As girls move through puberty and adulthood, they find that their popularity at school relies on their attractiveness to boys and their relationship with one particular boy. As they get further hetero sexualized, then, girls and young women face a lot of pressure to give boys and dating a lot of priority. This causes them to pay more attention to the shape and size of their bodies, the range and contents of their wardrobes, the styling of their hair, and the makeup they wear on their faces. Barbie dolls epitomize and exaggerate these female mandates. Barbie dolls set the standard for beauty in children at a very young age, showing them what body type makes them beautiful and what hair style makes them beautiful. While Barbie seems like she would display the typical heterosexual female desires, she actually does the opposite. Barbie doesn't have her heart in her relationship with Ken, and she exudes independence that deviates from the codes of mainstream heterosexual femininity. Barbie is insistently single, unmarried, and childless, which leaves her open to multiple conflicting interpretations. When looking deep into a Barbie doll, Barbie may not be heterosexual. In fact, she may not even be a woman. Some say Barbie may even be a Drag queen. She displays the ultra-feminine presence that drag queens personify. Her long legs and flat hips suggest this. Barbie's exceptionally, emphatically feminine icon has some appeal among gay men. Her shimmering gowns, heavy makeup, brilliant tiaras, and other headpieces display this exceptional feminine icon. To expand further, the world of Barbie is relatively free of hetero-centrism and heterosexism, and this holds relative appeal for non hetero-sexual people, especially gay men. Barbie's world allows for non-straight readings, just as many other "straight" cultural products do. Barbie's sexuality remains very ambiguous. She could be a lipstick lesbian, a lesbian feminist, or a lesbian closeted more tightly than most who choose not to "come out". She could be a bisexual who once cared about and pursued her relationship with Ken, but now prefers her "best friend". Barbie could also be asexual; sexy without being sexual, or attractive without being attracted. The atypical qualities Barbie represents leads us to question her ambiguous sexuality, and whether she is actually sending a heterosexual message to young children.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Chapter 14: Hetero Barbie? Article Summary
As girls move through puberty and adulthood, they find that their popularity at school relies on their attractiveness to boys and their relationship with one particular boy. As they get further hetero sexualized, then, girls and young women face a lot of pressure to give boys and dating a lot of priority. This causes them to pay more attention to the shape and size of their bodies, the range and contents of their wardrobes, the styling of their hair, and the makeup they wear on their faces. Barbie dolls epitomize and exaggerate these female mandates. Barbie dolls set the standard for beauty in children at a very young age, showing them what body type makes them beautiful and what hair style makes them beautiful. While Barbie seems like she would display the typical heterosexual female desires, she actually does the opposite. Barbie doesn't have her heart in her relationship with Ken, and she exudes independence that deviates from the codes of mainstream heterosexual femininity. Barbie is insistently single, unmarried, and childless, which leaves her open to multiple conflicting interpretations. When looking deep into a Barbie doll, Barbie may not be heterosexual. In fact, she may not even be a woman. Some say Barbie may even be a Drag queen. She displays the ultra-feminine presence that drag queens personify. Her long legs and flat hips suggest this. Barbie's exceptionally, emphatically feminine icon has some appeal among gay men. Her shimmering gowns, heavy makeup, brilliant tiaras, and other headpieces display this exceptional feminine icon. To expand further, the world of Barbie is relatively free of hetero-centrism and heterosexism, and this holds relative appeal for non hetero-sexual people, especially gay men. Barbie's world allows for non-straight readings, just as many other "straight" cultural products do. Barbie's sexuality remains very ambiguous. She could be a lipstick lesbian, a lesbian feminist, or a lesbian closeted more tightly than most who choose not to "come out". She could be a bisexual who once cared about and pursued her relationship with Ken, but now prefers her "best friend". Barbie could also be asexual; sexy without being sexual, or attractive without being attracted. The atypical qualities Barbie represents leads us to question her ambiguous sexuality, and whether she is actually sending a heterosexual message to young children.
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