The Human Barbie Doll
(Insane Culture or Artistic Expression?)
When I first heard of the Barbie look-a-like phenomenon the image that popped in my mind was some bleach-head blonde, similar to the like of Heidi Montag. And why not? She's undergone a massive transformation from the beginning of her days on The Hills. Seeing her now shows that plastic surgery has the power to create a new you, an adjustable physical form in a few (large) easy payments. Yet, this is not the Barbie phenomenon that is really occurring. In this case it relates to constructing an identity based on a pop culture icon, turning the new self into a representation of someone/something else.
The most famous of the Barbie trendies is Ukrainian, Valeria Lukanova, an internet sensation that has taken the expression 'beauty is on the inside' into question. For how can a woman who wants to be Barbie be anything other than an object of play for both men and women? Even though I am appalled by her sensational display (and objectification) of the female body, I am also slightly intrigued by it all. The poses, the makeup, the choice of clothing, and the very immense surgical procedures that had to go into this creation begs me to wonder is this a standard aspiration for the plastic female creation of beauty, or purely an artistic homage to the plastic toy that I admired when growing up?
My opinion largely goes to my first assertion, exploitation of the female form, and albeit, a bad role model for on-looking adolescent girls. Of course, this goes further when young children themselves seem to be fashioning themselves as young dolls. London-based Venus Palermo is one such example. She offers help for other young girls on how to create this doll-like persona, including choice of clothing, makeup techniques, and posing to create the look. This need to be a doll is not unique to any one culture. A current dissertation on Japanese girls and their fascination with becoming a Barbie has shown that many cultures try to emulate the doll merely to aspire to become more westernized (see Arisa Shibagaki, The Barbie Phenomenon). This idea is even more horrific to me than the woman changing her body to personify an inanimate object, because a loss of culture will be made for the sake of a commercialized commodity.
While I do have an intense desire to change my body, in a non-surgical way, in order to look like my favorite play things (kind of like playing dress-up or a Halloween costume)--I know that it will more than likely turn me into the plaything it self. Sometimes I wish there was a change in culture and the image to the right was the new supreme female prototype (even though the Renaissance males were also portraying the beauty of women in a certain way, it would be easier for me to look like this than the Barbie). I think the big issue, however, is that while plastic surgery and image creation in the past has been geared to transforming your 'self' into a 'better' version of 'you' the Barbie trend is transforming the 'self' into another being entirely. In that sense, where are you the person and does this lead you to becoming just a walking piece of art, or something else entirely?
No comments:
Post a Comment