Would the REAL Barbie step foward?
Do you believe we have sub-conscious expectations created by our culture? I find this post about measurements of real women interesting. Has Barbie set an unrealistic body image for American girls only to have it reinforced in print and movies? I do have to admit I loved my Barbies and Kens. I had the town house, the Hawaiian Hut, an airplane, horses, more clothes than one doll needed and of course Barbie’s purple corvette. I always did wonder why Ken didn’t have his own car. I guess we know who was in charge. Barbie might be a physical anomaly but she’s never short of girl power.
Jolene Navarro 
My older sister’s Barbie improved under my eight-year-old-hand. At least that was my personal opinion. I painted war stripes on her face with iodine, the little glass ball at the end of the wand was so useful. I scalped her, then taped her to a stick and burned her at the stake while I did a war dance around the fire. I got blistered for playing with matches while my sister screamed in agony over her doll. Hey, I was the one getting beat with the belt. I guess little girls measure Barbie’s worth in girly-girl or tomboy inclinations, not by her measurements. Guess which category I fell into? Great topic Jolene. Looking forward to some great comments on which category your readers fell into.
Haha – I’m sure many a Barbie had a tragic ending. Many of mine did end up with hair cuts. I wonder how many miles I had on that corvette?
I had a Sindy doll as a girl and loved dressing her, redressing her, and redressing her again. I loved making clothes for her too. I think the British Sindy doll was a little more realistically shaped – but I really just loved the clothes!
PS – I didn’t grow into a woman with body issues 😛
I think I might have I loved the clothes more than I did the Barbies. My mom had a friend that made Barbie out fits. We had the best gowns. All my friends where jealous.
My reactions to the photos of the barbie-ized ‘normal’ doll that I saw online were telling. To me, she looked dumpy–when she clearly isn’t. So yes, barbie has altered my perceptions of what dolls should look like. I’m not sure if this translates to real life… (I was more likely to be playing with Tonka Trucks in the dirt than Barbie as a girl)
I gave my daughter as many trucks as barbies. All she wanted was a basketball. I loved playing with match cars as much as I loved dressing my dolls.