The Symbolism Of Barbie In The Media

Introduction
A media circus is a metaphor that describes an event or person in which the media coverage has been blown out of proportion (Anon 2015). Examples of media circuses include
Michael Jackson’s death, Miley Cyrus, and the disastrous event that occurred on September 11, 2011. A popular and iconic “person” who has been in the media for years is Barbie. Barbie, or the idea of her, has been symbolized in the media as the epitome of beauty and femininity, which has led society to force females to strive for an unrealistic image.
Background
Barbie is a fashion doll that was manufactured by Mattel, Inc around March 1959. Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, was inspired by her daughter’s playtime to make a three-dimensional doll that …show more content…
She has taught girls how they should dress and act in everyday life. Most items belonging to Barbie are a certain color, and her clothes are usually dresses. These gender norms were enforced by Barbie, whose wardrobe and belongings were mostly pink. Barbie also enjoys fashion and shopping, which is something that society perceives to be “girly.” According to Gwen Sharp, “the Action Man figure embodies the increasing possibility of complex movement. Conversely, the simplicity and a minimal number of joints in Barbie suggests the priority given to posing rather than action” (Sharp 2010). This means that, compared to the action figure, Barbie is more focused on looks and being passive instead of active. This teaches girls that society is more interested in how a woman looks than the ideas she has to offer. While men are more encouraged to be active and take leadership, women are forced to silently obey the rules of society. Barbie’s fixed relationship with Ken has also influence girls to believe that heterosexuality is a required norm.For these reasons, Barbie is symbolized as a enforcer for society’s standard of femininity and …show more content…
Recently, Mattel Inc. has released an advertisement that focused on girl-power by featuring young girls in nontraditional professions (Kozlowska). The company has also been releasing superhero dolls with more “realistic” dimensions. However, there is little effect regarding Barbie’s support for feminism because the media remains focused on her inhuman dimensions. In the media, there are hints that Barbie is racist when Mattel Inc. released the “Oreo Barbie.” The media hinted at the fact that “Oreo can be a derogatory term for a black person who “acts white” (or is black on the outside and white on the inside, like an Oreo)” (Boone 2014). The company has also tried to release Barbie of other races, but the dolls were more stereotypical than

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