Impossible Barbie

My last blog I talked about the body and how artist have claimed their body with there work showing that every type of body and bodily functions are perfectly normal. This blog is going to look at the problem and why we put so much pressure on ourselves to think we have to look perfect. I am going to use the model of the popular blonde, skinny plastic doll, which some people believe to be the root to all evil of western ideology, Barbie.

Just in case you didn't know that she looks like this. 

When I was a child I was obsessed with Barbie, who am I kidding I still LOVE Barbie. Couple of years ago I went to Berlin to go to The Barbie Experience House which I loved. Myself and the bestie had a ball! My inner child was screaming with joy.

Got ride of all my Barbie's all I have are these beauties. 

When we think of girls playing with their Barbie doll they are very girly playing dress up and thinking of marrying someone like Ken, who was clearing Barbie’s gay BFF. When I was a child I never was a pink obsessed girl, I grew up with a bunch of lads and definitely did not care if I looked like Barbie. When I saw Barbie I saw a doll that could be anything. It was not about beauty I created stories and it built up my imagination. 

Berlin Barbie House, it was extremely pink!

Before I went to Berlin I saw many articles about feminist who were outraged about the whole thing which at first I did not appreciate because Barbie was such a loved memory as a child. However, when I finished my magical adventure through the Barbie house I saw lots of little girls (you know the correct audience) playing dress up and doing a runway show, which was disturbing. I do not mind girls being “girls” but seeing little girls wearing as much makeup as a woman going to town on a Saturday night it doesn't feel right and I do understand why people have a problem with the Barbie brand.

I am quite blind when it comes to Barbie as I have such a love for her, so I researched online to see what others have to say about the blonde bombshell. Many critics believe that when a young girl looks at their Barbie doll they are looking at an unattainable, unrealistic view of beauty. Feminist icon, Betty Friedan has stated that Barbie is a, “vacuous blonde.” Barbie also brings an impossible standard of beauty which results in many issues of female body dysmorphia, bulimia, anorexia nervosa and teen suicide. Lastly there's a problem that Barbie is white and has always been white, if Barbie is so universal why is there not other ethnicities that all other girls can relate too?  

On the other hand is Barbie an easy target?  This issues about the body dysmorphia etc. were all there before Barbie was created. She is “just a doll” for girls to play with, I know when my sister was finished with my dolls they did not look like the gorgeous blonde cali girl, she was a shaven hair, goth girl.  I personally get more offended by girls with baby dolls getting ready to push one out before puberty. So in my fantasy gallery where I can put on any exhibition I want, this exhibition focuses on artist who look at Barbie and the body and raise issues about the Barbie brand and why some could consider Barbie as the enemy of western beauty.

Sheila Pree Bright

Sheila Pree Bright is an amazing artist who does many different series of work focusing on race and identity. In the series “Plastic Bodies” Bright creates digital, manipulated images of real women blended with the unrealistic doll. Some images are of African Americans braided hair on the back of the Barbie doll, showing the public that many different ethnicity have different textured hair. I am white but I know the struggle of having crazy curly hair. She also focuses on the face, that no one has huge anime eyes and little tiny lips. My favourite is an image of the Barbie doll smiling and her teeth are a bit big with a gap in front. Personally I can relate to this one, I don't have a problem with my teeth but they are rather goofy. Her work is very complex in the nature of racial identity and really proves the beauty standard of the Barbie doll is problematic and there is no personal identity with many women of colour. As I said, I am a white women and I also live in a very small area in the UK. I live in Sunderland and when I went to primary school there was NO ethnicity and when I went to secondary school there was one Chinese dude who was funny and a lovely shy Indian girl. As you can see I have been extremely sheltered in this world and this is why this problem has never faced me before until I have look into them. When researching Brights work, it is very upsetting that I had such a positive experience with Barbie, as she sort of looked like me, but she did not have a doll (which was a worldwide phenomenon) to look at that looked liked her.

I haven't even mentioned the impact of advertising and media which plays an even bigger effect on women and men on the unrealistic views on beauty and only encourage one standard of beauty. Lets just focus on the doll or we will be here all day!

Aftan Hernandez,

The next artist I found I don't know too much about but he did an amazing piece for an exhibition called "Altered Barbie", where many different artist use Barbie in their work. This three piece series of photos by Aftan Hernandez, called "revealed" where three black and white images of women from the neck down to waist reveal curves in a woman's body missing in the upside down triangular cavity of a Barbie. 

Not the greatest image but amazing work. 

These images show that Barbie's figure is horrendous unrealistic. We all know that Barbie’s proportions are ridiculous but when you see it to other body types you see it's horrendous that little girls might subconsciously think she need to look like this.

Menstruation Barbie

The next piece I found was a great piece to find just in articles as the Instagram page has been removed. Created by The Fourth Wave Freaks, a feminist group on the internet, they created an Instagram account called Menstruation Barbie. Menstruation Barbie is the feminist queen of Instagram, these pictures show Barbie with blood stained panties. The images are welcomed with beautiful messages, such as “fuck off” and “suck my clit.” Yes people can see these as vulgar with the Barbie brand but the queen bee of fourth wave freaks, feminist Kristen Krein is showing young women to not be ashamed of the most natural thing that women go through. Menstruation came up in my last blog and it's so true women are taught to be ashamed of having a period. When I was in secondary school I remember ripping my pad off so slowly so no one could hear me. Why!! every young women who walked into that toilet would have had a period. Even now I secretly slip my products in my pocket if I need to change.  

Researching Barbie the doll I do think she has many problems with how she looks, but the Barbie brand are making a conscious decision in changing this. Creating Barbies with normal frames, different skin colours, different hair and different sizes. Is it too late.. maybe? Barbie sales are not as big as they were when I was a child, bratz dolls and monster high dolls (which I find even more disturbing than Barbie) are high on Christmas lists. I do not want children, but thinking that my beautiful niece lille, or any other future nieces or even my nephews that find this doll to be the personification of beauty, then I will have a problem. At the moment I just want to keep Barbie as an amazing childhood memory but keep my mind open to others who might have something different to say. I haven't mentioned Disney Dolls and the destruction of them being role models…. another time.

MAW