demeaning to women. The Barbies were dressed up for different professions, including schoolteacher, nurse, flight attendant, and rocket scientist. Even though they were supposed to be working, their outfits were provocative and form-fitting. Though I’m not particularly bothered by Barbie’s unrealistic body and slutty clothes, this suggested to me that looking good is more important for women than doing their jobs well. All the Barbies were also wearing so much makeup that, had it been real life, they would never have gotten the job. The fact that Barbie chose these particular careers also seemed rather sexist. The careers were all typical jobs you would expect a girl to have, where they have no real power. Why can’t Barbie be a doctor, a scientist, or a businesswoman? Though the Barbies did have real jobs, they still seemed unable to separate themselves from “girly” things. The caption next to the schoolteacher mentioned her Ph.D. in Fashion, and the flight attendant’s caption was, “Fashionable on any runway.” Making so many references to fashion alludes to the fact that this is the only thing that should really matter to women. Another thing that stood out to me was that all the Barbies were serving men. Is this what the company believed Barbie’s rightful place to be? To me, the line of Barbies in the workplace suggested that, even though women can get jobs, they must always remember their “girlyness” and never hold positions of power.

I think the reason I was so bothered by these Barbies is because I definitely aspire to be successful and have nothing about my future limited by my gender. Seeing these Barbies and thinking about the amount of young girls who learn from them makes me slightly worried about the possibility of this aspiration. I don’t want my future, or any other woman’s, to be compromised because of the attitude of the media.

-Amelia