Eating Disorder Awareness Month. Barbie has an eating disorder!
• If Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5’9” tall, have a 39” bust, an 18” waist, 33” hips and a size 3 shoe.
• Barbie calls this a “full figure” and likes her weight at 110 lbs.
• At 5’9” tall and weighing 110 lbs, Barbie would have a BMI of 16.24 and fit the weight criteria for anorexia. She likely would not menstruate.
• If Barbie was a real woman, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
• Slumber Party Barbie was introduced in 1965 and came with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs with a book entitled “How to Lose Weight” with directions inside stating simply “Don’t eat.”
Read that last bullet again... Wow! That message reached millions of little kids who could have gotten the impression that Barbie's secret of not eating is the key to being beautiful, since she has been a symbol of beauty to little kids for generations.
• If Barbie were an actual women, she would be 5’9” tall, have a 39” bust, an 18” waist, 33” hips and a size 3 shoe.
• Barbie calls this a “full figure” and likes her weight at 110 lbs.
• At 5’9” tall and weighing 110 lbs, Barbie would have a BMI of 16.24 and fit the weight criteria for anorexia. She likely would not menstruate.
• If Barbie was a real woman, she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
• Slumber Party Barbie was introduced in 1965 and came with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 lbs with a book entitled “How to Lose Weight” with directions inside stating simply “Don’t eat.”
Read that last bullet again... Wow! That message reached millions of little kids who could have gotten the impression that Barbie's secret of not eating is the key to being beautiful, since she has been a symbol of beauty to little kids for generations.
Am I against Barbie?!? Absolutely NOT!! I had several Barbies growing up and enjoyed playing with them with friends. The important thing to remember is having on-going discussions with girls, teens, young women, and even adult women about body image, perception, and beauty. This is one issue many churches and Bible studies aren't talking about. But this is an issue that I could venture to say the majority of women, regardless of culture, language, geographic location, or socioeconomic status struggle with. While our major focus and emphasis should never be outward beauty, but it's pretty hard to love others when you hate yourself. There is something to be said for finding beauty and value in yourself as well as the beauty and value God finds in us, especially as women. It's time to start this conversation again, and it's time to raise healthy young ladies who also know not only that they are beautiful on the inside, but on the outside as well.
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