What is Project Dawn? According to Time’s online publication, the project is the evolution of the iconic Barbie dolls—those perfect bodies and perfectly silky smooth blonde hairstyles—to more realistic body proportions, new skin tones, and hair. It is the most significant transformation the best-selling doll has had in the last 57 years, reported TIME.
The website also revealed that the new dolls, which will be available in retail stores sometime in 2016, will have three new body types: tall, petite, and curvy.
In recent years, Barbie dolls have been under fire for the impossibly high beauty standards they set for young children.
“If Barbie was a real woman, she would be 5’6” and weigh 120 pounds. Her body fat percentage would be so low that she would not be able to menstruate. Her measurements would be 38-18-34. The average woman’s measurements, on the other hand, are about 41-34-43. This according to Mirror Mirror, a resource on eating disorders.
In the book ‘Ken and Barbie at Life Size, author Kevin Norton states that only about one in 100,000 women actually match the Barbie body image.”
Starving the Weight Off
According to Dying to be Barbie, an online publication dealing with eating disorders, “Four out of five 10-year-olds say that they’re afraid of being fat. [Forty-two percent] of girls in first through third grade wish they were thinner. And, half of girls aged 9 or 10 claim that they feel better about themselves when they’re dieting.”
Dying to be Barbie also cites the case of an 8-year old girl who limited her calorie intake to 175 calories a day, leading to a 12-week hospital stay and IV feeding.
The website goes on to explain that one of ten adolescents have an eating disorder, and 90% of all women aged 12-25 worldwide have eating disorders.
“The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness reports that 70 million people worldwide suffer from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. About 90 percent of those with eating disorders are young women between the ages of 12 and 25. Remember, these women likely played with Barbie dolls, multiple Barbie dolls, shortly before developing their disorders.”
Types of Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder whereby patients see themselves as overweight when they are actually severely underweight. In a bid to lose more weight, people who suffer from Anorexia eat very small food portions and only of certain foods, and often weigh themselves repeatedly.
Bulimia Nervosa
People suffering from Bulimia typically purge themselves by forced vomiting after binge eating. They also usually indiscriminately use laxatives or diuretics, fast frequently, exercise excessively, or combine all methods to lose weight.
“Usually, bulimic behavior is done secretly because it is often accompanied by feelings of disgust or shame. The binge eating and purging cycle can happen anywhere from several times a week to many times a day,” states the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Binge-eating Disorder
Also according to NIMH, binge-eating disorder is an disorder whereby a person engages in binge-eating. Unlike anorexia and bulimia, however, binge-eating is not followed by compensatory behaviors.
A common characteristic of all disorders is the feelings of guilt, shame, and distress, as well as the resulting health issues.
Teaching Children to Love their Bodies
In order for children to withstand the pressures of complying with global perceptions on beauty, parents must first teach their children to love their bodies. Like most life lessons, loving one’s self and learning body confidence begins at home.
Committing to being a good role model for your children is a great way to start.
Here are a few tips from Your Tango and Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope on how parents can teach their children to have a healthy self-esteem and a healthy lifestyle:
Parents need to love their own bodies.
Parents are the greatest influences on young children, and should therefore strive to model good behavior. Teach by example. Eat right and exercise regularly. Involve your children in your healthy lifestyle. Avoid making negative statements about your own body as this may send the wrong message to your children.
Prepare healthy meals.
Teach your children the importance of healthy food and its effects on the body. Discuss with them the negative impacts of junk food on the body. Remember, though, to strike a balance between healthy meals and indulging in a sweet treat once in a while. “Don’t be the food police!”
Encourage your children to engage in sports.
Sports are not just great ways to instil discipline in your children. Sports and other physical activities can also pave the way to healthier body image as children learn to love their bodies for their bodies’ potentials. Through sports, focus is geared away from how one’s body looks, towards what one’s body can do.
Schedule family activities that are fun and will result in healthier bodies.
Engage in fun family activities that boost wellness, such as a game of badminton or a walk in the park. Children will learn to associate healthy activities with positive emotions, which will help develop long-term healthy behavior.
Teach your children that the body God gave them is unique and special.
Perhaps the greatest lesson parents can teach their children is that they were created by God, and thus are special in God’s eyes.
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable…but I will not be mastered by anything…Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.” Thus reads 1 Corinthians 6: 12-13.
Rick Warren, a writer on Christian values, explains that your body is a gift from God, and it is your responsibility to take care of it.
“Do you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit…” further reads 1 Corinthians 6: 19.
According to Warren this means that we are to take extra care of our bodies. Warren goes on to say that keeping your body in shape is a spiritual discipline, and not a mere question of losing weight or looking good.
“God created your body, Jesus died for it, the Holy Spirit lives in it, your body is connected to Christ.”
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