Carolyn Muhlstein
Honors English 10 (P. 1)
D. Montoya
18 March 2013
Role-Model Barbie: Now and Forever?
During my early childhood, my parents avoided gender boundaries on my play time. My brother and I both had Tonka trucks, and these were driven by Barbie, Strawberry Shortcake, and GI Joe to my doll house, or to condos built with my brother’s Erector Set. However, as I got older, the boundaries became more defined, and certain forms of play became “inappropriate.” For example, I remember asking for a remote controlled car one Christmas, anticipating a powerful race car like the ones driven at De Anza Days, the local community fair. Christmas morning waiting for me under the tree was a bright yellow Barbie Corvette. It seemed as though my parents had decided that if I have a remote controlled car, at least it could be a feminine Barbie one.
Although I was too young to realize it at the time, this gift represented a subtle shift in my parents’ attitudes toward gender-role choices. Where before my folks seemed content to let me assume either traditional “boy” or traditional “girl” roles in play, now they appeared to subtly be directing me toward traditional female role-playing. Assuming this role also has a toll on young women and the way they view themselves. One of the most dangerous consequences of Barbie’s popularity in our society is that a seemingly innocent toy defines for young girls the sorts of career choices, clothing, and relationships that will be “proper” for them as grown-up women.
Perhaps the Barbie Corvette was my parents’ attempt to steer me back toward more traditional feminine pursuits. Since her birth thirty-five years ago, Barbie has been used by many parents to illustrate the “appropriate” role of women in society. During earlier decades, when women were expected to remain at home, Barbie’s lifestyle was extremely fitting. Marilyn Ferris Motz writes that Barbie “represents so well the widespread values of modern American society, devoting herself to the pursuit of happiness through leisure and material goods… teaching them [female children] the skills by which their future success will be measured” (212). Barbie, then, serves as a symbol of the women’s traditional role in our society, and she serves to reinforce those stereotypes in young girls.
The following ad was created my MAC cosmetics in 2008.
In this ad, the two women stare bashfully out toward a world that expects them to have flawless skin, perfect hair, and of course, perfect make-up. MAC, known for being hip and up-to-date with the latest make-up trends, is also known for being pricey. When corporations create ads, they all make what Art Silverblatt calls “The Big Promise” (295). The $22 dollar lipstick can in fact give the eager teenage girl the exact bubblegum shade shown in the above ad; however, what the ad will not deliver is the pore-less skin, a defined jaw line, or different facial features. These “promises are beyond the capabilities of the product,” and many girls feel inadequate when they realize the truth: they are not and will never be Barbie.
Many would agree with Motz. In fact, the consensus among sociologists, historians, and consumers is that Barbie represents a life of lazy leisure and wealth. Her “forever arched feet” and face “always smiling, eyes wide with admiration” (Tham 180) allow for little more than evenings on the town and strolls in the park. In addition, the accessories Barbie is equipped with are almost all related to pursuits of mere pleasure. According to a Barbie sticker album created by Mattel:
Barbie is seen as a typical young lady of the twentieth century, who knows how to appreciate beautiful things and, at the same time, live life to the fullest… with her fashionable wardrobe and constant journeys to exciting places all over the world, the adventures of Barbie offer a glimpse of what they [girls] might achieve one day. (qtd. in Motz 218).
In this packaging “literature”—and in the countless other advertisements and packaging materials that have emerged since Barbie’s invention some thirty years ago—the manufactures exalt Barbie’s materialism, her appreciation of “beautiful things,” fine clothing, and expensive trips as positive traits: qualities which all normal, healthy girls in this society should try to emulate, according to the traditional view.
As Motz observes later in her article, Barbie has changed to adjust to the transforming attitudes of society over time. Both her facial expressions and wardrobe have undergone subtle alterations: “The newer Barbie has a more friendly, open expression, with a hint of a smile, and her lip and eye make-up is muted” (226), and in recent years Barbie’s wardrobe has expanded to include some career clothing in addition to her massive volume of recreational attire. This transition appears to represent a conscious effort on the part of Barbie’s manufacturers to integrate the concept of women as important members of the work force, with traditional ideals already depicted by Barbie.
Unfortunately, a critical examination of today’s Barbie manufactures have failed to reconcile the traditional image of women as sexual, leisure-seeking consumers with the view that women are assertive, career-oriented individuals, because their “revision” of the Barbie image is at best a token one. This failure to reconcile two opposing roles for Barbie parallels the same contradiction in contemporary society. By choice and necessity women are in the work force in large numbers, seeking equal pay and equal opportunities with men; yet the more traditional voices in our culture continue to perpetuate stereotyped images of women. If we believe that we are at the transitional point in the evolution toward real equality for women, then Barbie exemplifies this transitional stage perfectly.
Looking back at my childhood, I see my parents engaged in this same struggle. By surrounding me with toys that perpetuated both feminine and masculine roles, they achieved a kind of balance among the conflicting images in society. However, they also seemed to succumb to traditional social pressures by giving me that Barbie Corvette, when all I wanted was a radio-controlled formula-one racer, like the one Emerson Fittipaldi drives. In a time when most parents agree that young girls should be encouraged to pursue goals regardless of gender boundaries, their actions do not always reflect these ideals. Only when we demand that toys like Barbie no longer perpetuate stereotypes will this reform be complete.
Works Cited
Barbie Loves Mac. Advertisement. MAC Makeup. Feb. 2007.
Calfee, John E. "How Advertising Informs to Our Benefit." Common Culture: Reading
and Writing about American Popular Culture 5 (2007): 103-05. Web.
Motz, Marilyn Ferris. “Through Rose-Tinted Glasses,” in Popular Culture: An
Introductory Text, eds. Jack Trachbar and Kevin Lause. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green University Press, 1992.
Tham, Hilary, “Barbie’s Shoes,” in Mondo Barbie, eds. Lucinda Ebersold and Richard
Peabody. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993.