When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
Bill McGurn ·
Mar 9, 2011 at 11:10am
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on a Hamilton College sophomore who created a life-size Barbie to illustrate how unrealistic body images feed (no pun intended) eating disorders in young women. The student took a Barbie doll, added lessons she learned from her geometry class, and built a proportional model she calls Get Real Barbie. Here's the photo:
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Comments :
May '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
Ahem. While it is the bedrock of my foreign policy to avoid calling bull-puckey on sorority girls, that is total horse neers. Come on, moms, that does not remotely resemble a Barbie doll. Barbie's far better looking. The head? The arms? The bustier?
If they wanted to make a "Get Real Barbie" make it at least look like the doll. I call Shenanigans on the whole enterprise.
Jun '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
Are you sure that isn't the famous "Morganna, the Kissing Bandit" in the middle?
Our culture took a major hit when she quit running out onto the field to kiss baseball players. Guess she decided to go back to school.
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
Is it the girl in the middle?
I like the girl in the middle.
Aug '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
I guess they modeled this one on the new "Shrunken Head Barbie"(TM).*
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* Cannibal Dream Hut(TM) sold separately.
Nov '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
I would just point out that this whole body image thing is affecting boys as well. I remember the Star Wars figures I used to play with when I was a kid. They were made with fairly normal proportions. Today, however, the action figures all look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I suspect this is a major reason why steroid abuse is such a big issue now with young men.
I also agree with the comment above. That Barbie looks seriously deformed compared to a real barbie doll. I'd like to see the math they used to create this thing.
Dec '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
I guess this girl flunked Geometry.
From a BBC News article:
But what if, instead, Libby's height of 5ft 6ins (1.68m) was to remain unchanged. Doing the maths, Libby would have an extraordinarily tight waist of just 20ins (50.8cm), while her bust would be 27ins (68.5cm) and her hips 29ins (73.6cm). Even the famously slight Victoria Beckham reportedly only has a 23ins (58.4cm) waist. But neither are they unheard of - Brigitte Bardot was famous for her 20ins (50.8cm) waist.
"People keep repeating this suggestion that Barbie would fall over and have to crawl around if she was real size, but it's just not the case," says Moira Redmond, writer and Barbie fan. "I find this suggestion more misogynistic than anything Barbie is accused of standing for. It's a nasty, sexual image.
Edited on Mar 9, 2011 at 11:35amJun '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
I sure wouldn't trust the math department at Hamilton College if this is an example of using lessons learned in geometry class! These girls need a math tutor quickly. A Barbie doll's head is enormous in proportion to her bust. Barbie's hips are tiny in proportion to the bust. Can't see the feet, but a real life Barbie would be unable to walk if the proportions held true. These girls need to learn how to use a measuring tape.
My mother wouldn't buy me Barbie dolls because of their ridiculous proportions. I let my own daughter have tons of them and she loved playing with them for hours. No harm done. In fact, she just worked as a Barbie Princess character at a three year old's birthday party & made some nice cash.
The fuss made over Barbie's image being harmful to young girls is just so overdone.
Edited on Mar 9, 2011 at 11:31amDec '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
Math is hard!
May '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
On a more serious note, our geometry skills are falling way behind China. I blame it on the lamentable Larry Summersesque trend of girls to major in Fashion Merchandising, Exercise Physiology and (shudder) Psychology. May as well just go for the MRS degree and have done with it.
My Little Sis (Cleopatra Licentia Smith, pictured here) at least majored in Accounting as a fall-back.
May '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
C'mon guys, math is hard.
Jun '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
"Math is hard!"
Yes it is. At least for these Hamilton College gals.
May '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
If I were her teacher I'd flunk her for pure unoriginal thinking. The "real world" translations of Barbie's measurements (36-18-33) have been floating around for over a decade now. Mother Jones did a story about it when Mattel redesigned the doll in 1997.
The left clings to certain memes like a religious orthodoxy. Toys, to them, are some sinister plot to force societal norms onto their children. And after being told that Ken is a back alley abortionist terminating Barbie's unwanted pregnancy with the miniature clothes hanger Barbie's dress came on, they wonder why their children spend the rest of their lives in therapy.
Jun '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
I think Barbie being clueless enough to waste her youth "dating" Ken, an obviously gay man, is reason enough to need therapy.
Aug '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
Exactly. As a social science professor I can assure you that it is routine to the point of cliche for an undergrad (usually a middle class white girl) to write a thesis or create a multimedia presentation documenting the unrealistic body images in popular culture (usually fashion magazines, but occasionally Barbie) and then making a glib assertion that there is a causal connection with anorexia.
Dec '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
They ACTUALLY recieved a grade for THAT? Where on earth did they get the head? From a head hunter? It's shrunken..!
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
There were no comments at the Chronicle piece, so I don't know whether any of these objections have been raised before. Maybe I'll google "Hamilton" and "Get Real Barbie."
Jul '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
anon_academic
Exactly. As a social science professor I can assure you that it is routine to the point of cliche for an undergrad (usually a middle class white girl) to write a thesis or create a multimedia presentation documenting the unrealistic body images in popular culture (usually fashion magazines, but occasionally Barbie) and then making a glib assertion that there is a causal connection with anorexia. · Mar 9 at 11:44am
Amen to that. When I've taught American women's history, I always have to head off a few "reveal-the-conspiracy-of-unrealistic-body-images-across-time papers" before it's too late for the would-be writer.
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
Here's the Mother Jones piece. Interesting. I think the girl in question took the most extreme measurements in every direction (e.g., 18" waist, 40" bust, height 7'). This also says that Barbie was sized down a few years ago.
I have three daughters. Only one I believe had a Barbie, and even she wasn't that into it.
May '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
I find it hard to believe that girls or boys are pushed over the edge into an eating disorder because their dolls are unrealistically proportioned. I just do not think we can boil down things to just barbie. Eating disorders are complex, with more going on than just cultural stereotypes.
I might point out that when you scale things up or down, proportions can change so they still look "right".
May '10
Re: When a Picture Truly Is Worth a Thousand Words
Voodoo dolls fit more common proportions. They are clearly the preferred gifts of responsible parents.
I'm sure body confidence couldn't have anything to do with TV and Hollywood... another industry dominated by puritanical right-wingers.