Here she is…the very first Barbie, released on March 9, 1959. This is just the first of her many incarnations.
Note how her skin tone and eyes changed in Barbie #3 and 4.
Here she is as an African American and an Asian:
Can you believe this…here she as a muslim.
But, I bet you never thought you would see her this way?
Or like this!!!
Finally, someone got tired of her skinny self and tried to show the world a different view. The Body Shop came out with these posters and print ads in 2004.
Mattel immediately sued and won…the ads had to come down!
Shame isn’t it that millions of little girls around the world have this impossibly thin doll as a model. The average American woman in 2007 was a size 14/16. But, we give our daughters and grandaughters a doll with a body that can never be attained. If she were alive, Barbie would be a woman standing 7ft.2 in. tall with a waistline of 18 inches, a 39 in. bust, and 33 in. hips. She would weigh 125 pounds. In fact, she would need to walk on all fours just to support her peculiar proportions. Her tiny feet could never support her weight, much less walk!
Yet media continues to push that skinny is the ONLY beauty. Well, I believe beauty comes in all sizes…and all ages. We need to remember that our bodies are only a container. Who we are…our souls…merely live there.