Role Models in general

I think it’s interesting that Caitlin brought up how Barbie is seen as a dumb girl and sets a bad image for what is expected of real girls. When I did my textual analysis of Barbie I found that Mattel created a talking Barbie and she said phrases like “Math is tough” and “Let’s go shopping”, giving an image that shopping is the only thing girls are good at. The doll ended up being recalled and Mattel apologized for it. I don’t think Barbie is the only bad example of role modeling, a lot of the celebrities that teenagers look up to, or at least monitor their latest news through magazine and E! television, set a bad example as well. People like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, the Simpson Sisters, the Olsen twins, etc.

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.