[Barbie's PVC Body Gets Sticky as Dibutyl Phthalate Migrates - National Museum of Denmark 19apr99]
BARBIE, that plastic icon of girlhood fantasy play, is routinely tortured by children, research has found.
The methods of mutilation are varied and creative, ranging from scalping to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving, according to academics from the University of Bath.
The findings were revealed as part of an in-depth look by psychologists and management academics into the role of brands among 7 to 11-year-old schoolchildren.
The researchers had not intended to focus on Barbie, but they were taken aback by the rejection, hatred and violence she provoked when they asked the children about their feelings for the doll.
Violence and torture against Barbie were repeatedly reported across age, school and gender. No other toy or brand name provoked such a negative response.
“You might expect little girls to love their Barbie and expect an imaginary love in return. Instead girls feel violence and hatred towards their Barbie,” Agnes Nairn, one of the researchers, said.
One interpretation of this phenomenon is that the children are reacting to the proliferation of different types of the doll, which range from Fashion Barbie to Queen Elizabeth I Barbie and even a Geisha Barbie.
“The children never talked of one single, special Barbie. The girls almost always talked about having a box full of Barbies. So to them Barbie has come to symbolise excess. Barbies are not special; they are disposable, and are thrown away and rejected,” Dr Nairn said.
She added: “On a deeper level Barbie has become inanimate. She has lost any individual warmth that she might have possessed if she were perceived as a singular person. This may go some way towards explaining the violence and torture.”
Previous research from the US into Barbie abuse suggested that prepubescent girls destroyed the doll because she reminded them of adulthood at a time when they were still clinging to their childhood, but Dr Nairn found no evidence of this.
She also dismissed the idea that overweight little girls might be jealous of Barbie for being the girl who had everything, including a tiny waist. It was more likely to be a simple reaction against a toy that the children had grown out of, she said.
“The children we were talking to were aged 7 to 11, whereas the right age for having a Barbie seems now to be 4, even though Barbie doesn’t exactly look like it is aimed at four-year-olds,” Dr Nairn added. She and her colleagues Christine Griffin and Patricia Gaya Wicks concluded that, while adults may find a child’s delight in breaking, mutilating and torturing their dolls to be disturbing, from the child’s point of view they were simply being imaginative in disposing of an excessive commodity, in the same way as one might crush cans for recycling.
source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1939678,00.html 20dec2005
Barbie dolls are sometimes "tortured" by youngsters - who even confess to placing the toy in the microwave.
Researchers at Bath university found many girls aged seven to 11 subjected dolls to "maiming and decapitation".
"When we asked the groups of junior school children about Barbie, the doll provoked rejection, hatred and violence," said Dr Agnes Nairn.
The feelings were attributed to Barbie being a feminine icon, "plastic" and an unwelcome reminder of their childhood.
Rite of passage
"It's as though disavowing Barbie is a rite of passage and a rejection of their past," said Dr Nairn.
"The types of mutilation are varied and creative and range from removing the hair to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving."
The findings were part of research into children's attitudes towards marketing and branded goods.
Dr Nairn said many children were found to be more engaged by celebrities than toys.
"We were surprised to find that the most resonant discussions among the children did not centre around toys and games, but on sports celebrities, pop stars and TV shows."
source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/4539862.stm 20dec2005
GIRLS hate Barbie so much that many admit torturing, maiming and even decapitating the doll, according to new research out today.
The all-American toy has become a "hate figure" among seven to 11-year-old girls, who regard Barbie as a "babyish" symbol of their earlier childhood.
Researchers from the University of Bath questioned 100 youngsters about their attitudes to a range of branded products and found the iconic doll provoked the strongest reaction.
"The girls we spoke to see Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity, and see the torture as a `cool' activity in contrast to other forms of play with the doll," said Dr Agnes Nairn, who headed the study.
Microwaving
"The types of mutilation are varied and creative, and range from removing the hair to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving."
Children told researchers they disliked the toy because they regarded it as a feminine icon, "plastic", and an unwelcome reminder of their childhood.
"The most readily expressed reason for rejecting Barbie was that she was babyish, and girls saw her as representing their younger childhood out of which they felt they had now grown," said Dr Nairn.
"It's as though disavowing Barbie is a rite of passage and a rejection of their past."
The study also found that while boys expressed feelings of nostalgia and affection towards Action Man, girls' attitude to Barbie remained hostile.
"The doll was regarded as an inanimate object by girls rather than a treasured toy and friend. Barbies are not special, they are disposable and rejected," said Dr Nairn.
source: http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/191/191999_girls_admit_to_barbie_torture.html20dec2005
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