Plastic Surgery and Barbie
The Barbie Doll was first patented in 1958 by a young woman from California named Ruth Handler. The Barbie doll is well know for her long legs, her tiny waist, blonde hair and blue eyes, and her huge chest. This “perfect” plastic body has had multiple positive and negative affects around the world for the past fifty years; Barbie was based off of a German prostitute comic strip character named Lili. She was meant to be a steady outlet for young girls dreams and an constant changing reflection of American society. The Barbie Doll promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for young women and children. “Mattel received many criticisms about Barbie and the impact she has on young girls around the world. The new Barbie will have a more natural body shape – less busty with wider hips.”" (Barbie Body Image) In a 2006 Developmental Psychology article, psychologists found that girls between 5 and 8 years old who were exposed to pictures of Barbie were more likely to have lower body self esteem and a greater desire for a thin body. Victoria’s Secret models are much like the Barbie Doll: around 6 feet tall, long and tan legs, a tiny waist, flat stomach, and a huge chest. Completely unrealistic for most women and teens that try to mirror this image, this could lead young girls to copy Barbie and these models and it could increase likely hood of anorexia or bulimia. For example the “Slumber Party” Barbie came with a book titled "How to Lose Weight" which was advised: "Don't eat." The doll also came with a pink bathroom scale reading up to 110 pounds, which would be at least 35 pounds underweight for a woman, like Barbie, that was 5 feet 9 inches tall. There is a woman, Cindy Jackson, who was so impacted by Barbie that it became her life mission to look exactly like her. Her obsession to look like Barbie started when her parents bought her first Barbie at age 6, and she didn't give up until she reached her goal. She ended up spending around $55,000 and went through 20