Early adolescents' experiences with, and views of, Barbie

Adolescence, Spring, 2004 by Tara L. Kuther, Erin McDonald

The present conclusions are limited given the small sample size. However, an important strength of the present study is the candid nature of the girls' revelations, which occurred within the context of a weekly support group. The results suggest that Barbie dolls are pervasive within girls' experience and may influence their developing self-concept.

STUDY 2

The results of Study 1 demonstrated that girls have a great deal of experience with Barbie dolls and report varying forms of play with the dolls. Most notably, girls reported ambivalence toward Barbie dolls, simultaneously liking and disliking the dolls. Study 2 examined adolescent girls' and boys' experiences with, and views of, Barbie dolls through their responses to two open-ended essay questions.

Method

Participants

Fifty 7th- and 8th-grade students (age range = 12 to 14 years; 42% female) from a private parochial school in Connecticut participated. Similar to Study 1, the suburban school drew from a population that was predominantly White/non-Hispanic and middle class.

Procedure

Each student was presented with an index card with an item typed on the front of the card and a second item typed on the back. The first item stated, "Write about your experiences with Barbie. What do you play with her? How do you play with her?" The second item stated, "Write about your thoughts and feelings of Barbie." A researcher (the first author) read the questions to the students and asked them to respond in regard to their personal experiences. The students recorded their sex and age, but not name, on the card, and were informed that all of their responses would remain confidential.

Results

The responses were organized by the participants' self-reported sex. The content was analyzed to extrapolate themes. Both the first and second author independently categorized the responses by theme; there was 95% agreement across the two items. The responses revealed that Barbie was a familiar toy for both the boys and girls in this sample.

Girls' Experiences with Barbie Dolls

Similar to Study 1, nearly all of the girls reported spending a great deal of time in childhood playing with Barbie dolls. Imaginative play incorporated elaborate scripts entailing feminine roles and situations (e.g., weddings, proms, fashion shows).

   I played with Barbie all the time. I made complex plots for my
   Barbies and would have a continuing Barbie game for about a week.
   I would dress my Barbies as fairy-tale characters or as modern
   people. I would even bring my Barbies in the bathtub.

   I would get a whole bunch of them together and pretend they were
   superstars. I had this huge Barbie house so they would be rich.
   Sometimes I would pretend they had magic. I played with them like
   they were rich, everyone liked her, and she had all the guys.

Similar to the findings of Study 1, much of the play described by the girls suggested ambivalence toward Barbie dolls and the feminine image the toys represent. Nearly all of the girls reported engaging in imaginative play; however, they also reported engaging in destructive and aggressive play (i.e., torture play).