For my research project I will focus on Barbie Dolls. Throughout the essay I will discuss the history of Barbie. I will research when the doll was developed and how the Matell company, who owns Barbie and all related characters and elements have changed Barbie over time. Furthermore, in my essay I will talk about the images of Barbie dolls and how they have also changed with the time periods. I will also bring up some of the controversial topics that Barbie is associated with, such as how the doll has the “perfect” body size. I immediately thought of the topic of dolls when I heard of this project. However, to narrow down my topic I decided to zoom in on one specific type of doll, Barbie. I feel that this is an interesting topic. Barbie has been a very popular product throughout all of history and most girls can relate to having or associating with Barbie dolls. I think it is important and will be interesting to see how Barbie can have an influence on girls image about themselves.

Some resources that I will be using include:

journals from the UMW library website http://www.characterproducts.com/info/character_histories/barbie_doorway.htm

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/barbie/barb2.html

http://newscafe.ansci.usu.edu/archive/july2000/0720_barbie.html

http://barbie.everythinggirl.com/