Haylee Fonseca

Rogers

English 1A

Due: October 16^th, 2012

Playing with Barbies

            I have a joke: a brunette, a red head, and a blonde are stuck on a deserted island and they find a magic lamp. A genie appears and tells them they each get a wish. The brunette says, “I wish I were home,” and they genie sent her home. The red head says the same thing and the genie sends her home. The blonde was upset that her friends were gone and said, “I wish my friends were back.” Blondes have been portrayed as ditzy, easy, and full figured but not every blonde is the Barbie doll type.

            Toy barbies are blonde, beautiful, and dumb. Since the late 50’s, Barbie’s have made a statement about their perfect wellbeing. When I was growing up, all of my friends had barbies and we compared ourselves to her. She was skinny, tall, beautiful, and always happy. I never realized the effect of my perfect toy had on us. We always strived to look and act a certain way just like her. I was the only blonde out of my group so of course I was judge the most. I was short, athletic, and smart. My family always made fun of me with the “Math is Hard” Barbie and it stuck. I will always be compared to her.

            Throughout history blondes have been categorized as a Barbie and have had to overcome it. We have been put into a situation where we have to defeat the stereotype of a classic blonde everyday of our life. I have been talked down to by teachers because I am a natural blonde. They have talked to me like a deaf five year old while trying to answer a question during class and have questioned my ability to get a right answer or have the best grade in my class. Through that situation, I had to teach my teacher how I got the right answer on every test I took. By the end of that school year, she turned and looked at me and said, “Wow, you are actually smart.” I smiled and said sarcastically, “Thank you,” with a huge f*** you written a crossed my face. I knew that day I had to make a difference just like other historic blonde women.

            Throughout history there have been amazing blonde women. There have been women such as Barbara Walters, Princess Diana, Barbara Streisand, and my favorite Betty White. Betty White inspires people by making them laugh and enjoy themselves but has stared in multiple productions, produced multiple series, and helped in multiple animal welfare charities. These women have proved that no matter what color your hair is, you can accomplish great things.

            I choose to pursue a career in educating students in Agriculture Mechanics. I knew it was going to be a tough career to get my foot into because I am a woman and blonde but I am pushing through it. Through college guys have looked at me in welding class like that’s awesome that a girl can do this stuff too or I should not have even stepped foot into the shop. Last semester a boy had the nerve to look me in the eye and tell me, “A women should never be allowed to pick up a power tool and asked if blondes even know where to turn it on at.” Yes, he is still alive and single. I just take the criticism as encouragement to prove myself against what everyone says even though it used to break me down and question my abilities.

            To enhance blonde women futures we all need to prove ourselves. We need to do something so we are not tolerated as bubble headed girls. We need to show that we are smart, caring, and have a good head on our shoulders. An easy way to show your true spark is raising your hand in class and answer a question that the professor asks with courage and confidence. Confidence is key because even if you are wrong you have put yourself out there and are wrong, people will still respect you. Always keep your head held high and your priorities in order. Even though we were taught at a young age to look up to Barbie, just remember there is only one Barbie and she is perfect because she is plastic. Always be yourself and make yourself happy, no matter what.