Barbie dolls first made their appearance in 1959. From there, they were accompanied by the slogan, “We girls can do anything!”. Some would classify Barbie as a feminist icon because of her message. The fact that the doll is available with a variety of professions is another reason why people would look up to her. While that is a nice thought to have, the products themselves prove this to be questionable. Because Barbie perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards for children, I oppose the idea that everyone needs to have a doll growing up. “Barbie reflects the world girls see around them. Her ability to evolve and grow with the times, while staying true to her spirit, is central to why Barbie is the number one fashion doll in the world” stated
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Cases like these often make headlines as the transformations are often drastic. Such a story came from the Ukraine where a model named Valeria Lukyanova swore off eating food and decided that she was going to survive off of sunlight and air in order to maintain her thin Barbie like waist. Lukyanova grew up with an extensive doll collection and even wears cartoonish contact lenses to replicate Barbie’s facial features. This has become a trend with women, often looking to boost their self esteem. Another Barbie impersonator, Andressa Damiani from Brazil was questioned about her twenty inch waist and large breast size to which she responded, “Looking like a human doll has helped my self-esteem. Feeling pretty and confident is important and not as futile as some may think. I feel pretty this way” (Keegan). The most extreme case comes from a couple, Quentin Dehar and Anastasia Reskoss, who has spent an astounding $322,728 on plastic surgery in order to become look alikes to Mattel’s Ken and Barbie. All of that money has gone to nose jobs, breast implants, lip injections, fake tans and every other vanity treatment you can think of. The pair said, “We want to spend the rest of our lives together morphing into the dolls we love. Our parents don 't call us Anastasia and Quentin anymore — they call us Barbie and Ken!” (NY Daily News). Both Dehar and Reskoss explained that they grew up feeling unattractive, and they would often turn to their dolls. A striking similarity between all of these cases is that most of the people who chose to completely change every aspect about themselves once owned, and to the extent worshipped a Barbie
Cases like these often make headlines as the transformations are often drastic. Such a story came from the Ukraine where a model named Valeria Lukyanova swore off eating food and decided that she was going to survive off of sunlight and air in order to maintain her thin Barbie like waist. Lukyanova grew up with an extensive doll collection and even wears cartoonish contact lenses to replicate Barbie’s facial features. This has become a trend with women, often looking to boost their self esteem. Another Barbie impersonator, Andressa Damiani from Brazil was questioned about her twenty inch waist and large breast size to which she responded, “Looking like a human doll has helped my self-esteem. Feeling pretty and confident is important and not as futile as some may think. I feel pretty this way” (Keegan). The most extreme case comes from a couple, Quentin Dehar and Anastasia Reskoss, who has spent an astounding $322,728 on plastic surgery in order to become look alikes to Mattel’s Ken and Barbie. All of that money has gone to nose jobs, breast implants, lip injections, fake tans and every other vanity treatment you can think of. The pair said, “We want to spend the rest of our lives together morphing into the dolls we love. Our parents don 't call us Anastasia and Quentin anymore — they call us Barbie and Ken!” (NY Daily News). Both Dehar and Reskoss explained that they grew up feeling unattractive, and they would often turn to their dolls. A striking similarity between all of these cases is that most of the people who chose to completely change every aspect about themselves once owned, and to the extent worshipped a Barbie