Class project -- ''full-figured Barbie''

Posted by Emily on May 15, 2005 at 04:12:14:

Here's something interesting. I found an article about a class that was assigned a project in a marketing course, and one of the objects that they were told to market was a "full-figured Barbie doll." I know that Emme tried to launch a plus-size doll in her name, but as a pricey collectible instead of a common toy, it wasn't really in the Barbie category. I still think it's a great idea, though. You would probably need to base it on someone with at least as much if not more celebrity than Emme ever attained, and probably someone closer to the age of young girls. What I think is more important about this article is that it shows how educators can assign projects that are pro-plus, even if the class that they are teaching isn't dealing with body-image topics per se. By asking students to *market* the doll, the teacher subtly forced them to think in ways that would be appealing, rather than denigrating, to full-figured women. If there are any educators who read this forum, I hope they implement ideas like this in their classes. "Langdon's class had an idea of how to invent and sell a product before this field trip. In one project, Langdon said, the students developed products out of clay, ranging from a full-figured Barbie Doll to a karaoke machine that allowed them to record and edit their own songs. Students then created strategies to sell them." Link: http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050514/BUSINESS/505140353/1003/NEWS03