The Barbie Effect

Barbie has it all. Every c arer imaginable and what women perceive to be the perfect body. In real life this could transfer into bankruptcy, low self-esteem and materialistic behavior. There is more(prenominal) than controversy surrounding Barbie and whether she has an effect on young girls self esteem. There have been studies on both(prenominal) sides of the issue with no clear definitive answer. Barbie was a sensation almost from the moment she hit the shelves, promoting and readily spreading the idea of materialism and superficiality among young girls.Barbie has lots of clothes, cars, the dream house and even her let credit cards. She is extremely thin and good-looking, fashionable, she has perfect blonde hair. We all know blondes have more enjoyment. Barbie clearly promotes materialism and portrays this lifestyle as being fulfilling, which gives children a false sense of what life is, and an unemployed goal for them to pursue. torso image distortion is created, as the ma jority of women cannot achieve Barbies proportions. . Look instead at Ken, Barbies long time boyfriend. When researchers at the University of South Australia scaled up Mr.Barbie to life-size proportions, they reason out that the chances of a man having his body shape are one in 50. That is a lot more achievable than the one in one hundred thousand chance a girl has of achieving Barbies dimensions-this defiantly gives weight to the argument that the media puts unrealistic expectations and pressures on women. (Wintermann) Magazines have morphed stars onto smaller bodies, models that walk the runway are anorexic, and pictures are airbrushed making mens expectations of women unrealistic as well as womens expectations of themselves.Body image is not just appearance, said Karen Way, a licensed clinical social worker with 18 years experience. Your body image has to do with your health, your various talents, how able you are to be in tune with sensations in your body. (Way LCSW) Men are h aving problems as well as women just not to the same degree or level. Men trend toward steroid use, valuing strength and muscle ripped appearance over slimness. Mattel the makers of Barbie perpetuate the stereotype that boys are smarter than girls in the math and science area. Mattel introduced the irst talking Barbie and her words were math is tough Studies show that boys surpassed girls in math (Geary) Mattel has attempted to change this image with the Barbie I can Be website. Many people have the romance that anorexia is all about being thin. More often it has to do with control. It often begins as pressure to be perfect. Other things in your life are spinning out of control and this is something you are in flush of, thinness is just an effect. Control implies strength strength implies simplicity, which equals perfection-perfect control.Anorexia is an addiction and recovery is possible by determination meaning in life. integrity of the restates that helped in recovery came from a book a psychiatrist gave me. The quote from is from William Ward a notorious writer. To weep is to riskiness appearing sentimental. To reach out to another is to risk involvement To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss. To cope is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure. unless risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. ? William Arthur Ward Moral exploitation in children follows a predictable developmental path. When presented with an ethical dilemma, children under the age of eight typically umpire an action as wrong or incorrect when it results in punishment or goes against the rules set aside by authority figures (Kohlberg in Dolgin2011) As children mature, they begin to consider multiple perspectives in a emplacement they take into account the intentions and motives of those involved and recognizing the often-conflicting rules inherent in moral dilemmas. In other words, their moral cogitate becomes more flexible and other oriented.When Children see idols such as Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton who have the quintessential Barbie image not subject to the rules and standards in society that others are held to, it creates the false illusion that those who are scenic and have money and things are worth more and have more value. Barbie throughout her 125 careers has neer portrayed a real woman with other desirable qualities other than being beautiful and fashionable. One can certainly believe the media from magazines, the fashion industry and Mattel have played a huge consumption in the self-esteem of girls and they value they place on themselves as a person.