New, More Realistic Shapes for Old Barbie [新款芭比娃娃身材更“接地气”]
For over half a century, young girls have played, and been plagued, with Barbie. Her famously sexy physique – perky breasts, tiny waist and a pair of long, skinny legs – has been perpetually blamed as the cause for body image issues, eating disorders and gender stereotypes.
Addressing decades of criticism (and also due to the fact that sales have sunk 20 percent in the last few years), Mattel recently unveiled three new body shapes for its iconic Barbie line. After hitting shelves this spring, the curvy, tall and petite dolls each come in seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 different hairstyles, marking the most dramatic change in the doll’s 57-year history.
But what exactly is the connection between Barbie’s form and a little child’s body image, and what is the doll really teaching young girls?
We are yet to fully understand how body dissatisfaction develops in young children. What we do know, however, is that kids learn by observing, absorbing and imitating things that they see around them, and that their early ideas about appearance and weight are shaped by their family and their peers.
Through play, children discover and learn about the world and their place in it. And if what youngsters are exposed to from a young age is thin, fair and blonde, then as parents, we’re in trouble for gifting them with unrealistic expectations about beauty.
Let’s take a closer look at the absurdity of Barbie’s figure. Researchers tell us that her proportions would occur in less than one in a hundred thousand adult women, that her waist is 20 centimeters smaller than a reference set of anorexic patients, and that with these proportions, she would not be able to menstruate or even hold up her head.
If Barbie is having an impact on the juvenile minds of young girls, it could potentially damage their self-esteem, limit their worldview and cause some serious long-term issues. Statistics from the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness website reports that 70 million people worldwide suffer from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. About 90 percent of those with eating disorders are young women between the ages of 12 and 25, many of whom had most likely played with multiple Barbie dolls shortly before developing their disorders and dissatisfaction with their bodies.
Adults with Barbie hangovers from childhood have also taken it to the next level: a woman named Blondie Bennett spent over USD40,000 on plastic surgery and is taking hypnotherapy sessions to make herself dumber because she wants to be seen as a plastic doll – and being vacant and brainless is a big part of that. Barbie lookalikes Valeria Lukyanova and Alina Kovalevskaya spend countless hours in front of the mirror and in the gym and both admit to live on nothing but light and air.
Mattel says its new body shapes are offering girls choices that are more reflective of the world they see today. It also coincides with a progressive cultural shift already underway in stores and toy aisles, where more gender-neutral toys are being launched.
Even Ken, Barbie’s hunky, blue-eyed, six-pack-sporting love interest, appears to be garnering support for a new look: how about a hairy-chested, beer-drinking version, complete with a TV remote control in hand?
As much as there is applause, many are ambivalent about Barbie’s body reboot. What we would really like to see is for toy companies like Mattel to start creating products that will allow kids to learn from a young age that one’s inner qualities is more important than external beauty.
Surviving the winds of time and adjusting to changing social mores, evolving styles and increasing demands is easy for no body – and it certainly hasn’t been for the Barbie body.
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芭比娃娃已经风靡了半个多世纪了，不仅是女孩儿们的最爱玩伴，更是她们身材范本——丰胸、细腰，笔直纤细的双腿——导致不少人为达到这样完美的身材造成饮食紊乱，更是由此定性“女人”的概念。
在饱受了数十年的舆论纷争之后（事实上，过去几年的销售比也下降了20%），Mattel玩具公司最近宣布将新推出三款新的芭比娃娃形象。这些伴着新体型诞生的芭比娃娃今年春季已上架出售，每款娃娃都会有7种肤色，22种瞳色以及24款各异的发型。不得不说，这意味着芭比娃娃将面临57年来最巨大的改变。
话说回来，究竟芭比娃娃的外形和孩子们对身材的概念有什么联系吗？这些娃娃究竟给女孩儿们带来何种启蒙
目前我们尚未完全掌握孩子们如何去界定身材的完美与否。但不难发现的是，他们会通过观察、学习和模仿身边的人和事，而家人和小伙伴就成了他们最早奠定他们对外貌和体重的基准。
孩子们会在玩耍的过程中去发现这个世界，并从中找到自己的定位。在这个阶段，如果孩子们是和外貌美丽，身材纤细的金发玩伴一起相处，那么家长们要注意了，这是无形中给他们灌输了一种不切实际的审美标准。
让我们具体来看看芭比娃娃的身材到底有多不合理。研究者称，芭比的身材比例在实际生活中诞生的几率要少于十万分之一，她的腰围仅20厘米，这数值比厌食症患者的尺寸还小；而这样的身体比例不仅意味着她生理上不会有月经，更无法支撑住自身的头部重量。
如果芭比娃娃对女孩儿们幼小的心灵影响太深，很有可能因此对孩子们的自我认知造成伤害，局限他们的世界观，并导致一系列的长期问题。由饮食混乱意识协会网提供的数据显示，全球有7千万左右的人正遭受着厌食或贪食等饮食混乱的困扰。而其中，90%的患者都是年龄在12岁至25岁的年轻女性，她们之中大多数的病发可能就是由于芭比娃娃的影响而导致她们对认知的混乱和对自己身材的不满。
至于长大后还迷恋芭比娃娃的，表现则愈是激进：一位叫Blondie Bennett的女子花费了4万美元整容，甚至还去催眠让自己更加愚钝，目的只为了让自己更像一个塑胶娃娃——而“金玉其外，败絮其中”则是最关键的部分。Valeria Lukyanova和Alina Kovalevskaya更是大把时间用来照镜子和泡在健身房，更扬言阳光和空气就是他们生存的能量。
Mattel玩具公司表示新的芭比身材会更全面的当代社会放映，可以给孩子们更多选择。这一举措和目前许多商场及玩具的积极文化变革不谋而合，消费者也会发现在商品架上越来越多模糊性别特征的玩具。
就连男版芭比娃娃Ken也从“金发碧眼，六块腹肌”的阳光型万人迷形象开始有所转变：你觉得胸毛浓密，一手拿着啤酒罐，一手拿着电视遥控器的形象是不是更接地气？
虽然不少人称赞这次的改进，但是对于芭比身材的机器人，他们却又不予置否了。我们也期待能有像Mattel玩具公司这样的企业制造一些产品，让我们可以从小告诉孩子内在美远比外在美重要得多！
与时俱进，积极创新变革以应对不断变化和增长的需求对所有人来说，都是不小的挑战——更不用说，芭比塑胶人了。