Does America Need a Plus-Size Barbie?

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  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Nope. These Concern Troll "adults" need to get a damn life and let the kids just effing play.

    Adults think about the toys children play with because adults are the ones that make the toys. The kids didn't make the toys.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    Nope. These Concern Troll "adults" need to get a damn life and let the kids just effing play.

    Adults think about the toys children play with because adults are the ones that $ELL the toys. The kids didn't make the toys.

    FIFY

    (pssht. everyone knows the elves make the toys.)
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Nope. These Concern Troll "adults" need to get a damn life and let the kids just effing play.

    Adults think about the toys children play with because adults are the ones that $ELL the toys. The kids didn't make the toys.

    FIFY

    (pssht. everyone knows the elves make the toys.)

    :laugh: :wink:
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    Haven't we already determined that the traditional Barbie has an impossible body type?

    Yes. I'm all for a Barbie in the shape of a healthy, realistic, humanly possible woman, but I don't think that a plus-size Barbie is a good idea.
  • DMZ_1
    DMZ_1 Posts: 2,889 Member
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    Barbie is a brand. All brands, especially major brands like Barbie, are managed to a high degree. Brands have Profit & Loss Statements, and it is the goal of brand managers to guide the brand in a fashion that leads to revenue and/or profit maximization. Barbie is part of Mattel, which has shareholders, and the creation and maintenance of shareholder value is paramount.

    I am not privy to market research reports regarding the viability of a plus size Barbie. My sense is that a plus size Barbie would not be a commercial success. I believe based upon what I have seen that Barbies that embody a feminine look are ones that have maximized profit for the Barbie brand and made it one of the world's most iconic and valuable brands.

    I do not believe that a short haired, pansexual, feminist Barbie as another poster suggested would be successful in the marketplace.

    Part of the appeal of playing with toys is that it is an escape from reality. A Barbie embodying traditional feminine ideals is what I think fits the end user mindset best.
  • blackberrymuffintop
    blackberrymuffintop Posts: 28
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    I don't care if they make a plus-size barbie. I find it disturbing that people are so obsessed with the body-type of a doll.
    I mean, I get that Barbie sets some pretty unrealistic beauty standards for little girls; but, for the record they set some other pretty unrealistic standards too. There are lawyer barbies and doctor barbies (careers which only a select few people succeed in) and in 2012 there was actually "President of the United States" barbie. Shouldn't we be concerned about that? It's an ideal that is totally unrealistic and practically impossible for girls to achieve because, like their dolls, they will be judged solely on their appearance.
  • blackberrymuffintop
    blackberrymuffintop Posts: 28
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    Barbie is a brand. All brands, especially major brands like Barbie, are managed to a high degree. Brands have Profit & Loss Statements, and it is the goal of brand managers to guide the brand in a fashion that leads to revenue and/or profit maximization. Barbie is part of Mattel, which has shareholders, and the creation and maintenance of shareholder value is paramount.

    I am not privy to market research reports regarding the viability of a plus size Barbie. My sense is that a plus size Barbie would not be a commercial success. I believe based upon what I have seen that Barbies that embody a feminine look are ones that have maximized profit for the Barbie brand and made it one of the world's most iconic and valuable brands.
    ...
    A Barbie embodying traditional feminine ideals is what I think fits the end user mindset best.

    That's interesting, because "traditional feminine ideals" and what's considered a "feminine look" change depending on culture. Barbie is an international brand, so maybe plus-size barbie would be a success in countries where heavier women are considered more attractive?
  • Amadbro
    Amadbro Posts: 750 Member
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    Great idea lets just accept the fact that we are destined to be fat *kitten* and just make everything plus sized so our kids will think its "normal". PATHETIC
  • takumaku
    takumaku Posts: 352 Member
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    Why stop with Barbie? You will need a Ken to match.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    I'm not exactly sure what "short haired, pansexual, feminist Barbie" would look like, but trust me, plenty of short-haired Barbies exist. Little girls love to play with scissors....
  • purplepink1992
    purplepink1992 Posts: 273
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    It's up to a little girls or even little boys mom/dad to teach them real healthy values, not a Barbie. So no, keep Barbie the way she is
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,526 Member
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    How about a Barbie based on a normal healthy weight woman. That is where we should be going. Either the current Barbie or the plus sized Barbie teaches lessons we don't want to teach our kids. I saw pictures of a Barbie created using healthy BMI statistics and she was slim and attractive without being unrealistic. Now that is what I am talking about.

    Interesting tigerblue. Granted I never was a Barbie consumer, I do see your point. I'm forced to consider the new sizing for the plus-size models ~ Sizes 8 - 12 (US), who have now replaced the formative sizes 12 - 16 (US) representing the average-sized women at 5ft 8 and above.

    I think this is because of size inflation! As a very slim teen (100 lbs), I wore a size 8 in the early 80's. Today at 123lbs I wear a size 4. Yes, I am in better shape with more lean muscle mass, etc., but there is no way the sizes from 30 years ago are comparable to today's sizes.
  • k8eekins
    k8eekins Posts: 2,264 Member
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    I read that if a real live woman had the same proportions as the " slender athletic & toned " Barbie, she could not even walk straight or run, because her proportions would be extremely exaggerated. I would not call this an " athletic " body. Apart from that I don't care about Barbie at all.....

    Running or walking at 5ft 9 with a 39" bustline, 18" waistline and 33" buttocks with heavy hair extensions to be supported with size 3 shoes would be impossible to support if Barbie was to be transferred to a live woman, given she's getting smaller and taller by the year, seemingly, whilst the S shape is getting exaggerated for appeal understandably. I've come to observe that some view it as progress reflective of the changing fem body shape Ang. Barbie is a toy, not a self-supporting one, but an interactive doll for lifestyle play.

    I'd always assumed that it was one of the many influential factors behind an American girl's ability to dream big, far removed from the world I was raised in; All about finites, the limitations, where you're confined within the parameters of what will be allowed you. Barbie for American children lives a life desired of privilege, luxury, fun and expansion. Limitless. Maybe it's my perspective ~ someone who'd never had one, only knowing of its existence at the age of 8, when my American Uncle whose on my photo compilation, thought to get us our Barbies; The Malibu Barbies. Didn't want one *Smiling ~ Cabbage Patch Kids when we were into dolls, as far as I can recall, was more our thing*

    What is befuddling though is, if I'm to factor in the doll vs the average real woman, is that healthier built women with means don't affect Mattel, to have their body versions done and test-sold. I think it costs something around [/u]US$25M[/u] from composite to limited production release. They make about 15,000 dolls and if the sales are positive, they then restock that specific model. Demand determined.

    Question is, would parents purchase a lower body fat akin to 2 of MFP's touted healthy and strong body image favourites; Nascar's Abbott or MMA's Carano? An Abbott Barbie and a Carano Barbie.

    ETA: Insert "a"
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I don't care if they make a plus-size barbie. I find it disturbing that people are so obsessed with the body-type of a doll.
    I mean, I get that Barbie sets some pretty unrealistic beauty standards for little girls; but, for the record they set some other pretty unrealistic standards too. There are lawyer barbies and doctor barbies (careers which only a select few people succeed in) and in 2012 there was actually "President of the United States" barbie. Shouldn't we be concerned about that? It's an ideal that is totally unrealistic and practically impossible for girls to achieve because, like their dolls, they will be judged solely on their appearance.

    Well, I've never been part of any campaign to change Barbies. It's not that important to me. I'm just here reading and talking.

    But, of course no one would ever be against setting higher career standards for women. And I do not find the standards to be unreachable for women. There are tons of female doctors, lawyers, and all the other careers. True, there has never been a female president in the United States (there have been female prime ministers in plenty of other countries), but there are many women that go into politics and public service.

    And there are many people that want to get more girls into math and science.
  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
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    How about a Barbie based on a normal healthy weight woman. That is where we should be going. Either the current Barbie or the plus sized Barbie teaches lessons we don't want to teach our kids. I saw pictures of a Barbie created using healthy BMI statistics and she was slim and attractive without being unrealistic. Now that is what I am talking about.

    YES!
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
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    There is nothing wrong with being fat
    There is nothing wrong with existing in a larger body

    The attitude that "being fat is not okay or is wrong" is what causes so much self hate so much sickness and mental health issues

    stop it , if you want to change your body do it but never EVER shame someone else for theirs :smile:

    Oh & having a bigger barbie is not going to make kids fat all the sudden so do not even play that silly **** :laugh:


    Smart girl.

    I'm not into judging or shaming others. Their plight. Their life. I'm too busy working on myself.

    And dare I say that if you are the type that enjoys shaming or judging others then maybe you should work on yourself as well. That's a symptom of misery and unhappiness IMHO.
  • Just_Scott
    Just_Scott Posts: 1,766 Member
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    http://tvcrewny.com/barbie-doll/

    Hope this helps, but it probably doesn't.
  • DMZ_1
    DMZ_1 Posts: 2,889 Member
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    It's up to a little girls or even little boys mom/dad to teach them real healthy values, not a Barbie. So no, keep Barbie the way she is

    Yes, parents matter.
  • Just_Scott
    Just_Scott Posts: 1,766 Member
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    The link I posted shows a life sized Barbie, the skinny version. And go....
  • wfrazjr
    wfrazjr Posts: 43 Member
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    MMMMMMMM

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