Early adolescents' experiences with, and views of, Barbie

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

The girls in these studies reported that during late childhood and early adolescence, imaginative play with Barbie dolls became less appealing, and many reported disfiguring and damaging the dolls. Destructive play has been posited as a means of expressing anger and fantasy deemed inappropriate for public expression (Turkel, 1998). The disfigured Barbie doll may represent girls' views about their developing feminine self. Just as the girls leave behind and ignore their Barbie dolls for other play activities (or outright disfigure the dolls), so too may they forsake or damage their own feminine identity. The devaluation of Barbie dolls may symbolize girls' loss of voice and self, or their "silencing" (Freedman, 1986; Taylor, Gilligan, & Sullivan, 1995; Turkel, 1998).

The present studies were exploratory in nature, enabling a qualitative examination of girls' and boys' beliefs about, and experiences with, Barbie dolls. Limitations of these studies include small sample sizes, the small number of questions posed, and the homogeneity of the samples. Further research may extend our understanding of the meaning of Barbie dolls and other gender-stereotyped toys for children's developing self-concept. Observations of young children's play, coupled with open discussions about their play, may yield new insight into how play reflects children's internalization of the adult world. Longitudinal research might examine developmental changes in children's and adolescents' play, and attitudes toward various toys, as well as how such changes are reflected in later gender roles.

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