Many young girls grew up idolizing Barbie, dreaming of the life-size Barbie doll that would await them on Christmas morning, or perhaps their next birthday. Yet, the real life-size Barbie wouldn’t even be able to last a day as the child’s desirable friend.
Based on modern research, Barbie’s human counterpart would stand at a towering seven feet tall with a giraffe-like neck and a miniscule size five foot. Her back would be too weak to support her blossoming upper body, and since her narrow hips would leave no room for more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel, she would suffer from chronic diarrhea and quickly die from malnutrition.
The story of Barbie and the highly debated question of the media’s impact on body image were discussed today in a Brown Bag Series titled “Barbie’s Body = ‘Beauty?’ ” The seminar, led by Jennifer Forschee, took place at the Mental Health Center.
Using PowerPoint slides and quizzes, surveys, and other activities, Forschee enticed the small group of nearly all female attendees to question their own perceptions of their bodies. Whether negative or positive, Forschee helped them learn to reframe their beliefs into confidence and acceptance.
She began by discussing the history of the ideal body type and its drastic changes through generations. For example, the Marilyn Monroe ideal of the 1950s, when a curvaceous size 14 was coveted, preceded the narrow and bony ideal of Twiggy only a mere 10 years later.
As time rolls on, the ideal body type seems to become less attainable without unnatural alterations. In the early 1990s, the wafe-like, pre-teen body type of models such as Kate Moss was found to be naturally possible for only 4 percent of the population, while the late 1990s obsession with large breasts and narrow hips is almost impossible without implants or other plastic surgery.
As the seminar moved to the media’s specific alterations, such as airbrushing in photographs and stretching filmstrips onscreen to make woman’s bodies “ideal,” the message of the media was made clear.
Overall, Forschee and the attending group wholeheartedly agreed that although one may not believe the media affects him or her, personal body image is highly susceptible to negativity.
Out of the 400-600 advertisements we see a day, even the best efforts at reducing negative body image turn sour. For example, the Dove Campaign focuses on curvy models unafraid to expose their bodies, but it still sends a conflicting message: Although you may be overweight, which is perfectly OK by Dove’s standards, you still need to indulge in its firming lotion to obtain perfect skin. Furthermore, the recent success of plus size model Kate Dillon, who overcame anorexia to embrace a healthier body image, seems positive; yet, her advertisements and magazine covers still display the need for flawlessness, and that plus size, or size 12 and up, can only be attractive in certain, necessary forms.
As the conversational seminar came to a close, the group agreed that to obtain a healthy body image, the media must be overlooked in support of self-monitoring, realistic goals and beliefs.
