Why Barbie Can’t Have An Impact On My Daughter

Posted: July 1, 2015

In this short post, a mother reflects on why the Barbie doll cannot impact on her daughter anymore!

I used to be scared of Barbie.

Then I became a mommy to the most wonderful, impressionable and sensitive little girl. She is seven now and loves to play with dolls. Barbie with her hyper-sexualized body parts and emphasis on appearance, was making me highly uncomfortable. She represents the trap of ideas that a woman is only of use if she is pretty.

Until I grew up. Until I looked at how my daughter looks up to me . Until I realized that I have the edge here, because I am and always will be her primary role model. I will be the operating system she will download and the point of reference she will always internalize.

Barbie doesn’t stand a chance because with this in mind, I try.

I have run two half marathons in two years. I am a physician and I regularly bring my daughter to my hospital to show her where and why Mom occasionally gets delayed. I write and I have even started my own website . My home is an equal opportunities area – my husband is a wonderful partner to me (who plays badminton and occasionally quills with his daughter). My daughter and I bake, walk and most importantly, talk about everything . She knew what a period was at the age of 3 and she is very comfortable with (and proud) of the fact that she was breast fed until 5 years of age.

Most importantly, though, I am raising her to be the best version of herself – she has no need to be a wife or a mother unless she chooses to.

Barbie can’t hold a candle to me, because in everyday life I try very hard to impress on my seven year old the value and joy of being authentic and creative. With no room for the preening and primping and passivity that this foreign doll implies.

And with that reflection I am okay with my daughter bringing home this doll .

Because Barbie, you don’t scare me anymore!

Barbie dolls image courtesy Shutterstock