s a doll with a body one-sixth the size of a real person, who would wear clothes made from fabrics scaled for people (Lord 12). In order for her waist to appear life-size in her skirt made from four layers of human fabric, her waist must be disproportional to her body, or with clothes on, her waist would look wider than her hips (Lord 12). The truth is, her exaggerated proportions also gave her wardrobe designers no limits to their imagination in creating a myriad of doll clothes for the company to market (Bad Girl 2). Because of Barbies powerful influences, she is sometimes held responsible for changing little girls into the women of modern society. The majority of the population portrays the woman as pretty, hygienic, obedient, cheerful, and born to shop (Brydon and Niessen 178). By giving the female population an unreasonable dream to achieve, Barbie gives young girls and women alike the impression they are not good enough for society if they are not up to Barbies standards (Benstock and Ferriss 33). Barbie actually seems to be the view of how women of all races and economic classes should appear: with long slender legs and body, wasp-thin waists, large eyes and delicate features, basically straight but curled hair, elaborate living spaces, flashy cars, and state-of-the-art leisure equipment (Benstock and Ferriss 32). It is because of this false portrayal of beauty that, sadly, links Barbie to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia in teenage girls and to breast implants and cosmetic surgery in adult women (Bad Girl 2). When Barbie first appeared on toy shelves, she was the ideal of feminine beauty. Was it merely a coincidence that the doll was introduced only one year before Overeaters Anonymous was founded, two years before the first Weight Watchers commercial, and only a few years before Carol Doda discovered a new use for silicone (Lord 4)? Cindy Jackson, a real-life Barbie doll, is testimony to this obse...
