Barbie Doll Teachable Moment

I think I had my first body image talk with my five-year-old daughter. She had brought her new Christmas Barbie downstairs and taken off its beautiful wedding dress. I decided to take the opportunity to have a conversation about how her doll's body is very different from women's bodies. We talked about the length of her legs, the thinness of her legs and arms, the narrowness of her waist, the shape of her breasts, her ever-present make-up, her hair length, and her body glitter (my daughter's observation). Aside from her hair, not only do most women not look like that, I don't think any woman looks like that. Those proportions don't work. And yet, we probably grew up thinking that is beautiful and ideal...and perhaps have never lost that idea.

It's never to early to instill in our kids a sense of reality when it comes to our bodies. The majority of men are not chiselled, muscle-bound, and "perfectly" built like the Ken doll. And women don't look like Barbies. And, hopefully, we don't have plastic smiles that stay on regardless of how we're feeling.

I was very proud of one participant for bringing her whole family to the show on Saturday. At first, it may seem like a strange thing, but I think she's on to something. If we can bring truthful imagery into our kids' lives and talk about that, as well as discussing (rather than accepting and becoming desensitized by) the misleading imagery all around us, I think a healthier self-concept can develop, as well as a healthier way of looking at others. That said, as parents, we need to look at what we and our kids are ready to see and talk about (although I imagine we are behind much of the time).

The show goes until Tuesday the 9th. Hope you can make it!