Dolls and Body Image

I feel like the idea of women and girls feeling that they have to change their appearance to look more like Barbie or other dolls is extremely dramatic. Although I agree that women can feel pressured to have certain body types, I definitely don't think that the dolls have caused this. In The Onion video we watched in class about the Bratz dolls, the video is making fun of the idea of women feeling like they have to look like the doll and that is a far fetched assumption.

The story we read today about barbie and the doll being a large influence on little girls feeling anxious about themselves all the way to grown ups and teenagers having image problems about themselves was very interesting. I never really thought that anyone could take a children's toy as far as affecting people that much and having to change the physical appearance of the doll. I do not think that it is as big as a deal as people are making it and i agree with the woman who wrote the story saying that sure it is an awful thing that there are so many woman with these kind of problems, but is it traced all the way back to a toy they played with when they were 5?

I believe that Gender Identity is both a cultural and a physical/genetic thing. What I mean is that for example football being a mans sport. This is a stereotype that has been created by society all the way from birth and a sons playing with his dad with a football as a child. But also it may have something to do with the way that men love being rough with each other. The testosterone in men can create more aggressive actions and definitely is a genetic source of why a lot of men may see football, or many contact sports, as a mans sport.

Personally I don't feel that dolls/toys affected my self-image very much as a child...although I was the kind of kid who put action man and barbie in the same car and drove it through an obstacle course made of chairs and tables. The look of my toys was more interesting than my own, and the only thing I cared about (clothes-wise) was whether or not I was comfortable and whether it was anything other than pink (still true).