Children's Innocence

Ah yes Barbie. There has always been a controversy surrounding the popular doll made for children to play with. Its glitzy outfits and the grand vacation homes attract the little kids, but repel some adults due to the negative image that the Barbie doll represents. The “thirty-nine-inch bust and a twenty-three-inch waist” (prager) is what makes Barbie “totemic”. However, as much as it gives off a sexual appearance to the population, children are an exception. When kids are young, they do not think of how Barbie might have been the “dream date of weapons designers” (prager) or how they make women feel oppressed. The children only know that Barbie is an object that they can dress up in and play with. They don’t think of the deep controversies that the doll Barbie created; they only think of where they put the hairbrush so Barbie’s hair doesn’t tangle. 

You see, children are unaffected because they still do not fully understand what society wants them to become. They most likely won’t comprehend how the measure of your bust will relate to social acceptance or standards. I know for sure that when I was six years old playing with Barbie dolls, I didn’t feel like I had to grow up to be someone with a tiny waist. But eventually, when the children grow up, they are exposed to the reality of social standards and start to realize that Barbie is the epitome of perfection with her amazing mansion and her aesthetically appealing boyfriend, Ken.

Celso Santebanes is the human Ken doll. 

I was thinking, what if the Ken doll were just as much as an influence as Barbie? We know that he has no genitals, so similar to girls and women wanting a body like Barbies, would the guys want to have no genitals like Ken? Aka the perfect guy. Hmm, probably not but an interesting case to switch gender perspectives.