Barbie dolls have been around since 1959 to date, growing up and changing with each generation. At first, the iconic doll was simply a toy, but as time changes I'm glad to see how Barbie matures as well. From only coming in two versions, blonde and brunette, having 150 careers to having a whole new look; Barbie is definitely shaping little girls mentality in a positive aspect. Although critics explain how Barbie dolls have an unrealistic image, I believe Barbie dolls are trying to battle this idea by introducing positive body image to the new line. Barbie has gone through been a simple toy to teach little girls they can be whatever they want: a doctor, a president, a soldier, a movie star, a make up artist, and so much more. Barbie is definitely giving a voice and a conscience on feminist aspects. While it is true that the original look hasn't change that much throughout the years, the tall size and the small waist, the blonde hair and blue eyes; Mattel is creating a revolution by introducing the new Barbie doll line: Fashion dolls. As if it wasn't enough, Barbie has been honouring diversity by creating different dolls based on role models like Zendaya. This young actress was represented by Mattel with her 2015 Oscars look, where she wore a beautiful white dress and rock out dreadlocks. The look was criticised by an E news reported, saying how her hairstyle made her look like she "smells like patchouli oil, or maybe weed." Zendaya says how she did not choose the look of the barbie, which in my opinion makes this barbie doll way better. Mattel is trying to show girls how looking different is actually amazing, how a racist comment isn't ok by creating the exact same look in something so iconic like barbie dolls. The 19 years old actress explains how "the hair was obviously so important to me, they took their time and they made it perfect" during an interview with ET. This is clearly a revolution and a way to communicate little girls that you can in fact be accepted just the way you are. In my opinion, by creating a Zendaya doll, Barbie is showing not only girls but everyone that an unfair and racist comment given by anyone has a big impact. Mattel is trying to show the pride that Zendaya had with that look, celebrating with a "you go girl!" moment immortalized in an iconic Barbie doll. Barbie is expanding, Barbie is not necessarily what she was then...she's expanding and opening up different doors and forms of beauty and showing that there's more than one Barbie out there"- Zendaya Another amazing representation from Mattel is model Ashley Graham curvy-thigh-touching barbie. What is so amazing about this doll? Well for starters, Ashley herself design it. She specifically asked for the exact measurements and insisted on how important it was to get the thighs touching. As a plus size model, it was crucial for Ashley to represent curvy girls in the best possible way. It is true that we don't always feel good about ourselves, but she is hopping that curvy girls learn to appreciate and love how they look. Ashley wanted the doll to be as realistic as possible, even asking for it to have cellulite. For obvious reasons, plastic and cellulite don't exactly go together so this wasn't possible, but the thought is what counts! It's amazing how now little girls can go shopping for toys and tell their mothers "look! she looks just like me!" with the biggest smile on their face. Even better, the model was dressed with her actual Glamour‘s Women of the Year outfit, where she received the award. Now every woman does look like Barbie. Is not about one form of beauty anymore is about so many forms of beauty and is just encouraging to know that something so iconic like Barbie...is now keeping up with time and is a part of the body diversity movement- Ashley Graham The fact that little girls, from any race, shape and colour can now find themselves represented on something so transcendental as Barbie dolls is definitely a right step in the way towards self love and appreciation.
-Mafer
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Stereotypes are everywhere and media is one of its major disseminators. For women, the media and models usually set the standard for the stereotype of how a women’s body image should look like. The stereotypical woman is portrayed to be a tall, thin white woman with blonde hair. Beauty magazines are one of the worst offenders because they put a lot of articles in them that tells woman what they should look like and how they should obtain that image. The body image that models give to women is very unnatural, very hard to obtain and extremely unhealthy. Seeing this type of image, this causes a lot of young women to develop bad eating habits and become anorexic (Serdar, 2012). The media not only affects women on body image but also men. Media portrays shirtless men with perfectly fit bodies with a six pack chest, not a single hair on their chest and the perfect hair. Typically, this is not how the average guy looks. Usually people don’t think that men are affected by media body image but they are and it puts a lot of pressure on men as it does women. However most men won’t go to the extreme of eating disorders like anorexia like women, they are more concerned with the hair on their body, their odor and their muscle mass. Magazine and advertisements are a major contributor in this, even on a deodorant commercial for men you don’t see your average Joe, you see a shirtless guy with the perfect cut body. Also, the latino stereotype is very powerful as it is constantly reinforced by the media,TV series and movies. This article by Cosmopolitan shows 16 myths the media has created referring to Latin women specially. Not only the physical but only people's behaviors are stereotyped according to their culture and this is something that should stop since besides being offensive it damages people's reputation. You might be interested in: Latina Stereotypes in Media Stereotypology: Spicy Latinas Women Ideal Body Types Through History Meghan Trainor's hit "All about that bass" (2015) not only glorifies curves but sends a powerful message against body shaming, as part of the lyrics says "Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top". She confessed on an interview she was proud of her 'curves' but besides how she felt about her body, she stated clear that being healthy is the most important. Not only Meghan, but also British singer Lily Allen, challenged female body standards in her music video for "Hard out here" (2013), which has been qualified by some as 'sexist'. However, in this parody-like video she defends the value and dignity women have and that we must not be treated as objects. Nevertheless, the video has also received some critics for using black women with scarce clothes but that is precisely the aim of the video: to show that women don't need to dress in a provocative way or wear a few clothes in order to be appealing to men.
On the other hand, Beyonce's anthem against body shaming, "Pretty Hurts" is not just a common pop song but it speaks about how systems of oppression influence the way we see ourselves and popular media works to disseminate and maintain those notions of a 'fake perfection' given the built multimillion dollar industries (cosmetics, plastic surgery...) that have emerged to convince people to change themselves. Truth is, we must prioritize self-care and self-love and we shouldn't be ashamed of defending our body in spite of larger, oppressive messages. Is Mattel getting closer to women's reality? So it seems as the brand released three new types of barbie -curvy, petite and tall. The new range also includes 7 skin tones, 22 eye colors, 24 hairstyles, as well as a new range of on-trend clothing and accessories. Evelyn Mazzocco, senior vice president added: “Barbie has always given girls choices – from her 180 careers, to inspirational roles, to her countless fashions and accessories. “We are excited to literally be changing the face of the brand – these new dolls represent a line that is more reflective of the world girls see around them – the variety in body type, skin tones and style allows girls to find a doll that speaks to them. If I mention the words 'body shame' or 'positive body image', what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
I did this experiment with my roommate: she mention 'anorexia'. Then I asked, what about gender? Male or female? And so she said female. This got me thinking, why do we pin this issue to just one gender? This is a problem that affects both females and males. It is true that sometimes is difficult to picture guys having a hard time or being tease about their looks and even having eating disorders and mental health issues. Though this is not an excuse not to consider guys also should be accepted and love by who they are and how they look. Vanessa Papastavros, mostly known as Van Scribbles, is an artists that promotes a healthy beauty image and one of our inspirations. Her art is based on comebacks to people that criticise other's looks. Art is one of the most powerful tools to communicate a message. Van's purpose is to illustrate the importance of feminism and a positive body image. She talks from experience, which makes her art way more personal and easy to connect. As a way of catharsis, Vanessa has been using art to express her ideas and views. In a interview from the website Proud2bme, she explains her love for drawing, but not until her final year of highschool Van "took things more seriously".
A recent study has shown that both men and women are equally concerned with their body image, specially when the idea of 'the body' is directly or indirectly confronted in social situations. Unrealistic bodies promoted by propaganda influence the concept men and women have about their bodies, but the aim of this post is to focus on how men deal with body image.
A counselor at the Milwaukee School of Engineering reported that 95% of male college students over the last decade have expressed being dissatisfied with their bodies. Also, men that read fitness magazines with unrealistic male bodies regularly express greater dissatisfaction than those that don't read such magazines. We believe beauty should be a source of confidence, and not anxiety. This is a direct quote found on Dove's Real Beauty Campaign website. We all know the popular ad campaign of Dove showing the beauty in body diversity. For over a decade now, Dove's battle against the "ideal body and beauty" concept has been a real motivation for little girls and women from all ages. A few days ago we wrote an email to Rachele Cateyes, one of the main inspirations of our cause and for our surprise she replied us! Not only as a form of gratitude but because we admire her attitude towards body shaming we decided to dedicate this blog post to her and her revolutionary work.
From Portland, Oregon; Rachel is more than just a curvy girl. She's a positive and pro-intersectional feminist, vegan and artist. Her illustrations depict curvy ladies in crop tops with positive messages encouraging body acceptance.
American Eagle and their The Share your Spark Experience campaign are shaking the media.
"Even if you don't see yourself in the media, it doesn't mean you don't have a spark of your own", said Shivani Persad, an #AerieReal girl. Designers, models, bloggers and social media fans all gathered to confirm body shaming is NOT tolerable. Even thought half of the girls have never been in a photo shoot, they all showed themselves and let their own spark shine. "The most important thing is not letting others define who you are", said Iskra Lawrence. According to Refinery 29, "The lingerie brand's sales in 2015 were up 20%; in Q4 of last year, they rose 26% and the label's body-positive campaign played a major role in that success." |
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