Barbie's world
Posted by: tekeleth <tekeleth@...>
We were visiting some friends not long ago when I discovered
a plaque resting on a book shelf. It said, I am just a raggedy
Ann living in a Barbie doll world. I laughed at the thought and
commented to our host about it. She smiled really big and made a
joke about how she just did not fit in with Barbie's lifestyle.
I have thought about that for a long time and I have decided
that a lot of us think the same way. We don't measure up to the
perfect life promoted by movies, TV, and toymakers. This
feeling of inadequacy was quickly replaced with the realization
that I live in the real world and not a fantasy land. With a
fresh outlook on things, I decided to really examine Barbie's
world and see if I would want to live in it. Here are some of my
conclusions.
If I were Barbie, then.......
1. My legs would always be straight, and I could never sit in a
chair, kneel, or even climb stairs well.
2. I would go through life standing on my tiptoes.
3 I would wear makeup permanently.
4 All the food I would see is plastic.
5 Everyone would judge me on my looks but not on my
intelligence, personality, beliefs or dreams.
6 I would have very few friends, and they would all look like
me.
7 I would have a long term relationship with Ken that has gone
absolutely no where.
8. My car would be pink.
9. The whole back of my house would be cut away so that people
can see into every room.
10. All my furniture would be too small for me.
11. I would be carried around upside down by my legs, or right
side up by my hair.
12. I would spend months lying around naked on the side of the
bathtub.
13. Other people would always be changing my clothes and
deciding what I should wear.
14. Others would always comb my hair and do funny things with
it.
15. Even though I am an adult, I would spend all my time with
little girls 5-10 years old.
16. Others would always decide what I will do each day.
17. Others would always put words in my mouth and speak for me.
18. Others would decide how I feel and how I will react.
19. I would seldom get to sleep for more than 10 seconds at a
time.
20. Adult women would make snide comments about my figure.
21. Sometimes, I would never get a chance to get out of my box
and really experience life.
Does this sound like the kind of life you want to live? Our
raggedy Ann friend with the sign told us a story about her
husband. He got into the shower a few months back and after
lathering up with soap realized that there were four naked
Barbies sitting on the floor inside his stall. He said their
presence made him uncomfortable. He told his wife, I don't
think I like taking a shower with four naked women watching me.
Those Barbies have got to go! The four Barbies were moved to
their daughter's bathtub where they are probably still sitting
naked, waiting for their turn to take a bath with a nine year old
girl.
Just maybe the perfect world projected before us is not really
so perfect. And what others may say is the ideal life, might not
really be so ideal. Our ability to be content in whatever
circumstance we found ourselves sounds like a good goal. To help
us reach it, sometimes we only have to stop and realize that the
Barbies we know may not have it as good as we thought they did.
Let me add that I have nothing against Barbie dolls. My
little girl has some and she plays with them regularly. My
insights about Barbie's life come from simple observations of
her and her friends playing.
Shawn Tyler
P.S. When one of my coworkers read this, they went off on
Barbie's measurements. She even pulled out a tape measure and
found a Barbie doll to work out statistics. Using the following
formula, we determined the statistics below. If Barbie's 12 inch
height equals 5 foot six inches, then her 5.5 inch bust would
equal..... Her measurements were something like 30.5, 19, 28.
Her arms were only 28 inches long. Her foot was only five inches
long. Her eyes and ears were huge. Her hair was extremely long.
Basically, Barbie is wildly disproportionate.
P.S.S. Be honest if you pull out the tape measure
and either measure yourself or a Barbie.
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