What do you think of Barbies?

Question

& the cultural significance of Barbie? Do you think she is damaging to young women in their formative years? IE-I used to have Barbies when I was young & I liked playing w/ them, one of my aunts actually collects Barbies. What do you think of them? Overrated, the ideal woman. I stumbled across this website in my search too:

http://angelicdreamz.com/store/barbie.html

Answer 1

I only liked them because I liked to tell stories with my toys. That was all I noticed them for in my formative years, and they haven't had a negative impact on me.

Answer 2

haha when i was little i had 3 humungus tube full of barbies. it was crazy! my dad keeps him in the basement...HE WONT EVEN LET THEM GO!.

Answer 3

I hate her...That B*tch has everything!!

And  she doesnt have stretch marks, cellulite or sagging b***s.

B*tch!

Answer 4

I think that the whole thing is a damage for all these girls who look like them...you know, blond, great body, but not so intellligent...imagine a girl of these who's very  clever and people always see only the Barbie look!!!

Answer 5

They don't bother me.  I think people make more of a bigger deal than they ought to.  She's just a doll.  Given the choice I prefer Barbie over those Bratz dolls...ugh!

You can pretty much make your Barbie whatever you want her to be.  I used to cut all the hair off my Barbie, make her break up with Ken to go out with GI Joe lol.  

Also, some of the collector dolls are pretty cool...but very expensive...

http://www.barbiecollector.com/

and the Barbie Song by Aqua? Pretty funny.  I'm a Barbie girl...in a Barbie world. Life in plastic...it's fantastic lol

Answer 6

I never had problems with them, other than their ridiculous appearance...she is the most extreme multi-tasker, can do just about any career, appears to have a great family (other than her divorce from Ken http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,1112... ) a beautiful home and is financially stable.

Answer 7

Barbies are way cool. That chic has everything. I just wished they made outfits that fit me as well.

Answer 8

Glorious long hair, funny shaped body, and not a patch on my girlfriend.

She is an icon and no more representative of a real woman as a teddy bear is of a grizzly.

They also apparently make excellent fish bait in Vladivostok.  Fishermen get the seconds from factories just across the border in China, and attach her to their lines.  Her hair is irresistable and fish would rather be hauled to the dinner table than to let go of her hair.  Bit like mermaids in reverse?

Answer 9

I never had much interest in them when I was little, other than making them do....unspeakable things with Ken.  I was a little pervert, I have no excuse for myself!  Strangely enough, I'm probably the biggest perfectionist out of almost all my friends when it comes to what my body looks like.

Answer 10

i hate barbie..... she has the perfect body

Answer 11

I do think they show an odd view of an idealized woman.

Yet I played with them when I was young and I don't think they made me think I should look like a Barbie. In and of themselves they're harmless. It's how the adults around you talk about the dolls that makes more of an impact.

Answer 12

If barbies were real women you'd have to remove two of their ribs.

Barbies are one of the ways women are sociolized into the role of 'carer' in the home, along with all the other pink coloured toys out there.  As a childcare worker I'd like to see less gender typing in our toys right across the board please.

Answer 13

Didn't Barbie Divorce Ken?  What did he ever do to her?  And why is everyone so down on Barb anyway?

Answer 14

A toy is a toy. is it harmful? only to a kid that was whack to begin with. I never had Barbies, but, I know alot of kids that did and it seemed like a phase the kid was going through more than anything else. Harmless. It is just one experience out of a million that a child will use to become an adult. It will only be a huge deal if the people around make it a huge deal.

Trust your kid to make intelligent choices.

peace

Answer 15

I think Barbie is gross and distorted.

I think little girls should have dolls that resemble young girls and even baby dolls... not p**n stars.

Plus it's so far out of line now, with the focus being on "stuff" and Barbies accessories instead of playing house.

They are not in my house with my two daughters.  My mother in law bought one for my girl and I said thanks then threw it in the trash after she left.

Answer 16

Acutally Barbie dolls weren't designed to be the 'ideal women'. They were designed  for a toymakers daughter during the 1900's. The daughters name was Barbra. The mother asked her daughted what  she wanted the doll to look like, Barbra said "I can't decide". So the Barbie dolls were created everywhich way. Thats why theres so many different collections, & limted addition dolls. Just going to say this but they weren't designed to out look or out pretty women. They were designed for a Mothers gift to a daughter and for little girls to play with. But as the generation grew, refferring to someone as a Barbie doll is basiclly calling them perfect.  But many people do not know the history,so hit the books before you hit the comments.

Answer 17

well i liked barbies as a child but my girls never liked them they preferred brats which i can't stand..they look like lil street walkers and what up with those detachable feet.

Answer 18

never liked them.

Answer 19

actually, when i was very young, maybe like 6 or 7, there was a brief time where i wanted a barbie doll. i still don't recall why. the vast majority of the stuff i was interested in was "guy" stuff, like power rangers, ninja turtles, batman, and stuff like that.

Answer 20

awesome :)

answer mine please:

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 21

I used to like Barbies when I was a little bit younger, but not anymore. I still like dolls, but only anime ones, like Luts, for that matter. =] And of course, nothing beats teletubbies. x]

Answer 22

If a barbie doll was in my vicinity I would probably destroy it. Preferably by microwave or just physically

Answer 23

I loved Barbie. I still like the Special Edition series - like when they did Marilyn, Cruella DeVile, or the Barbies from other countries.

Ahhh see - the Lucille Ball Barbie is cool!!!

I appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into making these dolls. I think they are cool.

Answer 24

Never understood the mass appeal of Barbie.   I used to collect Cabbage Patch Dolls instead.  Not quite sure what that is supposed to mean about me. : )

Answer 25

I think dolls enable kids to use their imaginations, which is impertive to development. I'd much rather see a small child play with Barbie dolls than sit in front of a video game all day.

Answer 26

I don't think there's anything wrong with playing with the dolls, but I do think it's a shame they made her so unreal in her appearance. I think it's brilliant that she's had a wide range of careers.

Answer 27

lol did you know barbies where first designed after a prostitute?

to think little girls were actually playing with them when they were designed after that kind of person.....

Answer 28

unfortunatley they're not'famous' as they used to be .my sister is 4 and she doesn't play with toys she's interested in- hannah montanna, hsm, the jonas bros. she knows all the actual names of the 6 people from hsm.

and it's really SAD!!!!

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 29

Hate 'em...but not for the reasons you might think...

It's all the teeny accessories that get stuck in the vacuum cleaner and heat register...and then daughter is upset because she can't find a pair of shoes that match.   It's the tightness of the clothing that makes it next to impossible for little fingers to dress and undress the doll, leading to frustration and tears.  It's the marketing angle that one Barbie is not enough...you must own an entire collection of them.

And to the poster who said she has a perfect body...no.  If Barbie's size were increased proportionally to life size, she would have a 17 inch waist and the mass of her b*****s would cause her to fall forward in a light breeze.

Answer 30

Well, I didn't have Barbies when I was young, Sindys were more popular in the UK in those days.  However, I have quite a lot now, about 100 I think.  Most of them are OOAKS that I bought on ebay.

It never occured to me to think of them as the ideal woman, I mean they're just dolls aren't they?  Nobody can take them that seriously, surely?

Answer 31

Hate'em. Never liked them, even when I was little.