Revised Abstract

Sierra Schaller
March 23, 2009
WST 200
Abstract

Gender Reflected in the Mirror: Barbie, The American Icon?

Through exploring these media sources, particularly ads that are displayed through the accessible magazine and billboard, cultural norms in the everyday American society, it can be seen that if one ultimately chooses to accept the world that the media presents one with, then that world is a world of defined gender, which is used as a tool to convey power in the current culture. Historically, woman have struggled to become “equal” with men, different ethnicities and cultures have struggled to become “equal” with the average white man, yet these ads show that not too much has changed to what is appealing to the general audience, and what gender has the power. Yet ironically, it is the people that give the media power by feeding into such an influential source, and by giving the media power, we as a people of society give the media power to support the power that is masculinity, the weak that is feminine, with little cultural diversity and acceptance.
One aspect of this source of media that I want to explore further is the toy market in America, and how the production, selling, advertising, and the consuming of these products feeds into the dominance of masculinity and the weakness of femininity, and intersects with gender, power, race, and brings issues of what values this instills in the growing societies of tomorrow.
According to the blogg “Ignite the Mind”, the type of dolls that are sold at stores such as Walmart, K-Mart, Toys ‘R Us, etc. sends messages of “a little girl plays with a doll, she enjoys making her look beautiful, perhaps even playing dress-up, standing in a mirror, and pretending to be a princess. The obviousness is that young girls are seeing that Barbie is the way a female should be; perfect physically, emotionally, socially, and otherwise. As for action figures, young boys are seeing they need to be aggressive to have control over their environment, that power is something to be used for one’s personal “mission,” and that a tough, non-emotional exterior is a true sign of maleness” (Ignitethemind.today.com). This statement is for the most part very true in current society today, especially with how the companies package and advertise the dolls. Barbie is in a perfectly fitted cardboard box, depicting her as the ideal, independent woman, complete with pink everything, blonde hair, and white skin. This can also lead to the question why is Barbie packaged and advertised in the way she is? Cross-culturally speaking, what other values does Barbie portray? Why only one obvious race portrayed? More importantly, where are these dolls manufactured and shipped? Surely not on American soil, yet these toys are ironically setting up the future generation of tomorrow for what is acceptably “gendered” and what aspects are acceptable for these gendered stereotypes, and how much power the media has in essentially defining these rolls.
When it comes to what different cultural values and ethnicities Barbie portrays as the ultimate ‘All-American’ girl symbol, “ ‘Barbie represents a tragic thread in American culture—that assimilation is important if you want to be accepted as American.’ said Mary Rogers, a sociologist at the University of West Florida and author of ‘Barbie Culture.’ ‘That [Mattel] can manipulate racial and class imagery is what makes Barbie such a powerful commentator on who we are and the cultural contradictions we have.’ Mattel officials said Barbie reflects the existing culture. They pointed out that the company introduced the first black Barbie in 1965, and have since produced 50 different nationalities with 26 different skin tones” (Glanton). This shows how far, yet how ignorant the melting pot of America has come to be. The fact that society and the media had to make it a point to create a doll of a different ethnicity other then Caucasian, rather then it being second nature, shows a great deal of what American culture sees and views as acceptable.
Another interesting point that is made in the book Gender and Early Childhood, by Nicole Yelland, states that “Childhood itself has come to be seen as a gendered social phenomenon. Qvortrup (1994) argues that contemporary childhood is the life-space that our culture limits it to be, in its definitions throughout the courts, the school, the family and the economy” This is another supporting statement of how incredibly influential children of today have become, and how far we have come in history from using children as industrial laborers in the 1700’s, to valued as future leaders of society, yet the way society and the media use tools such as dolls and “gendering” demonstrate and influence how these children “should act” in society.
This final project has moved from a space concerning the power of media through magazine and build board ads, to the physical mechanisms of dolls and toys, and how these dolls, Barbie in particular, enters a more specific space of crossing what is gender, how we gender as a culture, cross-culturally representing where America stands, and also where and how these dolls are produced in masses, and make millions for CEO’s of the companies that work for such toy companies. I plan to further my study in the production of Barbie, different companies, the history and roll of children in American society, and how much influence the idea and concept of Barbie has had on what America sees and views as “the norm”, and “the accepted”.