We've long suspected that Barbie dolls with unrealistically thin figures impact the way young girls look at their own bodies. Just think about it. If your kid is playing with a doll that features an impossibly skinny waist with a full bust, how is it NOT going to affect her? Well, now there's a new study proving we were right all along.
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The new study, which was published in the September issue of the journal Body image, recruited 224 girls ranging from ages 6 to 8. Researchers asked groups of girls to play with traditional Barbie dolls (the originally stick-thin ones), fuller-figured Tracy dolls, and generic thin and curvier dolls. The study showed that the girls who played with the unrealistically skinny Barbies and thin generic dolls were a lot more self-conscious about their own figures, proving what we've been saying for the longest.
If you weren't sure whether or not doll sizes actually have an impact on little girl's body image views, now you know they do. It's crazy that folks ever doubted this theory in the first place. When young girls look at their dolls, they see a figure that, in their mind's, represents today's current beauty standards. Barbie, for instance, has flawless facial features, perfect makeup, flowy, shiny hair, and of course, a super slim figure. It's no surprise that playing with an unrealistically skinny doll would make them self-conscious of their own figures.
The good news is that Mattel confirmed that they will be giving Barbie a makeover to reflect more diverse (and realistic) body types. Hopefully it's only a matter of time before those unrealistically thin Barbie dolls no longer exist. Crossing our fingers that actually happens.
Image via Barbie/Instagram
