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created Barbie in 1959 was
inspired by this desire amongst girls for a confident female role model. Handler probably didn't expect the hostile reaction her doll initially received from the American public. Because Barbie had breasts she was accused of giving young girls a negative body image and making them obsessed with their looks.
Those in the anti-Barbie camp say that if Barbie were human, she would be 1.68m tall, weigh 54kg and measure an impossible 38 - 18 - 34. Young girls, who play with Barbie, according to her critics, will grow up wanting to have big breasts and slim waists.
They will grow up starving themselves so as to achieve that perfect, but impossible, figure.
In my post-Barbie teen years, as I was trying to develop my own personality and find my place in the world, I started to believe such pseudo -feminist arguments. I started to distance myself from my Barbie -playing childhood, and would look down upon anything that was colored pink like Barbie's clothes. Pink was evil, I thought. It signified silly and pretty things of little consequence — it signified Barbie.
Luckily enough, this crazy phrase didn't last long. Feminism goes much deeper than hating Barbie, I quickly realize. I have long reclaimed the color pink for myself. I declare proudly that I love Barbie and all she represents.
Indeed, it is not wrong for a child to want to be beautiful and wear nice clothes, as long as these aren't the only things they aspire to. Educational toys are well and good — they are necessary to feed the brain — but a child's fantasy life also needs to be nurtured.
Yes, Barbie does let young girls dream they can be supermodels and princesses. But that's not all. Since 1959, Barbie has had over 80 different careers — doctor, lawyer, pilot, presidential candidate, and even astronaut. Contrary to popular belief, she is not a passive creature. She held the spotlight for women long before feminism began in the 1970s.
練習題：
Ⅰ. Find reasons for the following facts according to the passage :
1. The mother sent back the Barbie doll. ( )
2. Ruth Handler created Barbie. ( )
3. The author asserted Barbie was not passive . ( )
Ⅱ. Question:
What's your opinon about Barbie? Will toy have effect on children's mental development?
