Her creator, Ruth Handler, based Barbie’s body on a German doll called Lilli, a prostitute gag gift handed out at bachelor parties. Her proportions were designed accordingly. When Handler ...

From her inception, Barbie was criticized for her unrealistic body proportions and sexualized ... The following year the company released a pregnant doll named Midge, with a baby tucked in her ...

By 1963, feminists were protesting the improbably-curvy doll’s body and sexualized ... discontinued pregnant Midge in 2005.

A study published in 2006, for example, found that young girls who are exposed to Barbie-doll images had more body dissatisfaction and lower body esteem compared to girls who were shown similar ...

Over the years, Barbie has been accused of promoting a negative body image and gender stereotypes ... after their own controversy. A pregnant Midge doll was pulled from shelves amid concerns ...