Felix Suavillo

3/15/22

Per. 1

AP Lang

Inness (1999)

“Barbie gets a Bum Rap” by Sherrie Inness talks about the Barbie doll, and the research it

was used on. They used her to research the unreal proportions and looks on the doll. The piece

ends with a question, “But is Barbie all bad? Is she as terrible a role model as we sometimes

assume?” Barbie is not bad, it’s just the way people look at it.

Inness's reading piece talks more about the specifications of the doll while Wolitzer’s

piece is more focused on experiences. Barbie can be displayed as a role model for children alike.

“The doll scholars love to bash,” Inness’s piece says. Scholars bash the doll for its unrealistic

looks and body proportions. They are misunderstood in commercialized girls’ culture. On the

other hand, Wolitzer starts off the piece with her boys just throwing the doll around violently.

Some experiences are different, as Wolitzer’s piece shares us different children on how they treat

the doll. Both pieces differ from each person, comparing two children to scholars, they are most

focused on different things. Some use it for its intended purpose, some don’t

Ultimately, the barbie doll is not bad, it’s more focused on the way it’s interpreted.

Everybody is different and some don’t care about how the doll even looks. These two readings

serve as a good example of this. A scholar and children both have differences in the way they

look at the doll. Overall, the main factor is experience. This is a key factor in both stories, both

serving a different purpose in the text and can convey what they think the meaning is to the doll.