Barbie's "Fat Ankles" Latest Flap in Racial, Body Image Controversies

[ccharles000]

The much-maligned doll with the improbable anatomical dimensions has a new problem: Barbie's got cankles.

Marking the doll's 50th anniversary with a series of couture-inspired fashion, luxury shoe and handbag designer Christian Louboutin's restyled Barbie will undergo the ultimate plastic surgery — slimmer ankles to accentuate the custom-made stiletto kicks for her freakishly small feet.

“He found her ankles were too fat,” a Louboutin spokeswoman told WWD.

This latest controversy comes as Barbie manufacturer Mattel recently introduced a new African-American-styled doll with fuller lips, wider noses and a hair straightening kit because beauty apparently can't be obtained without smooth tresses.

Sadly, these body image and racial gaffes join a long line of Barbie's culturally tin-eared controversies:

1959: "Plantation Belle Barbie" donned a Civil War-era gown as a slave-owning southerner during the height of the American civil rights movement.

1965: "Sleepy Time Gal" decked out in pink pajamas came equipped with a scale pegged to 110-lbs and a dieting book that reportedly had one page of advice: "Don't eat."

1975: Barbie's little sister sprouted breasts as "Growing Up Skipper" by spinning a dial embedded in her back as if that solely defines maturity.

1985: "Heart Family Midge" revealed a secret compartment in her belly that sports a fully-formed fetus igniting a firestorm for misinforming children about childbirth.

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/10/13/barbies-fat-ankles-latest-flap-racial-body-image-controversies

[FrenchieCat]

1. But have you seen her toes?

Now they are ridiculous! :rofl:

[Quantess]

2. Well, now...when you look at those skinny legs, comparatively those ARE fat ankles!

[ccharles000]

3. kick

[Berry Cool]

4. This article exaggerates a bit, and contains factual inaccuracies.

First, the "Barbie Plantation Belle" was Barbie in a typical 1950s full-skirted dress with a wide-brimmed hat. It was intended as a modern party-dress fashion based on past fashions. It wasn't a Barbie dressed in "a Civil War-era gown as a slave-owning southerner." Here she is:



Second, "Sleepy Time Gal" was an outfit, not a dressed Barbie. The outfit did come with pajamas and a scale (whether or not it was pegged to 110 lbs. I could not say) and a diet book. But the book was tiny--doll-sized. It probably didn't even open! (For the record, the reproduction edition of the doll from 2007 had different accessories.)

Third, yes, "Growing Up Skipper" sprouted breasts, but not by "spinning a dial embedded in her back." You had to twist her arm. But she also grew taller and her torso lengthened out a bit.

Fourth, it wasn't "Heart Family Midge" of 1985 who was pregnant, it was "Happy Family Midge" of 2003. And the controversy about her wasn't that the fetus in her belly was fully formed (although it was), but that--shock!--Midge should be PREGNANT at all (despite being "married" to Alan), which might teach kids more about the facts of life than their parents were ready for them to know!!!! For this reason, Wal-Mart would not carry her family set.

Sorry to have to reveal more than I realized I knew about Barbie, but sometimes it pisses me off that she's such an easy pinata for progressives and feminists to take a whack at--especially those who really don't know much about Barbie but are willing to believe whatever they hear or republish whatever their childhood memories dimly recall. (And I consider myself a progressive and a feminist. I just think there's a lot of cool stuff about Barbie, at least old Barbies and collector Barbies. And for the most part, Barbie is the least of our problems.)

Edited to add: The article also mentions the Barbie that said "Math class is tough" or "math is hard" or something like that, which caused so many feminists to go up in arms. Oh please! What did they want her to say, "Math is easy"? It's not. Not to most people. That doesn't mean girls can't do it. It doesn't mean it can't be comprehended by working hard. What's so bad about admitting that math isn't easy, but that doesn't mean it can't be done or is not worth doing?

There also was no "Oreo Barbie," but there was an "Oreo Fun Barbie." She was NOT "a white-featured black doll" and "a subtle nod to the racial slur to 'act white,'" although she was misinterpreted that way. The doll came in both white AND black versions. Yes, it was pulled from the market early because of the stupid flap raised by people who had never seen the white version of the doll and completely misunderstood the concept, which had nothing to do with anything but product placement.

The article also says that in 2002, "Preggers Midge is restyled as a teenager." Not true. She was never preggers in the '85 version, and she was a married adult in the 2003 (not 2002) version. She wasn't controversial for "glamorizing teen pregnancy," she was controversial for "teaching kids that babies aren't delivered by the stork."

Finally, the Barbie with the "Ken tramp stamp" (yes, there is one) is not the "Totally Stylin' Barbie" but the "Totally Tattoos Barbie." At least they could get the facts right.

I tend to discredit articles that are very sloppy about the facts because "proving a point" is more important to the writer than accuracy. Without accuracy, there IS no point. And if you can't get the little facts right, how do I know you got the big ones right?