Sample Solution

beauty in terms of Western and Eurocentric norms and express the desire to conform to it. Furthermore, studies also illustrate that racialized women define beauty as ‘tall’, ‘slim’ and ‘white’, and experience stigmatization and lack of social acceptance when they do not possess these traits. The case of Barbie reinforces these beauty norms and illustrates through a doll what beauty and attractiveness consist of; fair skin and slim body.

Case Summary

Generations children have been brought up playing with the famous Barbie and Ken Fashion dolls. Barbie was the first doll that displayed the perfect body, waist size 0, skin colour, and long sleek hair enforcing unrealistic beauty norms (Unknown 2017).The doll received criticism from parents and media regarding the unrealistic beauty expectations targeted at young children, yet Mattel Inc. the owner of Barbie, sold over a billion dolls making Barbie the company’s largest and most profitable line (Unknown 2017). In 2006, a study from the University of Sussex found that thin and fair dolls like Barbie created negative and harmful body perceptions for young girls and led to low self-esteem (Unknown 2017). In the study, all 162 participants reported the desire to look like Barbie and had embodied the un