Editing Barbie (section)

==Effects on body image==
From the start, some have complained that "the blonde, plastic doll conveyed an unrealistic body image to girls."<ref>Ziobro, "Mattel to Add Curvy, Petite, Tall Barbies: Sales of the doll have fallen at double-digit rate for past eight quarters". ''The Wall Street Journal''. January 28, 2016.</ref>

Criticisms of Barbie are often centered around concerns that children consider Barbie a role model and will attempt to emulate her. One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a young woman, leading to a risk that girls who attempt to emulate her will become [[anorexia nervosa|anorexic]]. Unrealistic body proportions in Barbie dolls have been connected to some [[eating disorders]] in children.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dittmar|first1=Helga|last2=Halliwell|first2=Emma|last3=Ive|first3=Suzanne|date=2006|title=Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5- to 8-year-old girls|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16569167/|journal=Developmental Psychology|volume=42|issue=2|pages=283–292|doi=10.1037/0012-1649.42.2.283|issn=0012-1649|pmid=16569167}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brownell|first1=Kelly D.|last2=Napolitano|first2=Melissa A.|date=1995|title=Distorting reality for children: Body size proportions of Barbie and Ken dolls|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/1098-108X%28199511%2918%3A3%3C295%3A%3AAID-EAT2260180313%3E3.0.CO%3B2-R|journal=International Journal of Eating Disorders|language=en|volume=18|issue=3|pages=295–298|doi=10.1002/1098-108X(199511)18:3<295::AID-EAT2260180313>3.0.CO;2-R|pmid=8556027|issn=1098-108X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2008-03-01|title=Why Barbie feels heavier than Ken: The influence of size-based expectancies and social cues on the illusory perception of weight|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010027707001424|journal=Cognition|language=en|volume=106|issue=3|pages=1109–1125|doi=10.1016/j.cognition.2007.05.009|issn=0010-0277|last1=Dijker|first1=Anton J.M.|pmid=17599820|s2cid=26233026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Anschutz|first1=Doeschka J.|last2=Engels|first2=Rutger C. M. E.|date=2010-11-01|title=The Effects of Playing with Thin Dolls on Body Image and Food Intake in Young Girls|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9871-6|journal=Sex Roles|language=en|volume=63|issue=9|pages=621–630|doi=10.1007/s11199-010-9871-6|issn=1573-2762|pmc=2991547|pmid=21212808}}</ref>

A standard Barbie doll is {{convert|11.5|in|cm}} tall, giving a height of {{convert|5|ft|9|in}} at 1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at {{convert|36|inches|cm}} (chest), {{convert|18|inches|cm}} (waist) and {{convert|33|inches|cm}} (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to [[Menstrual cycle|menstruate]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 6, 2009|title=What would a real life Barbie look like?|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7920962.stm|website=[[BBC News]]|access-date=23 June 2015}}</ref> In 1963, the outfit "Barbie Baby-Sits" came with a book titled ''How to Lose Weight'' which advised: "Don't eat!"<ref name="autogenerated1959">{{Cite book|title=Barbie Doll Fashion: 1959–1967|last=Eames|first=Sarah Sink|publisher=Collector Books|year=1990|isbn=0-89145-418-7|url=https://archive.org/details/barbiedollfashio00eame}}</ref> The same book was included in another ensemble called "Slumber Party" in 1965 along with a pink bathroom scale permanently set at {{convert|110|lb|kg}},<ref name="autogenerated1959" /> which would be underweight for a woman {{convert|5|ft|9|in}} tall.<ref>M.G. Lord, ''Forever Barbie'', Chapter 11 {{ISBN|0-8027-7694-9}}</ref> Mattel said that the waist of the Barbie doll was made small because the waistbands of her clothes, along with their seams, snaps, and zippers, added bulk to her figure.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/b/barbie_doll/index.html|title=Barbie (Doll) – Times Topics|last=Elliott|first=Stuart|date=October 21, 2010|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 16, 2012}}</ref> In 1997, Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/32312.stm|title=Barbie undergoes plastic surgery|date=November 18, 1997|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=April 26, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7920962.stm|title=What would a real life Barbie look like?|last=Winterman|first=Denise|date=March 6, 2009|access-date=May 23, 2011|work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

In 2016, Mattel introduced a range of new body types: 'tall', 'petite', and 'curvy', releasing them exclusively as part of the Barbie Fashionistas line. 'Curvy Barbie' received a great deal of media attention<ref name="Bates">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35670446|title=How does 'Curvy Barbie' compare with an average woman?|last=Bates|first=Claire|date=2016-03-03|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=2018-04-19|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/jan/28/curvy-barbie-is-it-the-end-of-the-road-for-the-thigh-gap|title=Curvy Barbie: is it the end of the road for the thigh gap?|last=Cartner-Morley|first=Jess|date=2016-01-28|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-04-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-wosk/the-new-curvy-barbie-dolls-what-they-tell-us-about-being-overweight_b_9193136.html|title=The New Curvy Barbie Dolls: What They Tell Us About Being Overweight|last=Wosk|first=Julie|date=2016-02-12|website=[[Huffington Post]]|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-19}}</ref> and even made the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine with the headline "Now Can We Stop Talking About My Body?".<ref name="Barbie's Got a New Body">{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/barbie-new-body-cover-story/|title=Barbie's Got a New Body|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=2018-04-19}}</ref> Despite the curvy doll's body shape being equivalent to a US size 4 in clothing,<ref name="Bates" /> some children reportedly regarded her as "fat".<ref name="Barbie's Got a New Body" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thisisinsider.com/allison-kimmey-curvy-barbie-body-positive-lesson-2018-3|title=A mom found her daughter's 'curvy Barbie' in the trash — and used it to teach her a lesson about body diversity|last=Ahlgrim|first=Callie|work=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=2018-04-19}}</ref>

Although Barbie had been criticized for its unrealistic-looking "tall and petite" dolls, the company has been offering more dolls set to more realistic standards in order to help promote a positive body image.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90511123/a-woman-wondered-what-barbies-would-look-like-in-quarantine-her-answer-is-amazing|title=A woman wondered what Barbies would look like in quarantine. Her answer is amazing|work=Fast Company|access-date=2020-12-31}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Barbieswaistwidens.jpg|{{center|Barbie's waist has been widened in more recent versions of the doll.}}
File:How to lose weight II.JPG|{{center|Back cover of the vintage booklet titled ''How to Lose Weight'', stating "Don't Eat!"}}
File:Barbie bathroom scale.jpg|{{center|Bathroom scale from 1965, permanently set at {{convert|110|lb|kg}}}}
</gallery>

==="Barbie syndrome"===
"Barbie syndrome" is a term that has been used to depict the desire to have a physical [[Human physical appearance|appearance]] and lifestyle representative of the Barbie doll. It is most often associated with pre-teenage and [[Adolescence|adolescent]] girls but is applicable to any age group or gender. A person with Barbie syndrome attempts to emulate the doll's physical appearance, even though the doll has unattainable body proportions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lind |first=Amy |title=Battleground: Women, Gender, and Sexuality |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2008}}</ref> This syndrome is seen as a form of [[body dysmorphic disorder]] and results in various eating disorders as well as an obsession with cosmetic surgery.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rosen|first1=David S.|last2=Adolescence|first2=the Committee on|date=2010-12-01|title=Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents|url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/6/1240|journal=Pediatrics|language=en|volume=126|issue=6|pages=1240–1253|doi=10.1542/peds.2010-2821|issn=0031-4005|pmid=21115584|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Ukrainian model [[Valeria Lukyanova]] has received attention from the press, due in part to her appearance having been modified based on the physique of Barbie.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.inquisitr.com/224402/valeria-lukyanova-model-seeks-to-be-real-life-barbie-doll-photos/ |title=Valeria Lukyanova: Model Seeks to Be Real-Life Barbie Doll |date=April 23, 2012 |website=Inquisitr.com |access-date=August 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208192925/http://www.inquisitr.com/224402/valeria-lukyanova-model-seeks-to-be-real-life-barbie-doll-photos/ |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Valeria Lukyanova & Another Real Life Barbie Doll, Olga Oleynik, Come to America |date=December 10, 2012 |url=http://www.enstarz.com/articles/10329/20121210/valeria-lukyanova-another-real-life-barbie-doll-olga-oleynik-come-to-america-photos.htm |website=EnStarz.com |access-date=December 13, 2012}}</ref> She stated that she has only had breast implants and relies heavily on make up and contacts to alter her appearance.<ref name="Women's">{{Cite news|url=https://women-s.net/barbie-doll-syndrome/|title=The Barbie Doll Syndrome: Why Girls Are Becoming Obsessed with Unrealistic Curvy Bodies {{!}} Women's|date=2018-01-13|work=Women's|access-date=2018-04-27|language=en-US|archive-date=April 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428181534/https://women-s.net/barbie-doll-syndrome/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Similarly, [[Lacey Wildd]], an American reality television personality frequently referred to as "Million Dollar Barbie", has also undergone 12 breast augmentation surgeries to become "the extreme Barbie".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://hollywoodlife.com/2014/07/02/barbie-mom-36-surgeries-6-kids/|title=Mom Of 6 Has 36 Surgeries To Look Like A Barbie Doll — Did It Work?|last=Intern|first=HL|date=2014-07-02|work=[[Hollywood Life]]|access-date=2018-04-27|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315125253/http://hollywoodlife.com/2014/07/02/barbie-mom-36-surgeries-6-kids/|archive-date=March 15, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Jessica Alves]], prior to coming out as transgender, underwent over £373,000 worth of cosmetic procedures to match the appearance of Barbie's male counterpart, garnering her the nickname the "Human Ken Doll". These procedures have included multiple nose jobs, six pack ab implants, a buttock lift, and hair and chest implants.<ref name="Women's"/> Sporting the same nickname, [[Justin Jedlica]], the American businessman, has also received multiple cosmetic surgeries to enhance his Ken-like appearance.

In 2006, researchers Helga Dittmar, Emma Halliwell, and Suzanne Ive conducted an experiment testing how dolls, including Barbie, affect self-image in young girls. Dittmar, Halliwell, and Ive gave picture books to girls age 5–8, one with photos of Barbie and the other with photos of Emme, a doll with more realistic physical features. The girls were then asked about their ideal body size. Their research found that the girls who were exposed to the images of Barbie had significantly lower self-esteem than the girls who had photos of Emme.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dittmar|first=Helga|date=2006|title=Does Barbie Make Girls Want to Be Thin? The Effect of Experimental Exposure to Images of Dolls on the Body Image of 5- to 8-Year-Old Girls|url=http://willettsurvey.org/TMSTN/Gender/DoesBarbieMakeGirlsWantToBeThin.pdf|journal=Developmental Psychology|volume=42|issue=2|pages=283–292|access-date=April 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216120203/http://www.willettsurvey.org/TMSTN/Gender/DoesBarbieMakeGirlsWantToBeThin.pdf|archive-date=December 16, 2018|url-status=dead|doi=10.1037/0012-1649.42.2.283 |pmid=16569167}}</ref> However, [[Benjamin Radford]] noted that the answer may not be this simple since this research also showed that the age of the girl was a significant factor in the influence the doll had on her self esteem.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Radford|first=Benjamin|date=2023|title=American Beauty:Idolizing Barbie-or Not|url=https://centerforinquiry.org/blog/barbie-beauty-bully-or-both/|journal=Center for Inquiry}}</ref>