Playing with ultra-thin dolls could make young girls want a
thinner body, according to new research published today (11 March 2021).
The small-scale study, led by Durham University, including
academics from Northumbria University, shows that ultra-thin dolls may
negatively affect body image in girls as young as five years old.
The researchers warn that the dolls, combined with exposure
to ‘thin ideals’ in films, on TV and social media, could lead to body
dissatisfaction in young girls, which has been shown to be a factor in the
development of eating disorders.
Perceptions and ideals
In the research, thirty girls aged between 5-9 years old
played with an ultra-thin doll, a realistic childlike doll or a car. Before and
after each play session, the girls were asked about their perceived own body
size and ideal body size via an interactive computer test using pictures.
Playing with the ultra-thin dolls reduced girls’ ideal body
size in the immediate aftermath of play and there was no improvement even when
they subsequently played with the childlike dolls or cars afterwards, showing
that the effects cannot be immediately counteracted with other toys. The realistic
children’s dolls were relatively neutral for girls’ body ideals.
The study, published in the academic journal Body Image, was conducted by researchers
from Durham University, Newcastle University and Northumbria University.
Lead author Professor Lynda Boothroyd, from Durham
University’s Department of Psychology, said: “Body dissatisfaction is a huge
problem, particularly amongst young girls. It can have serious consequences for
girls’ wellbeing and lead to eating disorders and depression.
“The results from our study indicate that playing with
ultra-thin dolls, which are sold in the millions each year, could have a real
negative impact on girls’ body image. This is on top of all the images of
unrealistic body sizes they see on TV, in films and on social media. This is
something that needs to be addressed in order to reduce the pressure on girls
and women to aspire to a ‘thin ideal body’.”
In previous research, the psychologists found that the more
TV we watch the more we prefer thinner female bodies.
80 per cent of the girls who took
part in the study had access to ultra-thin dolls at home or with their friends
and almost all of them also watched Disney and related films, which also tend
to portray very thin female bodies.
Professor Martin Tovee, from
Northumbria University’s Department of Psychology, is an expert in body image
dysfunction in eating disordered patients. He said: “Our study shows how
perception of ideal body size and shape is moulded from our earliest years to
expect unrealistic ideals. This creates an inevitable body image
dissatisfaction which is already known to lead towards disordered eating.”
Doll play
In the study, the girls played
with the dolls in pairs and before and after their play session, they were
asked about their perceived actual body size, ideal body size and ideal adult
body size. The children were asked to change the body size in a picture of a
girl to what they thought they looked like themselves, what they would like to
look like and what they thought a beautiful woman looks like.
Although the samples were not
large, this research unusually tested the children before and after doll play
which means it can show actual change within individual children. As such, it
contributes to a growing number of studies which demonstrate that doll play may
affect the beauty ideals that young girls internalise.
Dr Elizabeth Evans,
from Newcastle University’s School of Psychology, said: “This study isn’t
intended to make parents feel guilty about what’s in their child’s toy box, and
it certainly isn’t trying to suggest that ultra-thin dolls are ‘bad’.
“What our study
provides is useful information that parents can take into account when making
decisions about toys. Ultra-thin dolls are part of a bigger picture of body
pressures that young children experience, and awareness of these pressures is
really important to help support and encourage positive body image in our
children.”
Current widely available dolls
tend to have ultra-thin bodies with a projected body mass index between 10 and
16 which is classed as underweight. Realistic childlike dolls used in the study
resembled healthy 7 and 9-year old children.
The research was conducted independently from doll
manufacturers.
