Is Barbie A Good Role Model?

We asked our members to watch the below advertisement and answer an age-old question: Is Barbie really a good role model for young girls?

The Barbie doll has been accused of a lot of things: for having an anatomically-impossible figure; for substantiating every stereotype that boxes-in females across society; for owning a 'glam convertible' in a ridiculously bright shade of pink.

For years, Mattel’s Barbie has faced thunderous outcry and contention surrounding its purported position as a role model amongst young girls.

Whilst some support the time-honoured toy that has imbued countless childhoods, others remain adamantly against the pink-clad, disproportionately-thin doll, berating the Barbie for perpetuating gender typecasts and unrealistic beauty standards.

And I understand where they’re all coming from.

The Barbie encourages an unfeasible, sugar-coated ideal of womanhood for young girls to aspire to. She never suffers from a bad-hair day and her silhouette is an outrageously faultless hour-glass. She has smudge-proof lipstick and teeters precariously on a pair of stilettos. But, what I believe to be the real issue here is what we talk about when the word 'Barbie' comes up in a conversation.

I cannot deny that I am guilty of mocking the garish amounts of pink Barbie wears. I was severely against playing with Barbies as a kid; whenever my mother offered to buy me one, I refused on the grounds of conforming to gender stereotypes (not to mention the fact that I really didn’t like the colour pink – did I mention that?).

So, I was something of an anomaly, but nevertheless I relented and finally got myself one. And, I cannot help but admit that Barbie came to represent something significant for me, as it does for many other young girls.

Yes, she represents impractical beauty standards and materialism, but she also represents heterogeneity, imagination and professional possibilities; qualities that every young girl should be exposed to and learn from.

We spend so much time talking about how Barbie looks and so little time talking about her careers - all 150 (and counting) of them. Besides her more infamous career as a socialite and spendthrift, she's also been a palaeontologist, programmer and doctor; she's even had a go at running a presidential campaign. If we took all the time and effort spent arguing about her waist measurement and instead diverted it towards discussing her work life and role as an example of an empowered female, the Barbie would become a way to talk to young girls about the jobs they want, not the bodies they want.

A role model shouldn’t be someone we imitate; instead they should be someone who opens up possibilities and choices of who we can be; someone whose qualities and characteristics should serve as the underpinning of our future selves.

The Barbie isn't the perfect role model for young girls. In a world that is largely affected by superficial standards and unattainable standards of beauty propagated by the media, young girls unconsciously view the Barbie’s appearance as their #goals and because of this the Barbie has come under fire. But while it has a long way to go, the Barbie has taken a major step forward to change its stigma-ridden image.

In the heartwarming advert above, Barbie inspires young girls to take charge of their own lives, telling everyone out there that Barbie is not a plastic, superficial medium for young girls to channel the selves they truly wish to become; rather, a role model to inspire the greatest desire to venture beyond their 'assigned' roles and break free of the occupations and images society sets out for them as appropriate and ideal.

Because when a girl plays with Barbie, she imagines everything she can become.

Congratulations to Kathy for winning this writing challenge, answering: Is Barbie A Good Role Model For Young Girls? Kathy wins a $50 Westfield gift card for her submission. For your chance to win, check out our latest writing challenges in our Comps section. Also, be sure to follow this guide on how to win the writing challenge!