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Sexualization Of Barbie Doll

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Barbie is viewed as an overly sexualized doll that is responsible for portraying unreasonable body image expectations. A study was completed with forty five girls ranging in age from four to seven (Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014). Two different Barbie dolls as well as a Mrs. Potato Head doll were used in the experiment, with Mrs. Potato Head serving as the control (Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014). After playing with the dolls and then being asked questions about their future career opportunities, the girls who played with the Barbie dolls displayed a larger gap in male dominated career choice versus female dominated career choice (Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014). The girls that played with Mrs. Potato Head showed a relatively small difference in choices between male and female dominated professions (Sherman & Zurbriggen, 2014).
Constantly reinventing and differentiating their products from competitors drives Mattel. Barbie has now become a princess herself to reintroduce her to young girls who are already familiar with Disney Princesses (Orr, 2009). Making Barbie a “Princess” increased sales of the Barbie line by two percent in 2006 (Orr, 2009). In 2001, the overtly sexual Bratz Dolls, created by MGA Entertainment, posed a big threat to Barbie and Mattel (Orr, 2009). To distinguish Barbie from Bratz …show more content…

Computers are engaging young girls more than playing with their dolls which creates a challenge for the marketing of all Mattel’s doll lines (Orr, 2009). Children increasingly choose a computer to help them play with their toys as opposed to calling upon their imagination (Orr, 2009). The idea of marketing different types of content to complement Barbie Doll sales was implemented as a way of extending the appeal of an otherwise declining product (Orr,

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