Is Barbie A Good Role Model For Young People?

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Whether you like her or not, it’s safe to say that Barbie has made a global impact. But is it always in a positive way? Is Barbie just a stereotype or is there something more to her? Does she show that you can be anything you want, or are there limits to her success? Writers’ Club members Elise and Jay talk about the way they see it…

Elise: Barbie is a good role model, here’s why:

Who would have thought that a plastic doll would be so controversial? And yet, Barbie’s large-scale franchise has recently been both commended for its celebration of the differences between women and criticised for cashing in on the feminist movement.
I would argue that, across decades of dolls, a few dozen movies and a TV series, Barbie has been a good role model for children, especially over the last few years. She’s taught girls everywhere to aim high and maximise their potential, with her huge catalogue of careers and adventures. She’s been a princess, a doctor, an entomologist and even a UNICEF ambassador, refusing to let traditional ideas of a woman’s role get in her way.

I was never one for dolls so the biggest interaction I had with her was repeatedly watching Life In The Dreamhouse, an animated series detailing the shenanigans of Barbie, her friends and her sisters. It was cheesy but entertaining, and it highlighted her problem-solving abilities and proactive personality rather than her looks. It also explored the comically complicated lives of the other characters, which came together to create a fan-favourite female-dominated show. It capitalised on the nostalgia of the old Barbie movies, and seemed to do a good job in presenting strong-minded women, like many of the movies in the franchise.

Barbie, as a brand, also does this in their adverts. The Imagine The Possibilities ad is a particularly memorable one. It features five young girls in professional settings showing off their intelligence, confidence and ability to lead; they take on the roles of a professor, a vet, a football coach, a tour guide and a businesswoman. I find it truly heart-warming to see feminine power being encouraged and celebrated from such a young age, and it’s good for children to see themselves represented in that way on TV.

Now for the actual dolls. When I was little, it was really important to my parents that I had dolls with different skin tones to reflect our multicultural society and break down some of those barriers that try to keep us apart. With Barbie’s extensive range of characters of different races, abilities and body types, it offers a great opportunity to teach children and share with them the importance of diversity.

Of course, we can criticise them for not doing this sooner, or for arguably only following public demand when it’s profitable to do so, but maybe it’s a case of better late than never. I think Barbie has a big influence on how we see ourselves growing up, so I’m glad they’re dispelling some of the dumb-blonde stereotypes and telling the world that successful women come in all shapes, sizes and skin tones. 

Jay: Barbie isn’t a good role model, here’s why:

Barbie has long been used as a model for the ideal female lifestyle, promoting  a cookie-cutter role of women - dictated by a patriarch - to young girls. When Barbie was first introduced in 1959, the doll’s appearance was based off of Bild Lilli, a German character doll that was created as a racy gag gift for older men that they could buy in tobacco shops. The design of the doll took off with children and thus became a children’s sensation.

I believe Barbie, as a role model for children, is toxic as it dictates that girls should look and act a certain way in order to be more successful. The introduction of Barbie’s more feminist friendly career choices may suggest a more open perspective, but also shows how these sorts of ‘dream big’ ideals are only available to the attractive and ‘picture perfect’ models.

Furthermore, in recent years Barbie has experienced new forms of media representation, such as the television series adaptations. These shows attempt to ensure that cultural diversity is shown throughout the Barbie brand, and does not pertain to a White American idealist view, however, not only is it degrading that any non-white character is reduced to a side character, most of Barbie’s racially ambiguous friends are stereotypes and can be offensive to the people they are supposed to represent. This does not provoke the righteous feminist outlook that many would like to receive from such a well-known figure.

The push for diversity accomplishes one thing: it shows that rich, white people are the centre of attention, the ‘norm’ and the most important characters. All regularly occurring characters in the series are largely well off, and white. The racially diverse characters are often shown as being less fortunate than Barbie, having to have roommates or having ‘culturally’ different living conditions that are then portrayed as ‘lower’ than Barbie.

Barbie as a feminist role model is inconceivable, as not only does the doll depict how women should look and act, the majority of Barbie dolls show no deterrence from their slim and sleek models, the brand having only released a variety of body types in 2016, after the Barbie doll had already become a globably monitized sensation, and presence as a female ideal. This is problematic as in recent years, the pressure to acknowledge that weight does not amount to beauty has been ever-present in the media, yet people still have these idealist models when growing up, which is arguably the most important time for developing our sense of moral perspective. Also, Barbie was originally created to satisfy the male gaze which contrasts today's fight for equality by insinuating a women’s purpose is to please men, which can only do more harm than good in the continuous fight for gender equality. 

Therefore, in my personal opinion, Barbie had a chance to create positive change at the start of the twenty-first century, but, in failing to do so in an impactful way, it is now too late for them.