Dissing Barbie

[avram]

One of the thing Aaron, Q, and I were discussing over brunch was Lilo & Stitch. My memory of the movie has been overcome by my reaction to the lukewarm, overly-convenient ending, to the extent that I’d forgotten just how all-around wonderful the first half was. The whole routine where Lilo explains why she was late for dance class (it involves making a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich for a fish), and the classmates’ reaction, and the movement of the dancers and the accuracy of the facial expressions — just perfect!

I was reminded of that by the Brunching Shuttlecocks review of Lilo & Stitch, which contains the following observation:

What's especially refreshing is that the Hawaiian characters look Hawaiian. They aren't perfect images of Barbie beauty, they look like real people.

I agree with the sentiment (which I’ve expressed as “Mmmmm, chubby thighs”, and that’s a yummy Mmmmm, not a thoughtful Mmmmm), but object to the idea that Barbie is an ideal of beauty that we should have to acknowledge deviating from. Frankly, Barbie isn’t that attractive. For one thing, she’s not even an accurate depiction of the real-life ideal she’s supposedly the model of — she’s way out of proportion, and the way her breasts and heels are formed is just plain inhuman. For another, beauty is subjective, and I’m tired of acting as if the standard of feminine beauty being presented by Mattel and the fashion industry is the One True Standard.

The beautiful women I know in real life, who don’t conform to the Barbie Standard, aren’t beautiful in some shabby, second-class way. They are honest-to-God beautiful, visions of loveliness, with soft bodies and lush curves, well worth drooling over.

Oh, and while you’re on Brunching Shuttlecocks, you should read the Real Cooking item. And Accounting for Taste, which tells you why your musical preferences are better than everyone else’s. And The Brunching Shuttlecocks Guide to Choosing a Password. Oh, and the Ratings, I just love those.

Comments

Just for the record

[almeda.livejournal.com]

Barbie is the shape she is naked so that when she's wearing clothes, she looks normal. Itty bitty doll-clothes waistbands are ridiculously thick, proportionally to the doll. :-> I point you towards _Forever Barbie_, by M.G. Lord, for lots of interesting suchlike factoids, snippets about how people have interacted with the Concept Of Barbie over the years, and a rollicking good read anyway.

[mamishka.livejournal.com]

I read somewhere that if there was a woman shaped like Barbie, she would not be able to walk upright, but would have to move around on all fours.

That being said I think one cannot take the words "Barbie beauty" quite so literally. Whether we like it or not, there -is- a current standard in America of Barbie styled beauty, that is to say women that are long limbed, thin waisted, with generous breasts and hips, for their size of course. It's the image ideal that I've had pushed into my face ever since I can remember. And it's only getting worse with time. The American "ideal" of female beauty is now twenty pounds lighter than she was only 8 years ago. Animated films and Disney in particular I find are guilty of this look. All of their women are porportioned to this current style of beauty and have been for most of the time pretty dang white. It's only been recently that they've made any concessions to other cultural looks - the roman nose of the princess in Aladdin and the native american features of Pocohontas.

So yeah, the fact that they drew the Hawaiian women as, well, Hawaiian women was most refreshing. A friend of mine who recently was in Hawaii said that it was spot on - that the women there look just like that. It's their physical build.

[avram]

And it ain't just America -- look at the people (not just women) in anime. I like Revolutionary Girl Utena a lot, but those characters make skeletons look pudgy.

Still, I suspect that there are a lot of guys out there who prefer women somewhat heavier than fashion models. I know I do, and I'm going to stop talking as if the Hollywood/Madison Avenue ideal were some objective standard.

Hooray, Hooray, Hooray, for Lilo&Stitch

[(Anonymous)]

BSD here...

I love Lilo & Stitch with the whole of my cartoon-addict heart (as Q probably told you). "I'd...be..an.... ABOMINATION!"
"My friends need to be punished." demonstrate the quality of the script, and such moments as the initial sister-sister chase in the house, and the looks Lilo gives Nani demonstrate the incredible quality of the character animators.

And yeah, as I also mentioned to Q, it's got fanservice, of the actual-human-woman kind. Yum.

Nani trying to get through the doggy door... NEVERMIND