I loved Barbies as a kid. I didn’t think they were supposed to be realistic, I thought they were more like the characters on “Dallas” — selfish, vain, petty and extraordinarily pretty. We had more than one Barbie fight where someone’s doll was pushed into the Barbie pool (see old episodes of “Dallas”).
Perhaps I didn’t get a poor body image from playing with those dolls, but I certainly received negative messages about my body from every other part of society. For parents raising daughters today it seems those negative messages are even more amplified.
One mom in Australia is trying to make sure little girls (or boys) can see a healthier image reflected in their toys. She rehabilitates old dolls, often Bratz dolls and makes them less sexualized and more modest. Check it out.