I disagree with many of your statements in :"Barbie is an icon of feminine beauty that seems to mirror our society's obsession with youth and appearance. No matter how old she gets, Barbie stays firm, slim, pert, and pouty. Do you think Barbie has in some ways led to patients requesting impossible dimensions "
society's obsession with youth and appearance - Nothing new here. This "obsession" dates back to prehistorical times. Our "society" (actually a conglomerate of MANY societies which interact more than ever before) is NOT unique in seeking beauty and attractiveness. Go back to Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt and much earlier - nothing much has changed in how humans function
Barbie is an icon of feminine beauty - If an "icon" is defined as a representation, A representation or picture of a sacred or sanctified Christian personage, traditionally used and venerated, An important and enduring symbol, One who is the object of great attention and devotion - Personally, I do not encounter many women who really want to look like her. or who worship that look. Although many feminist set up a classic straw man to attack with this argument.
No matter how old she gets, Barbie stays firm, slim, pert, and pouty.- You and I would do if we were made of an silastic silicone elastomer which does not have to constantly renew itself and is subject to a host of predatory diseases and destructive aging processes...
Do you think Barbie has in some ways led to patients requesting impossible dimensions? - We ALWAYS MADE our own Gods.
While earlier ancestors worshiped sun gods, wind gods and thousands of other deities, we have narrowed such FORMAL god worship to several monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and several others (Hindu, Zoroaster ism, Shinto etc) with agreed upon deities and rules.
When it comes to the FASHION GODS, humans have been fickle and their taste in such deities changes with time. Consider the obese buxom fertility goddesses of neolithic Europe with the slinky anorexic babes ambling on the fashion runways of Milan, Paris and New York.
Put another way - Barbie is NOT telling us how to look. Nor did Barbie come out of a vacuum (or like Venus was born our of the foam of the sea waves) - she was a GREAT GUESS at what girls wanted. Barbie sells because that is HOW some girls want to look.
MEN to do pick fashions or "looks" for women - women do so in a complex fashion which means Billions to the cosmetic and fashion industries. Moreover, BEAUTY and ATTRACTIVE SHAPES are NOT random they are genetically coded in each one of us. Babies ALREADY can tell beautiful from ugly.
See http://www.cosmeticsurgeryspecialists.org/beauty.html# .
As to - Do you think Barbie has in some ways led to patients requesting impossible dimensions - No, I do not. Just as some people order bogus weight loss, hair growth, penis lengthening, cellulite reducing devices off the Internet and cheesy ads in backs of magazines - Many people, regardless of gender - have unrealistic expectations both of what is feasible and what impact it may have on their lives. The KEY is education, education and yes - education with a dose of reality.
Good Luck.
Peter A Aldea, MD, FACS
http://www.cosmeticsurgeryspecialists.org/beauty.html#
