Aria Malovany- Portion of Research Paper

Over the past couple of decades, body expectations have become their most unrealistic, causing thousands of people to develop issues with their body image. Studies have been done to test whether the Barbie Doll, or ultra- thin, unrealistically shaped dolls in general, have a direct effect on one’s body image. I am studying the effect that Barbie specifically has on young girls’ mental health and body image because I want to see if they are indeed a direct result in the development of eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and overall self hate. To understand the correlation between girls’ playing with Barbie dolls and the eventual result in them disliking their changing bodies and developing eating disorders, we have to consider Barbie’s original intent of impacting children and how that changed after the doll began setting unrealistic body standards and expectations because of the her perfect body,  and the body in which young girls wish to achieve, or may feel expected to have. Another large negative impact of Barbie on society is the influence of the dolls’ perfection on plastic surgery. Because of some extreme desire to look like Barbie, some spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to alternate their looks to closely appear as Barbie. After doing research, I found that Barbie actually does contribute to all of these problems, and these problems may never be able to be fixed.