ssive search for the perfect woman figure. After more than 20 operations and $55,000 worth of surgeries, Cindy is finally content with her new look. She has endured painful chemical peels, tummy tucks, facelifts, eye-lifts, breast implants, liposuction, and two nose jobs to create a life-size Barbie with her own body (Lord 244). Without a doubt, the Barbie doll is the only toy in our Western culture that people actually try to resemble (Edut 17). It is because of this manipulating power that the Barbie doll has become all the more controversial.Because of Barbies new-found fame, many young girls began buying the doll and looking to her as a role model (Benstock and Ferriss 34). Who else but Barbie has a perfect body, long blond hair, a new corvette, a pony, cool friends, a boyfriend and no parents? Her imaginary life was every little girls dream come true. One of Mrs. Handlers primary motives behind the creation of the Barbie doll was to increase a childs self-esteem and help them gently progress into the adult world by making friends and becoming independent (Tosa 12). Since Barbie is an adult, children could act out adult situations on the living room rug and learn from those actions (Tosa 7). By modeling different behaviors with a doll, children are better able to cope with the transitions and mysteries of their own development (Dream Girl 2). They can take time to figure out the solutions to problems without really having to suffer the consequences (Hein 6). Experts also say that Barbie encourages safety by teaching children lessons, such as the importance of wearing their seatbelts. They also feel she inspires young girls to follow their dream and become doctors, Olympic gymnasts, cheerleaders, and astronauts (Hein 6). In fact, many childrens therapists often use Barbie dolls as tools in their work. The Barbie doll, along with her vast array of friends, provides a human model for children to communicate their problems....
