From The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison

Young girls have been playing with Barbie dolls since the dolls inception at the American International Toy Fair in New York. Recently, researchers have been skeptical on whether the dolls have an effect on the self-image of girls who play with them. In order to determine if Barbies have an impact on young-girls self-concept, clinicians have carried out several studies where they monitor the interaction between the young girls and the famous figurine. From these experiments, scientists concluded that Barbies can have a bearing on a girls self-image, making the consumers who buy the doll more aware of the issue Barbie

Motz’s asserts that the dolls give young girls the power the essentially be anything they wanted to be though they “reflect traditional, outdated roles for women”. The Barbie doll gives young women the idea that life can be spent with leisure without much effort. Considering the dolls have a different outfit for every task/event and portray a life of luxury, even while working or going to school. Motz’s says that the dolls are a symbol for modern American success which emphasizes “wealth, beauty, popularity and leisure”. The message these dolls convey negatively impact the identities of American women.

In the novel, “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison the unorthodox structure and undermining content inspired and continues to inspire controversy. Morrison’s creative narrative approach addresses many issues of racism and identity. Through the course of the novel some vulgar subjects are also introduced, such as incest and pedophilia. In the book the point of view founded by the characters following their upsetting lives helps portray the theme of battling internal conflicts formed through extended metaphors and horrible societal circumstances.

Today’s society raises young women to conform to archaic practices with total disregard towards a child self-progression. In Barbie Doll poem by Marge Piercy it is portrayed a young girl who was attacked by society because of having unruly features on her appearance and body. To make clear, Piercy uses the title “Barbie Doll” in her poem to symbolize the cultural American traditions of making young girls live in a fairy tale world; where everything they see or do is perfect. The girl in this poem played with Barbie toys since she was little, but when she reached her puberty people started to criticize her of having imperfections on her face and body; which made her commit a really wrong decision for herself. In today’s society there are a large number of women having plastic surgery, because they do not feel comfortable or confident with their own appearances. Women are not just beauty queens and home makers; they should retreat from female stereotypes at a young age so they do not confront society pressure.

Society, especially western, conceptualizes beauty through the use of publicity and cinema. We are under constant bombardment from consumer related magazine ads, billboards, television commercials, and movies about what “beautiful” people look like and how we should imitate them. This standard is overwhelmingly portrayed as white beauty. Starting from a young age this standard of beauty is forged in our minds; we want to look like these actors and models; we want to be thin, fit, youthful looking, have a symmetrical face and possibly even posses a particular race. We accept this beauty standard; we notice our various faults among ourselves and self-critique. We try to emulate the models as best we can and we fail to realize that these

In this essay I am going to be discussing and assessing how the ‘Barbie Doll’ which is a toy for children, mainly for girls has changed over the years since the 1900’s to the present generation and how this relates to other larger contexts like class, gender, race, disability and faith. Below I have inserted 2 pictures of the Barbie doll, One from 1959 and one from 2010, which is fairly recent.

Toni Morrison is a truly extraordinary woman. She is the first African-American woman writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. She is considered as one of the greatest modern female writers to exert a major influence on African American literature. Especially, she has created black female characters through a unique writing style and various symbols in her novels. Through Morrison’s works, she describes black women in America have been victimized by race, gender and class. They are ignored by not only white men, but also their own husband or same race. The Bluest eye (1970) is the one of the most outstanding novels to express inferiority complex of black women about the standard of beauty made by white and destructive effect of losing their identity in Black community. This paper is going to analyze two female

There have been several articles calling attention to the images children are exposed in cartoons, or Disney productions, but what about the toys they play with? In the death grip of my two year old sister, like many other young girls, lies a fairy princess Barbie doll. Barbie has been the toy of choice for girls everywhere since her debut fifty years ago, representing the ideal girl with a perfect life to match that can not be achieved. Barbie and other dolls alike negatively affect young girls causing body image issues and low self-esteem.

We have an eleven year old girl, and we do let her to play with Barbie dolls. However, we do not let her play with Bratz dolls. My fiancée thinks that the Bratz line of dolls are too sexualized, and I must admit, when I first saw them I joked that the Bratz line should be called “Street Walker Barbie.” I do think that negative body image is real problem, but the impact of dolls on body image is comparatively insignificant. Barbie dolls, which have been around for nearly sixty years, are not the cause of the current body image crises that is infecting the girls and woman of our country. We are contently bombarded by advertising, fashion magazines, video games, TV shows, and music videos, that dictate what beauty is supposed to be, setting unrealistic

The results suggest that Barbie dolls are pervasive with girls’ experiences, and that young adolescents believe the dolls influence girls’ developing self-concept.” In fact, according to my experience over Spring break, visiting the toy section in “toys “R” Us” I observed toys such as Barbie’s. I took a closer look at their bodies and how they were dressed. The message I perceived through this observation was: as young girls get older, this is what they’re supposed to look like. They should maintain tight fitted clothing, a slim body with long shiny legs, and always wear makeup to create the illusion of having a flawless face, with “perfect” features. Dressing up the Barbie’s and brushing their hair can be very encouraging to playing with them. They also influence the player to become addicted and take on these stereotypical roles into their daily lives. Therefore, several toy companies not only stereotype body images, but also a woman’s lifestyle. Sharing my experience and visions of what children play with is: although Barbie is known for being the developmental toy, it is very vague and has nothing to do with

Since her creation in 1959, Barbie has been a mainstream toy for young people in the U.S. In 1998, generally, young ladies in the U.s. claimed eight of these dolls and give or take two were bought consistently some place on the planet (Turkel, 1998). With every last bit of her notoriety and the determined part she plays in numerous young ladies ' lives, little research has yet been be carried out on whether she may have a hurtful impact on the advancement of the young ladies who cherish her.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison starts with a pessimistic beginning. The reader is introduced to Pecola and her condition. Pecola’s family is dysfunctional, with her parents constantly verbally and physically assaulting each other. During one of those altercations, Pecola whispers into the palm of her hand, “Please, God”, “please make me disappear” (Morrison 45). Trying to disappear and failing because of her eyes, “she could never get her eyes to disappear. So, what was the point? They were everything.” (Morrison 45). For Pecola eyes were everything, because everything she saw was in them, the pictures the faces. She believed that because of her ugliness there was no point in running away because she will remain looking as herself. She has

Children’s playdolls play a significant role in shaping the worldview and values of girls. The doll industry designs playdolls primarily for girls with features of various colorful wigs, costumes and accessories, reflective of social fashion. Oftentimes, playdolls are placed in various situations, such as dollhouse, baby room and kitchen. All of these doll features may teach children how to look beauty and care for babies and do housework (Wagner-Ott, A., 2002). Likewise, Kuther and McDonald (2004, P.44) recognized that “play with Barbie dolls influences gender role development, as most of the girls reported play scripts entailing decidedly feminine and sexualized roles. Perhaps girls explored feminine gender role through play.”

When walking into a toy store, especially Toys R Us, it should be no surprise to see a little girl demanding for yet another toy Barbie! In the eyes of that little girl, there is no better role model than their perfect doll. With an attractive appearance, stylish clothing, neatly combed hair and professional makeup, the four year old child witnesses a goddess in their hands. When asking a young girl what she wants to become, it shouldn’t be a surprise to get the word “Barbie” as an answer. These innocent children gradually begin to compare their own appearance to the plastic Barbie. But they don’t think. Girls start comparing their own life with Barbie’s. Barbie is not the one who is going to teach you important life long values of living

Many argue that dolls help prepare young girls as future mothers and wives by teaching them how to be passive, maternal, and caring (Wagner-Ott, 2002, p.251). Barbie also promotes indoor activities to little girls such as dress up which keeps young girls from experiencing the real world outdoors (Wagner-Ott, 2002, p.251). Barbie’s physique portrays the image of the ideal female body when in reality; it is mostly unattainable for most young and adult women (Nelson, 2002, p. 130). Barbie is known for her many accessories, different outfits and her image of loving to shop has built in an obsession to shop for many girls from a young age (Nelson, 2002, p. 130). Even the names of toys such as Bunny Bunny Bunnies, Baby Baby Farm Animals and Kitty Kitty Kitten sound like baby talk and suggest that girls have more fragile ears than boys (Nelson, 2002, p. 130). Fake toy babies and play kitchen sets are the type of toys that are gearing young girls for motherhood, marriage, being nurturing and passive (Wagner-Ott, 2002, p. 251). Toys that consume girls’ thoughts about beauty, make up and household chores; leaves them with little time to think about future aspirations (Nelson, 2002, p. 153). This will mature young women who will lean towards passive and nurturing jobs such as secretaries, nannies, nurses, teachers, etc. (Nelson, 2002, p.