Marketer as a Barbie Game Changer
Keywords:
Barbie, Body Dissatisfaction, Marketing, Self-esteem
Abstract
This paper addresses issues about how the Barbie doll can provide an unrealistic vision of how women should look and what marketers can do about it. Barbie is a well-known doll that has become a role model for girls. However, Barbie dolls have attracted much criticism. Studies found that Barbie shapes the body image of young girls and possibly creates body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem among girls. Body dissatisfaction can lead to eating disorders and low self-esteem can lead to depressive behavior. Answering that phenomenon, Barbie launched Barbie Fashionista that has a diverse body type. However, Girls still tend to choose thinner Barbie. Barbie’s marketer should encourage girls to play more with a more realistic body image Barbie such as curvy, tall, and petite, and encourage the children to feel good about their bodies.
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References
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SIater, A., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). little girls in a grown-up world: Exposure to sexualized media, internalization of sexualization messages, and body image in 6–9-year-old girIs. Body image, 18, 19-22.
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Tiggemann, M. (2003). Media exposure, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating: Television and magazines are not the same! Eur. Eat. Disord. Rev. 11: 418–430
TyIka, T. I. (2004). The relation between body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptomatology: An analysis of moderating variables. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51(2), 178-191. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.51.2.178
WanIess, M. D. (2001). Barbie's Body Images, , 1:1, 125-127, DOI: 10.1080/14680770120042909
Worobey, J., & Worobey, H. S. (2014). Body-size stigmatization by preschool girls: In a doll's world, it is good to be “Barbie”. Body Image, 11(2), 171-174.
Baron, R. A., & Byrne, D. (1987). Social psychology: Understanding human interaction. Allyn & Bacon.
Dion, J., Hains, J., Vachon, P., PIouffe, J., Iaberge, I., Perron, M., & Leone, M. (2016). Correlates of body dissatisfaction in children. The Journal of pediatrics, 171, 202-207.
Dittmar, H., Halliwell, E., & Ive, S. (2006). Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of doIIs on the body image of 5-to 8-year-old girls. developmental psychology, 42(2), 283.
Dohnt, H., & Tiggemann, M. (2006). The contribution of peer and media influences to the development of body satisfaction and self-esteem in young girls: A prospective study. developmental psychology, 42(5), 929.
Fashionista.com (2016). Barbie adds tall, curvy and petite body types to its doll line. Retrieved from https://fashionista.com/2016/01/barbie-tall-curvy-petite
Harriger, J. A., Schaefer, I. M., Thompson, J. K., & Cao, I. (2019). You can buy a child a curvy Barbie doll, but you can’t make her Iike it: Young girl’s beliefs about Barbie doIIs with diverse shapes and sizes. Body image, 30, 107-113.
Harter, S. (1993). Causes and consequences of low self-esteem in children and adolescents. In Self-esteem (pp. 87-116). Springer, Boston, MA.
Jellinek, R. D., Myers, T. A., & KeIIer, K. I. (2016). The impact of doll style of dress and familiarity on body dissatisfaction in 6-to 8-year-old girls. Body image, 18, 78-85.
MacDonald, G., & Leary, M. R. (2012). Individual differences in self-esteem. In M. R. Leary & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (pp. 354–377). New York, NY: Guilford.
Magro, A. M. (1997). Why Barbie is perceived as beautiful. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 85(1), 363-374.
Mattel.com (2020). History. Retrieved from https://corporate.mattel.com/en-us/about/history
Moss, H. (2011). Body dissatisfaction in adolescents with eating disorders: Associations with maladaptive perfectionism and anxiety. Christchurch: University of Canterbury.
Nesbitt, A., Sabiston, C. M., deJonge, M., SoIomon-Krakus, S., & WeIsh, T. N. (2019). Barbie’s new look: ExpIoring cognitive body representation among female children and adolescents. PloS one, 14(6), e0218315.
Ollila, Erin (2016). Top 15 Best Selling Toys in History. Retrieved from https://www.nowblitz.com/blog/15-best-selling-toys-in-history/
Ortega-RoIdán, B., Rodríguez-Ruiz, S., Perakakis, P., Fernández-SantaeIIa, M. C., & ViIa, J. (2014). The emotional and attentional impact of exposure to one’s own body in bulimia nervosa: A physiological view. PIoS ONE, 9(7), e102595. http://doi.org/10.1371/journaI.pone.0102595
Osaďan, R., & Hanna, R. (2015). The effects of the media on the self-esteem of young girls. Acta TechnoIogica Dubnicae, 5(1), 37-44.
Paxton, S. J., Neumark-Sztainer, D., Hannan, P. J., & Eisenberg, M. E. (2006). Body dissatisfaction prospectively predicts depressive mood and low self-esteem in adolescent girls and boys. Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology, 35(4), 539-549.
Phillips, K. A. (2004). Body dysmorphic disorder: recognizing and treating imagined ugliness. World Psychiatry, 3(1), 12–17.
RintaIa, M., & Mustajoki, P. (1992). Could mannequins menstruate? British Medical Journal, 305, 1575–1576.
Rice, K., Prichard, I., Tiggemann, M., & SIater, A. (2016). Exposure to Barbie: Effects on thin-ideal internalization, body esteem, and body dissatisfaction among young girls. Body Image, 19, 142-149.
RicciardeIIi, I. A., & McCabe, M. P. (2001). Children’s body image concerns and eating disturbance: A review of the literature. Clinical psychology review, 21(3), 325-344.
Šivert, S.S., Sinanović, O. (2008). Body dissatisfaction – Is age a factor?. Facta Universitatis Series: philosophy, sociology, psychology and History, 7(1) , 55 – 61.
SIater, A., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). little girls in a grown-up world: Exposure to sexualized media, internalization of sexualization messages, and body image in 6–9-year-old girIs. Body image, 18, 19-22.
Tatangelo, G., McCabe, M., MeIIor, D., & MeaIey, A. (2016). A systematic review of body dissatisfaction and sociocultural messages related to the body among preschool children. Body image, 18, 86-95.
Tiggemann, M. (2003). Media exposure, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating: Television and magazines are not the same! Eur. Eat. Disord. Rev. 11: 418–430
TyIka, T. I. (2004). The relation between body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptomatology: An analysis of moderating variables. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51(2), 178-191. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.51.2.178
WanIess, M. D. (2001). Barbie's Body Images, , 1:1, 125-127, DOI: 10.1080/14680770120042909
Worobey, J., & Worobey, H. S. (2014). Body-size stigmatization by preschool girls: In a doll's world, it is good to be “Barbie”. Body Image, 11(2), 171-174.
Published
2021-09-30
How to Cite
Widyani, D., & Joseph Chen. (2021). Marketer as a Barbie Game Changer. International Journal of Science, Technology & Management, 2(6), 1918-1921. https://doi.org/10.46729/ijstm.v2i5.349
Section
Articles
