ControversiesFulla is marketed as an alternative to Barbie in Middle Eastern countries
Barbie's popularity ensures that her effect on the play of Western children attracts a high degree of scrutiny. The criticisms leveled at her are often based on the assumption that children consider Barbie a role model and will attempt to emulate her.
In September 2003 the
Middle Eastern country of
Saudi Arabia outlawed the sale of Barbie dolls, saying that she did not conform to the ideals of
Islam. The
Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stated "
Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be careful."
[9] In Middle Eastern countries there is an alternative doll called
Fulla who is similar to Barbie but is designed to be more acceptable to an Islamic market. Fulla is not made by the Mattel Corporation, and Barbie is still available in other Middle Eastern countries including
Egypt.
[10] In
Iran,
Sara and Dara dolls are available as an alternative to Barbie.
[11]The word Barbie has come to be used as a
derogatory slang term for a
girl or
woman who is considered shallow, most notably in the 1997 pop song
Barbie Girl (see
Parodies and lawsuits below). In July 1992 Mattel released Teen Talk Barbie, which spoke a number of phrases including "Will we ever have enough clothes?", "I love shopping!", and "Wanna have a
pizza party?" Each doll was programmed to say four out of 270 possible phrases, so that no two dolls were likely to be the same. One of these 270 phrases was "
Math class is tough!" Although only about 1.5% of all the dolls sold said the phrase, it led to criticism from the
American Association of University Women. In October 1992 Mattel announced that Teen Talk Barbie would no longer say the phrase, and offered a swap to anyone who owned the doll.
[12]
Barbie's waist has been widened in more recent versions of the doll
One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image for a woman, leading to a risk that women who attempt to emulate her will become
anorexic. A standard Barbie doll is 11.5 inches tall, giving a height of 5 feet 9 inches at
1/6 scale. Barbie's vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in
Helsinki,
Finland, she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman to
menstruate.
[13] In 1965 Slumber Party Barbie came with a book entitled How to Lose Weight which advised: "Don't eat." The doll also came with pink bathroom scales reading 110lb, which would be around 35lbs underweight for a woman 5 feet 9 inches tall. In 1997 Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs.
[14]Oreo Fun Barbie from 1997 became controversial due to a negative interpretation of the doll's name
"Colored
Francie" made her debut in 1967, and she is sometimes described as the first
African American Barbie doll. However, she was produced using the existing head molds for the
white Francie doll and lacked African characteristics other than a dark skin. The first African American doll in the Barbie range is usually regarded as Christie, who made her debut in 1968.
[15][16] Black Barbie and Hispanic Barbie were launched in 1980.
In 1997 Mattel joined forces with
Nabisco to launch a cross-promotion of Barbie with
Oreo cookies. Oreo Fun Barbie was marketed as someone with whom little girls could play after class and share "America's favorite cookie." As had become the custom, Mattel manufactured both a
white and a
black version. Critics argued that in the
African American community Oreo is a derogatory term for a person like the chocolate sandwich cookie itself, meaning that the person is black on the outside and white on the inside. The doll was unsuccessful and Mattel recalled the unsold stock, making it sought after by collectors.
[17]In May 1997 Mattel introduced Share a Smile Becky, a doll in a pink
wheelchair. Kjersti Johnson, a 17-year-old high school student in
Tacoma, Washington with
cerebral palsy, pointed out that the doll would not fit into the
elevator of Barbie's $100 Dream House. Mattel announced that it would redesign the house in the future to accommodate the doll.
[18][19]In March 2000 stories appeared in the media claiming that the hard
vinyl used in vintage Barbie dolls could leak toxic chemicals, causing danger to children playing with them. The claim was rejected as false by technical experts. A modern Barbie doll has a body made from
ABS plastic, while the head is made from soft
PVC.
[20][21]In December 2005 Dr. Agnes Nairn at the
University of Bath in
England published research suggesting that girls often go through a stage where they hate their Barbie dolls and subject them to a range of punishments, including
decapitation and placing the doll in a
microwave oven. Dr. Nairn said: "It's as though disavowing Barbie is a rite of passage and a rejection of their past."
[22][23] 
AustralianWasp-waisted with unlikely proportions, Barbie was an incongruous accompaniment to the feminist wave of the 1960s and 70s, although her career has spanned everything from rock star to military medic.
