Not only am I the opposite of how Barbie looks; I'm also the opposite of everything she stands for.
A spectacular alternative model called Elegy Ellem reblogged this earlier from the truthful bemyforeverx3:
"If Barbie was an actual woman, she would be 5’9” tall, have a 39” bust, an 18” waist, 33” hips and a size 3 shoe.
• Barbie calls this a “full figure” and likes her weight at 110 lbs.
• At 5’9” tall and weighing 110 lbs, Barbie would have a BMI of 16.24
and fit the weight criteria for anorexia. She likely would not
menstruate.
• If Barbie was a real woman, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
• Slumber Party Barbie was introduced in 1965 and came
with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs with a book entitled
“How to Lose Weight” with directions inside stating simply “Don’t eat.”
Find Elegy's blog here: http://elegyellem.tumblr.com/post/15681019745/bemyforeverx3-if-barbie-was-an-actual-woman
Read it. Then read it again.
Does anyone else feel a slight wave of nausea remembering that either we too played with these dolls; or that our younger family members do/did.
I won't lie and say I never played with one ever.
In fact when I was younger I loved them, I used to spend a lot of time creating fanciful storylines where there was the usual:
a)Bitch Barbie. Always picking on the little guy.
b) Protagonist Barbie. The beautiful one who ALWAYS got Ken.
c)Ken. Who ALWAYS did nothing but still got laid
d)Other passers by who also looked scarily like A and B.
Then I realised that I wanted to BE barbie. I wanted to look like her, I wanted to always get the guy and always come out the victor in every situation, while the evil Barbie died/was exiled in the background.
Hooray for fairytale endings, right?
WRONG
Barbie epitomizes everything we as women don't need to be.
We don't need to be taller. We don't need massive breasts. We don't need a tiny waist, uber long legs, big full lips, big eyes, and long flowing blonde hair or nonexistent pubic hair.
What's wrong with being 5 foot tall, size 3 feet, short legs, short arms, big nose, even bigger frizzy red hair, and having pubic hair?
I don't wear makeup all the time, I'm not constantly wishing my boobs were bigger, and believe it or not; I like being a shortarse. I do happen to think having intelligence and a opinion is worth FAR more than an 18" waist. Just saying.
It's worth thinking about the message Barbie actually sends out to the young girls who play with her.
As Elegy wrote under her reblog:
"fucking barbie ..
Deciding right now that when I have daughters, they will not be playing with any barbies. "
I know I agree with her. In fact, the older I got, the more I hated Barbie and all her beauty and success. I found myself pulling her to pieces, cutting her golden hair off and laughing when it didn't grow back. I drew hair on her, nipples, tattoos.. everything that made her more real, uglier in my 10 year old eyes, but now I can see that a real Barbie - one who has slightly greasy hair, the odd spot, pubic hair, nipples, a wobbly tum, cellulite and everything that makes us women REAL - would be the most beautiful, greatest gift to any young girl.
Teach kids to love themselves the way they are; even if that means they're shorter than most, slightly curvier, spottier, greasier...
So fucking what?
What's really valuable in this world is being smart enought to be able to hold a conversation, being able to look after yourself, being kind and being as good a person as you can be.
You know what?
I think if I ever have kids, I'm going to read them "How to be a Woman" by Caitlin Moran. Nightly.
