The Disney princesses and the concept of princesses in general are so
important to today's young girls. Instead of Disney using that influence
to represent and present a healthy, positive and realistic lifestyle
and body image, what little girls see instead are unattainable physical
attributes. Shouldn't society try and present realistic princesses to
represent the average girl? Would part of the fantasy of fairytales and
cartoons be lost with such lifelike depictions of women, or would a more
accurate portrayal be even more popular with our smallest princesses?
Little girls are usually attracted to the princess characters they
read about or see, so when Disney combined all their princesses together
in a little group, little girls everywhere were in heaven. When you see
all of the Disney princesses collectively you see that they are all
rather thin. Snow White begins the group at a fairly normal body size
and instead of growing larger or maintaining the same size and shape the
princesses slowly start to disappear. The Disney Princess character
that comes closest to representing an average or normal body size is
Nani from Lilo and Stitch, but she doesn't classify as a princess.
Because Nani wasn't a princess and was never really emulated by young
girls like the other princesses, she never became that popular and
therefore the desire to be like her never became popular. What if one of
the princesses was overweight? Could that be seen as representing an
unhealthy lifestyle and an unhealthy body image for women? Why must they
all be so thin and unrealistic looking?
Since the Barbie Doll was so hugely popular, it was only a matter of
time that the shape and style of Barbie would morph into other popular
women, and the Disney Princesses too took on Barbie's shape. Barbie was
the original tall, thin fashion doll and then other similar dolls were
born Skipper, Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, Aurora, Snow White,
Pocahontas, Mulan and many others. The popularity of this doll covers
the globe. Two Barbie dolls are purchased every second. The doll's
popularity is unquestionable. It only makes sense that the power of
Disney and the power of Barbie would come together to create a
money-making, little girl influencing kingdom.
With all of these questions comes another question; what is the size
of an average woman in the United States. There are lots of different
opinions, but most come to the conclusion that the average American
woman is 5 feet 4 inches tall, around 140 pounds and wears a size 14. We
all know from shopping for clothes that one standard of measurement
doesn't exist when it comes to clothes so it's hard to pinpoint exactly
what is a size 14. But it is easy to picture a woman who is 5 feet 4
inches tall and weighs 140 pounds - you could possibly be one. The
average woman's bust is between 36 inches and 37 inches which is a B cup
and the average waist is between 30 inches and 34 inches, with hips
that measure 40 inches to 42 inches. Unfortunately these measurements
are not replicated in the Barbie dolls that our youth are playing with.
If the Princess Belle or Cinderella doll that your daughter plays with
were to have the same measurements as a real woman she'd have to be 7'2"
and 101 pounds and a size 4. Her bust would be 39 inches which would be
a FF cup, her waist would be 19 inches which just happens to be the
same circumference as her head and her hips would be 33 inches. These
measurements aren't attainable by humans. In order to have the same
proportions as a Princess Ariel doll the average American woman would
have to be 24 inches taller, 6 inches smaller in the waist, 5 inches
bustier and have a neck 3 inches longer.
If a real Princess Jasmine actually had the doll's body she'd only
have half a liver and a few inches of intestine. It is necessary that
humans have multiple feet of intestines so that they can properly digest
what they eat. With only a few inches of intestine, Princess Jasmine
would be on the toilet a lot with chronic diarrhea and overall
malnutrition. She also wouldn't be able to support her own head due to a
neck double the size of the average human's and she'd have to walk or
crawl on all fours because her large chest would cause her to fall
forward and her small feel wouldn't be able to support her.
The manufacturers of popular toys such as Disney, Mattel and others
have the means by which to promote a healthy lifestyle and good
self-esteem for our youth. But instead, they contribute to an impossible
body image for young girls, and seem to ignore the possible harm that
it can and does cause. Is the answer to have more accurately
proportioned princess dolls and Barbies? Is the solution to represent
all sizes, shapes, colors and ethnicities within these very influential
plastic replicas of us? Is there ever going to be a role model that
satisfies everyone's expectations or is it all based on the individual?
The specific solution isn't clear, but what is clear is that there is an
incredible foundation for someone to change the unrealistic and
unattainable body image being presented to young girls, so who's going
to be the first? And will it sell?
Sabtu, 24 September 2011
Do Princess Dolls Present a Poor Body Image for Young Girls?
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