Friday, 16 October 2009
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Now Barbie Has Cankles?!
Recently, a French shoe designer has been put under fire for calling the iconic Barbie fat.
Stiletto shoemaker Christian Louboutin decided that her ankles were instead "cankles" - a slang term for a fat ankle that lacks definition. So, he decided to re-work Barbie's foot to fit his taste better.
Since so many young children play with and look up to this iconic doll, do you think the remarks against Barbie could influence how children view their own weight and appearance?
What do you think about Barbie being called "fat," or that she has cankles? Could these accusations hurt children's views of self-image or their own ideas about weight?
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Comments (83)
Barbie already is a symbol of unrealistic body standards for women and girls. Insiunating that she's fat adds another warped dimension of what society expects women to look like.
I always wondered why fashion designers (especially those that are male) get into the fashion industry in the first place. It's very obvious that they hate women.
I think the original Barbie image is a horrible example for kids. Young girls or boy who shouldn't be dieting or worrying, when they are completely healthy kids. I don't even recollect about understanding being overweight or underweight at those young years of life. Barbie's body isn't even proportional compared to a human being..
I think there should be a realistic Barbie and laws against stupidly skinny and PS'd models.
barbie has always hurt children's body image. I used to think that I should have a pointy nose because even my black barbies had it. no matter what, I think dolls should be mad more realistically and less like how we all wish we looked like.
@Ich_liebe_michx3@xanga - I used to think that I should have a pointy nose because even my black barbies had it.
Oh, God. That's horrible. :(
These people need to get over themselves, I think Barbie has pretty ankles. I love my old Barbies, (I still have 2 I used to play with) they never made me have body problems, it wasn't until Jr. High I had those problems, by then who cared about Barbie! XD But seriously. This is stupid.
It's a toy. Nobody seems to worry about boys' unrealistic expectations of driving when they're sending their Hot Wheels through a loop. Most kids can tell the difference between toys and real life.
i don't think he was calling her fat. she really has no ankles. it goes from her foot, straight to her knee, pretty much the same size all the way up.
ahahah.
I never envied my Barbies. O_O They were just fun!
And the vintage original ones were the best.
I just really want to see how he reworked the Barbie ankles...
I've always thought that Barbie had weird ankles tbh haha.
I think barbie sucks tbh, she's never interested me at all.
A lot of children will grow up with a warped view of body images regardless of whether they play with barbie dolls or not. So i very much doubt that christian laboutin saying some doll has cankles is going to make small children everywhere think that they too have cankles.
Also, seriously, how many children at this moment in time are aware that some shoe designer just called their favourite dolly fat?! Like fair enough, it might piss off a few parents, but just don't go tell your kid that barbie's suddenly fat and everything'll be just the same as it was before he called her a fatass.
And why does nobody bitch about how action man creates an unrealistic body image for little boys?!
x
If he called the unaltered Barbie fat, he's a dumbass. Barbie is an inaccurate representation of women. We need to teach children that even having cankles is okay. But we should also teach them to live healthy so they feel better both mentally and physically. Obesity is a big issue, but so is being too skinny.
It's the truth in a sort.. her feet were NOT realistic!
I don't think kids should look at Barbie and worry about what they look like, because she's unrealistic. But I don't think that Barbie should set the example of obesity either.
It's a toy.
I never had a problem with my own self image because of my Barbies. Of course, I also had plenty of other toys, and if I was in a pinch, I'd make my own dolls out of socks and straw, so. I noticed my own self image went down the toilet when my family and peers failed to assure me that I *was* beautiful. (Which they didn't, so I guess they were trying to tell me something?) Oh well.
The only problem with Barbie's ankles is that occasionally they would kind of...bend a little too far, and then the plastic in the leg would poke out. But I guess that's good for diversity, because I had a lot of disabled Barbie dolls.
agreed barbie has always made girls wanna be that & without a bunch of starving yourself & surgeries [its pretty far fetched].
bu for someone to call her fat, is INSANE. that guy is just dumb.
apparently hes just used to workin with 6'10" 90lb models too long. [which is disgusting]
i'm very thin, but models on runways [mostly] are sickish.
& barbie looks good next to them.
Children young enough to play with, and look up to, Barbie will never hear of some shoe designer calling her fat.
haha mad funny the barbie in the photo looks like the girl from shallow hall...with the fat suit on
Haha, children don't pay attention to some french designer's remarks about a doll's ankles.
It's a frickin toy! She doesn't have cankles and she's not a bad influence. Girls/women who feel they were influenced negatively towards their body image by Barbie need mental help. Sorry, but it's a toy. You don't see guys blaming GI Joe or Superman for any body image issues they may have. Besides if you're going to get on the topic of toys that pose a bad influence, I think most would agree that Bratz dolls are FAR worse than Barbie ever was (she had her own car, dream house and about a million different careers)
/Everything/ about barbie is wierd! I have been drawing figures with proportions similar to barbie (i.e. double normal amount of neck, limbs freakishly long compared to torso, giant boobs ect.) and without the trademark blond hair and plastic face, people thought I was drawing hentai! Im not surprised someone said she has a wierd X (X being whatever limb they are scrutinising now).
I feel that with these dolls, I would never make my future children play with them, and in the case they want one, I would make sure they realise that the doll is not real and not designed to look like a normal person and to be happy with who they are, since that is the way nature made them. It is up to parents to enforce a good self imageand not let the media with all its distorted perspectives shape a child's opinions, especially of something as sensitive as their own sense of self.
Sparrow
Barbie isn't fat, her boobs are just way too big.
x.
who cares what barbie looks like, it's just a toy. when i was little i didn't notice anything about her body, i just wanted to dress her up and play house!