Women’s Bodies: Gender Role Acculturation through Play and Culture

1) I’d like you to create a list of all the traditional or non-traditional gender values that you think Barbie® dolls teach children. Do they influence children to accept and expect materialism, dieting, etc.? Do some research on Barbie®. See if you can find out how many children have Barbies®, and how many Barbies® each child has. How do they play with them?

2) Why is Barbie® shaped the way she is? Get a doll, and measure its height, waist, and bust. What would her dimensions be if she were 5 feet tall? 5.5 feet tall? 6 feet tall? (You may have to know how to cross multiply to work this out.) Do you think Barbie® is responsible for causing girls to be concerned with their appearance? Does she cause low self-esteem? Eating disorders? What do boys learn about girls from Barbie®? Are those lessons misinforming them? Or preparing them?

3) How big of a business is Barbie®? What kind of money goes into manufacturing, marketing and (on the consumer-side) buying a doll. What kinds of Barbies® are there available now? What gender values do those dolls teach children?

Barbie® is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc. This site is in no way affiliated with Mattel, Inc.