Name: Simone Sokol
Social Justice Group: 2019-2020, Women’s Image & the Media
Date of Fieldwork: December 10, 2019
Name of Organization: The Toys That Made Us
Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: The Toys That Made Us
Type of Fieldwork: Other
What I did:
For this fieldwork, we stayed at school and watched the TV show The Toys That Made Us. We saw the Barbie episode and learned how controversial that topic is.
What I learned:
The show is true to its name–Barbie is a toy that shaped and formed many girl’s personalities when they were young. While watching this show, I noticed many patterns in Barbie’s look that I see in women’s body image. For example, Barbie is skinny, blonde, tan, and fits many other stereotypes that women are supposed to live up to. But in another way, I learned how Barbie can also be a positive aspect in a girl’s life,–she was the first toy that made girls know that they could do anything. Barbie is very controversial, just like our society.
What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:
Something I learned about social justice through this fieldwork was how, again and again, aspects of girl and women’s lives are very controversial.
