Barbie Dolls: Defining a Woman - Essay Example

Barbie Dolls: Defining a Woman For centuries, ever since the first woman made the first representation of a human as a means of entertaining a young child, little girls have been playing with dolls. While there is no evidence that little boys didn’t also play with dolls as children, neither was there much incentive in the largely patriarchal and gender-divided world of primitive man. As society has progressed, however, traditional roles of men and women have become blurred, introducing a world in which boys could become primary caregivers of children while women went to work or vice versa.

Despite this, toys such as the popular Barbie doll continue to be marketed almost exclusively to girls in the accessory products offered, the individuals depicted in advertisements and the activities these suggest. Barbie dolls are small moveable figurines with long hair that can be easily manipulated. Although the original Barbie was an unrealistically proportioned blonde buxom beauty with blue eyes and fair skin, the brand has expanded since its inception to include numerous ethnicities and somewhat adjusted proportions although most still epitomize an unhealthy ideal.

Accessory products for these dolls include various types of fashion apparel, pink and white vehicles, animals with bows and ribbons tied in their hair, fancy dollhouses with plenty of pink trim and even entire shopping malls as playhouses. Vehicles sold are not of the type that are likely to be attractive to boys, such as those associated with speed or adventure, nor are there many male figurines sold to accompany these beauties in their activities. Advertising emphasizes the concept that these toys are intended to be used by girls only.

Each advertisement featuring live action (as opposed to animated commercial spots) will depict several young girls playing in groups with their dolls – frequently as they mimic the actions of shopping, ‘lunching’ or otherwise engaged in the activities promoted by the product being advertised. Rarely are male figures to be found in the ads, whether they are human boys playing with the dolls or male dolls interacting with the female dolls. When Ken, the original Barbie boyfriend figure, enters the advertisement, he usually does so as little more than a cartoon figure in the very background of the piece.

The products that are sold in conjunction with the Barbie figures continue to emphasize the role of the girl by the limited range of activities presented. Barbie is given a mall, a swimming pool, animals to play with and numerous homes for a variety of settings. Only in recent years has she been provided with business attire and an attaché case, but no office buildings to be found for her working environment. As has been mentioned, there is a surprising deficit in the number of available male figures, further reducing the likelihood of this role-playing activity appealing to boys.

Through the advertisements, the characteristics of the toys themselves and the way they suggest or inhibit activity, the Barbie doll continuously emphasizes the idea that it is intended for female children only. At the same time, it continues to reinforce traditional concepts of the woman’s role – to beautify, to consume and to keep the house comfortable and fashionable. At the same time, new figurines that have hit the market in recent decades, the figures from popular films like Star Wars or the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, prove that the activity of playing with dolls is not a gender-specific activity in and of itself.

Works Cited Ament, Phil. “Barbie Doll.” The Great Idea Finder. Troy, MI: 2006. September 19, 2007 < http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/barbiedoll.htm>