Barbie: How Strong Is Her Psychological Effect?

Who knew one plastic item could have such a strong psychological effect on its customers? Many of us have played with Barbie Dolls and as those years have passed, society has soon realized the psychological effects of the innocent doll. Barbie Dolls have given many children fond memories and overtime, the signature Barbie and Ken look have come to define the standard ideal beauty image.

Barbie, with her insanely slim waist and long eyelashes, and Ken, with his broad shoulders and defined jaw line, there is no wonder why many admire this appearance. In 1995, Saudi Arabia took drastic measures: they banned the sale and purchasing of Barbies because it violated the strict dress code for women. Is their ban way too extreme or are they benefiting their people by removing a strong, negative toy?

 Personal Deets: Although I normally do not reveal this information about myself, I will share it to add credibility to this article: I underwent double jaw surgery in 2012 which is classified as an orthodontic cosmetic procedure. My lower and upper jaw were cut into four pieces, the upper jaw moving forward and the lower jaw moving back. Therefore, I have firsthand psychological experience of undergoing a cosmetic procedure. I remember coming out of surgery and my parents said they thought I was more beautiful beforehand and a few of my friends said my face has become more “round”. I spent the first two years post-op avoiding to look at myself in the mirror for too long; being polite, I didn’t want to tell my orthodontist and oral surgeon that I dreaded my new appearance. One day, however, I unintentionally hysterically broke down in their offices in front of everyone and informed them that I no longer felt beautiful and I regret the procedure. It took me a very, very long to finally come to an acceptance and liking of my new face. Now, I clearly see that it wasn’t my new face that was the main problem, it was moreover that I should’ve proceeded with the surgery when I was more emotionally stable and secure.

In 2006, a few U.K. psychology professors conducted an experiment called “Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5 to 8-Year-Old Girls”. 162 girls from ages 5 to 8 were exposed to images of either Barbie Dolls, Emme dolls (U.S. size 16) or no dolls (baseline control). Those exposed to Barbie doll images produced “lower self-esteem and a greater desire for thinner body shape [in comparison to the girls who were exposed to the plus size doll or no doll at all]”. The study concluded that “…even if dolls cease to function as aspirational role models for older girls, early exposure to dolls epitomizing an unrealistically thin body ideal may damage girls’ body image, which would contribute to an increased risk of disordered eating and weight cycling.”

Psychologists claim that it’s very much possible that exposure to Barbies at a young age may play a huge role in the development of body dysmorphic disorder-a disease in which causes a person to obsess over something they don’t like about their body. 23 year old reality TV star Heidi Montag shocked her fans when she underwent 10 cosmetic surgeries all in ONE day. Psychologist Debbie states that she believes body dysmorphic disorder was her driving force to mutilate her body at such a young age and goes on to say: “I think fundamentally, when someone goes on for many… procedures at a young age they’re trying to change something about themselves, they want to become a new person.” Montag has claimed in interviews that she only wanted to look like Barbie and now, a few years after all the procedures, she states: “I wish I’d NEVER had plastic surgery….I was so young and in such an unstable situation in my life with so much going on and so much pressure. It is really hard to be a woman in this day and age…it is a lot easier to be insecure and let that get to me.” In an effort to not be so restrain from her large breast augmentation, she’s recently reduced her F cup breasts to a C cup. “Over the past 9 months I have not been able to do laundry, or look after my dogs or clean my house and I have had to stop working out because my injuries are so severe I cannot even do simple things like rowing or running.”

Carissa Hernandez is a mother of two girls, ages 8 and 13, and has joined the force alongside with other mothers by refusing to let her children engage with Barbie Dolls. Instead, she gifts them Emme dolls (size U.S. 16 aka plus sized dolls) and hopes that it will minimize their chances of developing body image insecurities in the near future. Hernandez frequently played with Barbie dolls at a young age and it resulted in her insecurity; she underwent breast augmentation a few years ago.

Now, here’s a question i’m dying to hear a few insights from: Since an Emme doll is a plus sized toy, do you think that it will increase overweight children? Being that Barbie is incredibly thin and has resulted in girls striving to maintain a slim physique, wouldn’t it only make sense that an Emme doll have the same affect?

Were you a fan of playdates with Barbies as a young gal? If so, how do you think the thin toy has affected your psychological mentality now? If it hasn’t, why are you apart of the few rare that aren’t phased by her? Would you allow your children to play with Barbies? I’d love to hear what you have to say!

Xoxo,

Chrissy

http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep05/surgery.aspx

http://www.divinecaroline.com/life-etc/momhood/negative-effects-barbie-young-girls-long-term-results

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2514988/Heidi-Montag-talks-plastic-surgery-regrets-breast-reduction.html

http://playgrounddad.com/defending-barbie/heidi-montag-before-and-after-plastic-surgery-2/

http://www.mylesahead.com/mag30.cfm