Week 7&8: Reading Response 3

In “Making a Visual Argument: Three Views on Body Image.” there is a photograph by Toby Old called “Orchard Beach” which was taken in New York, in 2002. The photography shows two curvy women in one piece bathing suits, wading in the water with children, and one woman is holding two Barbie dolls. This picture can argue that the woman holding the Barbie is contradicting her own body image. With the women being more realistic than Barbie, it could create confusion for the child. Playing with a Barbie would not make the child confident if she is built like her mother. This picture also shows the medias affect on body image. This compares our societies body image versus the medias body image. Without the Barbie’s in the women’s hand, the picture would just show the realistic body image. The contrast of the Barbie’s and the women allows a good argument on body image. The little girl that is framed in between the women playing in the water, reflects the image of the Barbie’s. Being that the Barbie’s are most likely for the little girl, the body image of the Barbie will affect her view on her on body image, as well as hew views on the body image of her mother. Barbie’s body is not proportioned correctly, which is a very bad image for little girls to think is normal. For the most part Americans are very obese or anorexic. The body image of a Barbie gives girls the feelings that they are not normal.