Thanks, Barbie

Young women are often caught up about how they look. More specifically, they are concerned about being or looking fat and in some cases battle eating disorders in order to keep up with what they feel pressured look like. Society has gradually gone the skinny route in popular culture and in the media, inspiring much insecurity in the body images of most women in the US and perhaps across the globe.

Let’s take for example the famous plastic doll Barbie. The New York Times reported that according to a study, in order for a real life woman to replicate Barbie Doll’s proportions, she would have to be over seven feet tall, take six inches off of her waist and add five inches to her chest. These are simply unrealistic and unhealthy image expectations. As are the fashion models on the runway, who appear gaunt and skeletal. Do women really have to starve themselves to be desirable in today’s times?

The average woman’s weight is 152 pounds, whereas in the 1970’s it was around 140 pounds. Even so, society pressures its ladies to cut back on calories to look thinner.

Thankfully, there have been movements and films promoting a healthy body image in women, like Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, the movie Real Women Have Curves and even grassroots organizations like Adiosbarbie.com and loveyourbody.org. Are these health-promoting sites and movements too little too late, or can they help to make an impact in the eyes and psyches of our women today?