Is Barbie a good or bad role model for children?
Well, that was a super long-winded answer. The concept that Barbie is a negative role model is based on the notion that she creates a negative body image for little girls. Body image is an adult concept, and it is not until long after we stop playing with Barbies that we become aware of our bodies. How often do you hear a 7 year old saying she’s too fat or she needs boobs like Barbie? The answer is never, and the negative body image argument was designed by overweight and underweight women who refused to accept responsibility for their own eating habits. On the positive side, Barbie is the most multicultural doll in the world. She has represented over 60 nationalities. Barbie has had every kind of job from fashion model to presidential candidate. There was even a Wheelchair riding Barbie known as Share a Smile Becky. She promotes social interaction, and is completely non-discriminatory, her best friends include a hispanic woman named Teresa, and a black woman named Christie. She promot
“Commercials are so 20th century,” said Susan Linn, an author and psychologist. “The marketing of today is not like marketing when you were a kid.” Today, marketers know how to insinuate brands into every aspect of children’s lives, she recently told an audience of parents and teachers at Summit School. Marketing strategies, honed by psychologists and delivered through the latest technological means, zero in on children like heat-seeking missiles. The money spent on marketing to children has grown from $100 million in 1983 to $16.8 billion today. Linn, a psychology instructor at Harvard Medical School, is co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the author of Consuming Kids. Her Web site is www.consumingkids.com. Today’s children can expect to be bombarded with commercial messages from the cradle to the grave. Successful marketing to children contributes to childhood obesity, eating disorders, precocious sexuality, youth violence, family stress and materialism, sh
