Those in the anti-Barbie camp say that if Barbie were human, she would be 1 .68m tall, weigh 54kg and measure an impossible 38 - 18 - 34. Young girls, who play with Barbie, according to her critics, will grow up wanting to have big breasts and slim waists.

　　They will grow up starving themselves so as to achieve that perfect, but impossible , figure.

　　In my post-Barbie teen years, as I was trying to develop my own personality and find my place in the world, I started to believe such pseudo -feminist arguments. I started to distance myself from my Barbie -playing childhood, and would look down upon anything that was colored pink like Barbie’s clothes. Pink was evil, I thought. It signified silly and pretty things of little consequence — it signified Barbie.

　　Luckily enough, this crazy phrase didn’t last long. Feminism3 goes much deeper than hating Barbie, I quickly realize. I have long reclaimed4 the color pink for myself. I declare proudly that I love Barbie and all she represents.

　　Indeed, it is not wrong for a child to want to be beautiful and wear nice clothes, as long as these aren’t the only things they aspire to. Educational toys are well and good — they are necessary to feed the brain — but a child’s fantasy life also needs to be nurtured.

　　Yes, Barbie does let young girls dream they can be supermodels and princesses. But that’s not all. Since 1959 , Barbie has had over 80 different careers — doctor, lawyer, pilot, presidential candidate , and even astronaut. Contrary to popular belief, she is not a passive creature . She held the spotlight for women long before feminism began in the 1970s.

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　　練習題：

　　Ⅰ. Fin d re aso ns for the fo llowing fa cts according to the p as sage :

　　1. The mother sent back the Barbie doll. ( )

　　2. Ruth Handler created Barbie. ( )

　　3. The author asserted Barbie was not passive . ( )

　　Ⅱ. Question :

　　What’s your opinon about Barbie ? Will toy have effect on children’s mental development?

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　　參考答案

　　Ⅰ. 1. The mother thought that it was not an appropriate present for girl.

　　2. She was inspired by this desire amongst girls for a confident female role model.

　　3. Barbie held the spotlight for women long before feminism began in the 1970s.

　　Ⅱ. ( Open discussion)

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　　參考譯文：

　　芭比—不僅是玩具

　　有 個朋友告訴我, 她送給一個女孩做生日禮物的芭比娃娃被她母親退了回來。她 母親說, 對一個將來要有所成就而又處在成長中的女孩來說, 這個禮物不合適。

　　不喜歡芭比娃娃的母親并非絕無僅有。我在朋友中間( 其中一些已為人父母) 作的一個隨機調查顯示, 許多人都不喜歡芭比娃娃。

　　“ 芭比給女生灌輸的是一種消極的價值觀。”

　　“ 她只知道怎么花錢。這可不是我要鼓勵我的孩子去做的。”

　　為什么芭比會受到這樣的批評? 一個噴漆塑料做的東西真的如我朋友所想的這么邪惡, 會有損孩子們的身心健康, 把她們變成沒有頭腦消費至上的女人?

　　我童年時, 芭比是每個女孩子渴望的玩具。她美麗, 有漂亮衣服, 最重要的是她很自信, 不是平胸的尷尬女孩。我長大了要像她一樣。其實, 我們長大后都想像她那樣。實際上, 美國女人露絲· 亨德利1959 年設計芭比的靈感源于女孩們渴望一個自信的榜樣。亨德利最初可能沒預料到會遭到美國民眾的非議。因為芭比娃娃很豐滿, 所以她被指責給年輕女孩負面印象, 使她們過于在意自己的外表。

　　那些反對芭比娃娃的人說, 如果芭比娃娃是真人的話, 她應該身高1 米68 , 體重54 公斤, 三圍分別是38 、18 、34 英寸。玩芭比娃娃的年輕女孩子長大后也想要豐滿的胸脯和纖細的腰身。她們會渴望那種完美, 卻可望不可及的身材。

　　長到十幾歲以后, 當我試著發展自己的個性, 尋找自己在這世界上的位置時, 我開始相信這種女權主義的觀點。我開始遠離玩芭比娃娃的童年時代, 對那些像芭比娃娃衣服一樣粉紅的東西, 我都不屑一顧。我認為粉紅是邪惡的, 它代表愚蠢和瑣碎, 代表芭比娃娃。

　　所幸的是這種近乎瘋狂的時期沒有持續多久。我很快意識到女權主義遠比憎恨芭比娃娃更為深刻。我早就找回了粉紅色。我驕傲地宣布我愛芭比娃娃和她所代表的一切。

　　實際上, 孩子愛美, 喜歡穿漂亮衣服并沒有錯, 只要不把這些當成唯一的追求。有教育意義的玩具對培養孩子的智力很重要, 但是孩子的想象力的培養也不可忽視。

　　芭比娃娃的確讓年輕的小女孩夢想成為名模和公主, 但這并非所有的意義。自1959 年以來, 芭比娃娃從事過80 種不同的職業——— 醫生、律師、飛行員、總統候選人甚至宇航員。和人們普遍的看法相反, 她并非是個消極的角色, 早在20 世紀70 年代女權主義運動開始以前她就已經使女性變得讓人矚目了。