Toys and Body Image

From Katie

For a young girl the main focus in her life should be playing and not having many cares in the world. My photo represents how toys effect children and girls in general. The focal point of my photo is the Barbie doll in hand and the mirror. The Barbie representing the "perfect" woman and the girl in the mirror realizing she doesn't look that. Even at a young age girls are taught they are supposed to act and look a certain way by the environment around them and society. If you don't fit into the ideal "norm" for a woman they are viewed as the black sheep. In the section Beauty Is a Beast it says, "Barbie, the perennial role model for girls, is proportioned so that her figure is unattainable…" (240). A child looking in the mirror and seeing that she doesn't look like Barbie, is already effected by the way she sees her body image, even at such a young age. The toys and books around the mirror represent what a young girl should be focused on (playing with toys, reading books that are interactive and are imaginative, young celebrities/boy bands). I found it important to have them in the space of the photo to show that not all toys have negative effects on children. The photo is taken from a high angle, rather than straight on to represent the way society looks down on down on girls, expecting them to look a certain way (like a Barbie).

Rudman, Laurie A., and Peter Glick. The Social Psychology of Gender: How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender Relations. New York: Guilford, 2008. Print.