reflects Mattel’s attempt to make the doll more like the girls who play with her: it is about the struggle to be authentically oneself in a world of conflicting and often highly gendered expectations. But star Margot Robbie is still blonde, white and thin.asked Webb for her assessment of whether Barbie is or can become a force for good in girls’ and women’s lives. But first, we asked her the really important question.I had two younger sisters.
When we look at those specific slices, we do see some evidence that having some exposure to Barbie or other thin-type dolls similar to Barbie does impact young girls’ experiences of body image. For example, we see lower body esteem and greater thin-ideal internalization. A study like that shows that even very young girls perceive stigma against larger bodies, but does it actually show that Barbie created that stigma?
Your study looked at a Barbie line with more articulation in the joints, intended to inspire physically active play. How did the female university students who participated react?