While Christmas shopping last December, I tagged along with my school’s speech and debate team to buy presents for the less fortunate. We had to buy a toy for a seven-year-old girl, and the first thing we thought of buying was a beautiful, blonde Barbie Doll. A friend and I went to go a select a doll in the toy aisle; while there, she was awestruck by Barbie’s perfection. “Barbie is only telling girls that they have to look like her to be accepted,” I recall her telling me that winter day.

Being a Barbie Doll collector, I think comments like these are ridiculous! This naturally beautiful doll was created in 1959 by Ruth Handler, a lady who strongly believed that women were capable of doing more than dusting furniture and burping babies. She didn’t invent Barbie to lower the self-esteem of young girls, but to raise their self-esteem and make them feel as if the world were their oyster and that they could be whoever they wanted!

However, feminist were quick to judge Barbie’s busty breasts and flat stomach. How could we tell our children that they will grow up to be the perfect woman that Barbie is? No average woman could ever live up to the doll’s standards!

However, I believe that they are much too wrong. Plenty of beautiful, successful, and charming women have fulfilled their dreams in over the past fifty years. Without Barbie, I don’t think as many girls would want to grow up and be the person that they wanted to be. I mean, consider the fact that Barbie was the first female astronaut and that she has run for president three times!

She also teaches girls to set an example for those who are younger than them; after all, I’ve never seen a play set where Skipper and Kelly are upset with their older sister! Barbie has many story books and play sets where she helps her sisters become better people and she almost always teaches them lessons about life and fun activities.

These are just a few of the many reasons why Barbie is a doll that feminists should admire. That winter day, the girl and I finally agreed to buy a Barbie Doll for the poor seven year old girl. However, in the next aisle, we saw a doll that was enough to disturb a girl as calm as myself . . . the Brat Doll. If anything, feminist should be disgusted by their small clothing and large prostitute-like shoes instead of Barbie’s body type! After all, shouldn’t a doll inspire our children in the way Barbie has?