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behavior, however, is not the fault of the doll or even the result of the fact that she was molded to have a great shape for wearing clothes.

Barbie - that perfect but make-believe character - who has a perfection that only makes sense when a character is a plastic, manufactured, girl - has enough outfits and equipment to let little girls imagine their doll being anything from a professional skater to an astronaut (and in some cases, dabbling in more than just a few careers). For girls who want to imagine their Barbie dolls as college students, friends, or even expectant mothers, those possibilities exist as well. The "fat" Barbie dolls weren't as coveted by girls; because the Barbie doll is about imagining possibilities, and imagining possibilities often includes imagining perfection (or at least high standards).

I was ten years old when I was aware of the fact that no real women had legs in proportions that Barbie's legs were, and that most teenage girls didn't have bust lines like Barbie's. I didn't need to be an orthopedic surgeon or even a grown-up to realize that Barbie's perpetually high-heel shaped feet meant she required assistance if she were to stand or walk. Those unrealistic characteristics of Barbie's anatomy, however, were the things that made her clothes hang so well. They were also what let me have a doll that looked so polished and perfect in her clothes that she wasn't just about playing dolls. The Barbie doll was about collecting, appreciating miniatures, styling hair, putting together outfits, imagining possibilities, and - yes - even admiring a pretty face.

Little girls face a future in which they must find a balance between being strong, independent, women who may also want a husband, family, education, and good job. They need to figure out what their opinions will be about wearing make-up, what image they want to present, and what qualities they think are important for a young woman to have. Girls don't wake up on their thirteenth or eighteenth birthday, automatically having all these things sorted out. It takes those "practice" years of childhood to help girls be ready for those eighteenth birthdays. The Barbie doll would not have enjoyed so much success over the last fifty years if "she" didn't meet some need that little girls have. As a member of the first generation of "Barbie", and as the younger sister of someone who never got to "play Barbie", I truly believe the Barbie doll is more than appropriate for young girls. "She" is a valuable part of a girl's childhood.

Like my daughter, I never looked at my Barbie dolls and imagined myself becoming like them when I grew up. I was the one who "made my Barbie doll seem real"; and not so long after I packed my dolls away in boxes I entered adulthood, knowing exactly the kind of young woman I wanted to be, knowing what was important to me, and fully realizing the difference between my plastic pals and my very real and imperfect self. More worth noting, however, is this: Just it was I who made my Barbie dolls "seem real", it was also I (like my parents before me) who managed to help my daughter understand the difference between the make-believe world of Barbie and the realities of being a very real young woman.

Learn more about this author, Lisa H Warren.
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