My Views on Barbie, G.I. Joe and Play in the 1960's by Gary Cross

     I thought this article was an interesting read. I never really thought about how the idea of the "ideal woman or man" came about and after reading this article, I can understand how toys such as Barbie and G. I Joe could have created the mold.
  
  I found it interesting to read how early on in American culture that these toys arrived on the market.  Barbie entered the market  in the late 50s. This means she has been the image of beauty for young girls for over 50 years. Although her attire, jobs, accessories and friends change with fashion, politics and culture, her features have remained the same. The Original Barbie has continued to be blue eyed and blonde, with long slender legs, and an exaggerated hour glass figure. This tells young girls that this is what it means to be beautiful. Although fashion changes, Barbie is supposedly defines the emblem of the  classic American beauty that every girl should aspire to be like.
        Barbie has most likely played a major role in contributing to girl's body issues and self esteem problems.   http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/07/29/doll-parts-the-barbie-executioner-strikes-back/
 Barbie made growing up seem like a glamorous ordeal where girls get curves in all the right places and received attention for their looks. One can also say that Barbie associates her good looks with luxorious lifestyles and professional success. When girls grow up, they quickly realize that this is not the norm and that  Barbie  lives a lifestyle that is ahead of her time and unattainable. This seems like a paradox because Barbies are something that almost every child could afford. Every young girl has a doll. Every girl has a Barbie, but yet she represents something that very few people can attain. Its almost unfair that girls were given these unrealistic images in the 60s and 70s, images and ideals were rooted in their heads, but yet these ideas were way to ahead of their time.  When women in the 60s were mainly housewives and cashiers,  Barbie was a stewardess, model or a  doctor. She went against everything that was expected of women during that time period. She did not resemble the young girls and she did not resemble the life of these young girls' mothers. So where does the image fit in? It made girls desire a lifestlye that wasn't available.
    She also embodied a sense of materialism, and associated that need to be consuming with being an adult. She always has the latest accessories and clothing. Growing up does come with more freedoms but Barbie doesn't represent all of the new responsibilities that come along with it, especially financially.  Just because adults have credit cards doesn't mean they are spending frivolously. Barbie makes it seem like all young girls should spend money like they are celebrities.

     It was interesting reading about G.I Joe and how differently he represented his gender in comparison to Barbie. G.I Joe was more about embracing the lifestyle of boys' fathers. G.I. Joe was less about outfits and attire and more about the story line behind him and the fact that he was an action figure.  G.I. Joe was all about being on a team  and not about promoting himself  to the highest level like Barbie. One can view Barbie as a competitive figure, who is constantly was being updated and G.I. Joe stuck to traditional values.