Barbie Girl

Cinderella Ate My Daughter - Orenstein (Connections)

          "We know what we do, we often know why we do what we do.  But what we often don't know is what we do, does." - Michel Foucault 

          I know this not directly an article that we have looked at in class, but I think this quote has become a big part of our recent discussions.  For me, this quote directly relates to the business industry as described by  Orenstein in the article.  We get a real view of how the business mind works in the section about pink and blue baseball bats.  

"If you make a pink baseball bat, parents will buy one for their daughter"(true story, I used to play softball)  "Then, if they subsequently have a son, they'll have to buy a second bat in a different color.  Or if they have a boy first and then a daughter, they'll want to buy a pink one for their precious little girl.  Either way, you double your sales." (43)

This quote (as told by a female marketing executive) explains what I feel is the thought process behind all of the pink toys.  If you have a boy and a girl, the parents will want to give their daughter something for themselves, rather than a hand-me-down from their brother.  By pinkifying toys with no clear gender target, (for example Monopoly, baseball  bats, etc...) the companies are doubling their profits.  For me, this was the exact use of the Foucault quote.  These industries know that they are making two (or more) versions of the same toy, they are doing it because they are going to double their sales, but they don't understand the social and internal impacts that "gendered" toys have on children and society as a whole.  The reason that I found it necessary to state that the marketing executive was female, was that I don't feel like she is a bad woman for selling pink toys.  Even the female workers do not realize the impact that their smart financial decisions might not be a lucrative for society.  I feel like this woman would not purposely cause girls to feel inferior to boys, or take part in the physical issues that girls face.  In other words, this woman is strictly thinking about her job, making a profit, and impressing her boss, she does not realize that simply the color pink could have such a tremendous effect on children.    



         This article also revisits Delpit's "culture of power", in the sense that dolls represent different cultures, but their success depends on the culture of power.  "It turned out that [American Doll] Kaya, like Disney's Pocahontas, did not inspire a lot in the way of outfits or accessories."  This quote, for me, is explaining that the industries put out dolls that represent different cultures, in this case Native American heritage, but the dolls are not equal to the dolls that fit the culture of power.  It is almost like they are trying to lure kids away from the different cultured dolls, and encourage them to succumb to the stereotypical white Barbie dolls.  In a way, its like saying "here's the Native American doll" or "here's the African American doll", but all the accessories and clothing is the white Barbie's property.  "She has more, so you should buy her."  Of course all Barbie dolls (and probably all American Dolls and Bratz dolls...) can fit in the same clothing, but sometimes, because of the culture of power, it is clear which doll should be wearing which clothes.  There are of course different cultures of Barbies (specifically), for example these Barbies of the World.           

But would they "fit in" by wearing Americanized clothing?  At the same time, should they wear Americanized clothing, rather than their own cultural designs?  These are just some things to think about, in the sense of pride in ones culture, and accepting others as they are, not trying to change them.  At the same time, what use is a Barbie that can't change clothes?  When these dolls are played with at home (provided the child's parents aren't collectors like mine, who still won't let me take them out of the package) there is almost a guarantee that the dolls will be wearing clothes that are not from their culture.  There should be more clothing options to reflect Barbies (or other dolls) of different cultures, so that children learn to accept and understand differences.     

Do you think that Barbies of difference cultures are equal to the original white Barbie?

Did you (or your sisters) have Barbies of different cultures growing up?

Do you blame the industry for the issues of insecurity in girls?

If you don't think that Barbie actually impacts girls (of course not EVERY girl) watch this video about a "Real Life Barbie" who is considered "the most beautiful woman" and think about how society judges beauty.