MEDIA THEORIES
Although popular with children, Barbie often isn’t quite as beloved by adults because of her sexy image. Barbie has come to symbolize materialism, stereotypical gender roles and sex. She is often associated with the “dumb blonde” stereotype spread by the media. Although she does have blonde hair, Barbie is certainly not dumb. She has enjoyed more than 150 careers over the past half century and has excelled at jobs such as doctor, business executive and teacher. She really is a polarizing doll. Children love her, feminists hate her.
My first interaction with Barbie occurred when I was three years old. My older cousins were crowded in the center of the living room dressing and brushing Barbie’s hair. I was instantly hooked. She allowed me to imagine dialogue and scenes with ease. One day she was an ice skater and the next she was a doctor. The numerous outfits locked in her dream closet allowed me to dress Barbie for any occassion. I think fondly of my memories with Barbie because she allowed me to express both interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. Barbie enhanced my personal communication with friends because she helped to teach me to value feelings and motivations of my friends. I would often let them choose the scene for Barbie and create a story from there. I exercised my intrapersonal communication by self-reflecting on Barbie and creating an internal dialogue for her. Every day was a different story, which intrigued me because I loved to use my imagination to create creative experiences for Barbie and her host of friends.
I had a close relationship with Barbie, her family members and accessories. Not once did I consider losing weight to look more like Barbie. I always thought she was beautiful, but never once considered looking like her. I tend to think that children who develop unhealthy self esteem because of Barbie might just need better real life role models such as parental influences. I don’t think most children compare themselves to Barbie’s looks since she is so much older than the average child user.
Barbie is positioned as the premier fashionable doll. She is marketed as a successful woman with many career aspirations. Although she’s just a toy, Barbie ignites debate about body image. Many parents worry about Barbie’s influence, but she is only one aspect of childhood and shouldn’t be blamed for every choice a child makes.
Several theories come to mind when thinking about Barbie. Theories related to Barbie include the uses and gratifications theory, cultivation theory, priming and social cognitive theory.
Ruth Handler and Mattel realized that little girls like to pretend their older and more mature, so their toy design team created an adult doll for young girls. Barbie represented what girls could grow up to be like with hard work and dedication. Children adore Barbie because she is a grown up and girls love to think about the future.
Barbie is a symbol with negative connotations for many because of her unrealistic body. Adults fear that children develop eating disorders or negative self esteem because they want to look like Barbie, which is an unattainable goal. The media focuses heavily on body image in America and seems to dwell on either end of the spectrum. News stories often focus on stories about the growing obesity epidemic or eating disorders to look "model thin." The more news stories people hear about eating disorders and poor body image, the more they need to find someone or something to blame for the growing problems. Sometimes that object of blame is Barbie since her proportions are unrealistic. Whether Barbie is actually the cause of the issue has yet to be determined, but the more people hear about her as a potential cause, the more likely they are to believe Barbie is bad for their children. As Laughey points out, variations in opinion directly relate to how much TV or media people consume. Those who consume more media are likely to think negative thoughts about Barbie and her influence on young girls.
Another theory that represents Barbie’s marketing success is that of the priming theory. According to Laughey, priming “places more emphasis on the relationship between media and personal memory.” (Laughey, 39) As mentioned earlier, Barbie was the first toy with a detailed marketing strategy that focused on television advertisements. The original commercials presented in this paper featured jingles that were easy to remember and created desire for the fashionable doll. The strong use of musical intelligences helped develop a need among children. Young girls wanted to own a Barbie because the commercials sing “someday I’m going to be exactly like you (Barbie).” The girls want to play with her because one day they are going to grow up to be just like Barbie. Whenever adults hear those familiar lyrics or see the bright pink shoes, they are reminded of their childhood memories with Barbie. The adults who grew up with Barbie dolls feel nostalgic whenever they see a Barbie or hear a commercial because their memory bonds are so strong. Barbie fills both young and old with nostalgic memories of childhood because priming is a “short-term effect with long-term consequences.” (Laughey, 39)
Finally, social cognitive theory is exemplified in Barbie’s adult design. According to Baran and Davis, social cognitive theory is a way of “learning through interaction with the environment that involves reciprocal causation of behavior, personal factors, and environmental cues.” (Baran & Davis, 175) Children learn how to be adults by playing with adult Barbies. They learn from the commercials how to dress Barbie and how to properly interact with her friends and family. Barbie taught the importance of dressing for success and working hard. Children also learned by watching each other interact with Barbie. Playing with an adult doll helped prepare girls for the future.
Although to many, Barbie is a symbol of negative aspects of society, to me she still holds a special place in my heart because I spent so much of my childhood playing with her. I am a Barbie girl.