By Cordet Gula Posted June 2, 2011
The images of Barbie and Bratz dolls may have more of a negative effect than a positive one. The dolls may be part of the result of low self-esteem in young girls. All of the dolls are a media example of what a “pretty and perfect” girl is supposed to look like. The so-called “perfect” features involve being unhealthily skinny with big eyes, small nose, big lips and long legs. In all reality, if the dolls were life-sized they would be extremely disproportionate and, if it were a Bratz doll, would probably topple over with such a huge head.
That is not what young girls think about when they are playing with them. It is really sad when a six-year-old comes up to you, telling you that they do not think they are pretty and they want to look like one of the dolls. A sign like this is just the start of a girl filled with envy going into her teen years. Envy can eventually turn into bullying and harassment which can cause others to feel bad about themselves. It just ends up turning into a snowball effect of low self-esteem for girls all around.
You should love who you are because in the end when no one is with you and you feel alone, the only one left there to comfort you is yourself. If you disapprove of who you are and what you look like, then you might as well be sitting with someone you strongly despise. It may not seem like a big deal, but things such as body image could lead to depression because you go through your whole life feeling less than perfect.
Another thing that the Barbie and Bratz dolls impose on young girls is if you don’t have a lot of money, then you are a loser because you cannot afford all of the expensive and nice-looking clothes. The clothes the dolls wear include mini skirts, high heels and revealing shirts. The image is giving young girls the idea that they should dress the same way because they think people would like them more if they do. In the movies and cartoons, they are represented in the “popular” crowd and the girls are all looks and no personality.
With the dolls being so skinny, it can cause girls to develop an eating disorder because they want to look that skinny as well. Notice the dolls don’t even have bones; being unhealthfully skinny would make a normal human being look like a skeleton and nothing like the doll itself.
Everyone should feel good about themselves inside and out because, unlike dolls, human beings have personalities and talents; every single person. It is because we are all different that makes every single person amazing. The dolls are not real human being and their “lives” are based all on money and looks that don’t naturally exist in the real world.
Everyone is a beautiful person, and accepting themselves as a beautiful individual is harder than it may seem. One of the starting causes of this is the media-typical body image of, unrealistic and emotionally harmful, Barbie and Bratz dolls.
