The Barbie Factor and Why We Feel Bad about Our Bodies

Last year I spoke at my guild about Knitters and body image. I want to share a little of that presentation because I know many knitters who, due to body image issues, won’t knit garments for themselves. 

Body image refers to a person's perception of their own physical appearance. It describes how one perceives one's appearance to be to others, which in many cases may be dramatically different from one's objective physical condition or how one is actually perceived by others. Many people are so overcome by body loathing that the other amazing dimensions of who they are simply fade away and they negate attributes like exceptional talent, stellar careers and strong loving relationships.

Did you grow up playing with Barbie dolls? I did, so I thought that that’s what grown up women are supposed to look like. Researchers generated a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions and they said that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her torso would be too narrow to contain her organs.

Jill Barad who was the president of Mattel until 2000 estimated that 99% of girls aged 3 to 10 years old own at least one Barbie doll.

Today, whether or not to give little girls Barbie dolls is often hotly debated by many mothers who believe that they foster poor body image. Take a look at the image below. The real woman is shown as 5’4”, 145 pounds, with measurements of 36" 30" 39". Barbie is depicted with an 1 inch smaller bust but maintaining the proportions of a real woman. She then becomes 6' with the measurements of 35",19", 33". Unfortunately we incorporate these images in our view of the world and then apply negative comparisons to ourselves.

 

If you enjoy reading my blog, I'd really appreciate it if you would tell your knitting friends or share links to your favourite posts online with Twitter, Ravelry or Facebook. Word of mouth is really helping to grow my business as knitters respect the views of other members of our community. Thanks!

Body Image and Knitters

There is no such thing as a standard size. 

None of us are “normal”.  Average is the average of many people; it doesn’t represent any one single person.  We need to be more realistic about ourselves and more accepting of our bodies. Most models average at about 5'10", 115 pounds. The models in your knitting magazines have a bust measurement of 34". They are are taller than almost everyone reading this post.  Interweave Knits asks for sample sizes to be knit with sleeves that are 2" longer than those in the pattern to fit the models. 

As per Stats Canada 2005 the average Canadian woman's weight is 153 pounds and her height is 5' 3". That's me - I'm almost that average as I'm just a little shorter and weight a little less yet when I buy clothing I have to shop in the petites section or do a lot of hemming. So why is an average woman like me considered to be a petite when it comes to buying clothes?  

While sizing numbers for clothing are vague at best I've read that an average woman is a size 12 or 14 yet plus sizes often start at 14 and then use size 12 models for their ads. Does this make any sense to you? The truth is that clothing manufactures and knitting designers have to start somewhere so we have basic numbers in place but they rarely match up exactly with our own bodies leading some of us to believe that we are abnormal.  

Please keep this in mind when you experience frustration with the garments that you knit for yourself. Take the time to adjust your knitting, looking carefully at the schematics. Remember that there is nothing wrong with you; it's just that patterns can't fit everybody because we are all different.