Barbie as a Role Model

I found an episode of The Simpsons that represented Barbie as Malibu Stacy. About 6 minutes into this video, Lisa gets a new Malibu Stacy doll. When she pulls the talking cord, the doll has several sayings such as, "Let's buy makeup so the boys will like us," "I wish they taught shopping in school," and "Don't ask me, I'm just a girl." She then goes on to say how millions of girls who own this doll are hearing this and thinking that this is the way they're supposed to act. This episode is a dramatization of Barbie and the message that she conveys, but the effect still remains the same. Barbie dolls are a representation of girls and women, so when girls see or hear them they think that this is the way they’re supposed to look, act, dress, and/or behave. So, in a way, the toys in kids' lives can have a very real effect on them.