Why Plus Sized Barbie is a Terrible Idea

Happy New Year everyone! I don’t want to start the new year off with a rant, but this picture came up on my Facebook timeline from plussizemodeling and I had to cringe at the amount of comments in support of this craziness.

Should toy companies start making plus sized barbie dolls? As you can see, the instructions state to like if you are in support and comment if you are not.

This photo received (at the time of this writing) over 42,000 likes. The comments is not as telling, as some have voiced their opinion in support of plus size barbie dolls in spite of the directions.

Now, if you will – please turn your attention to the double chin of this barbie doll and legs/stomach/arms and tell me if this is something you would want little girls aspiring to look like.

Sure, this photo is a reflection of what some real life women look like, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. Most of these women have a host of health issues, are sluggish/tired all the time, and are only wishing they could lose the weight so that they no longer look like this!

Having plus sized barbie dolls normalizes this look and makes it appear that it’s okay for a woman to have numerous chins and so much body fat that it distorts her features/good looks.

The barbie dolls that we have right now are not perfect, by any means, but at least they are not promoting overindulgence, obesity, health issues that come with being the size of the proposed barbie in question. Making a plus sized barbie doll is like fighting fire with fire – it does nothing to remedy the supposed problem of little girls striving for “unattainable” beauty that our current barbie dolls promote.

And another thing, just because many women look like the picture above, doesn’t make it normal. Our bodies were not made to look like this. You cannot possibly perform at your best when you are lugging around so much excess weight. Furthermore, even if this idea were to fly, you won’t be able to convince little girls to want a plus sized barbie doll over a slender/thin one.

Anyway, that’s just my take on it. What do you guys think about the matter? Leave a comment below on why or why plus size barbie dolls are a bad idea.