Barbie Dolls
Team Member Name: Sabre Bunn-Mathews
Publication: The Columbus Dispatch
Date: 01/28/2016
Cartoonist: Nate Beeler, U.S.
Title of Cartoon: Barbie Dolls
Cartoon # 10
What action is taking place in the cartoon?
What is the context?
identity. The title represents a movement that is
making history. President Obama included transgender in the State of the Union address on January
20, 2015 and uttered these words…..“That’s why we
defend free speech and advocate for…...transgender” (Obama, 2015) among other things.
In this cartoon you have the cartoonist, Nate Beeler
depicting “new” Barbie doll types that are meant to
reflect modern, realistic body types (Beeler, 2016).
Presented is petite, curvy, and tall which are all socially and realistically accepted in society. And then
you have the American doll, which is depicted as an
overweight woman, and transgender Caitlyn Jenner.
Tone of the cartoon:
1) Negative framing of the issue
2) The framing is opposed to supporters
3) The framing is supportive to opponents
What “reality” is constructed/framed about
your issue?
Bibliography:
NY Times. (n.d.). Milestones in the American Transgender Movement. Retrieved March 29, 2016, from http://www.
nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/15/opinion/editorial-transgender-timeline.html?_r=0
Bissinger, B. (2015, July). Caitlyn Jenner Talks About Her Mother’s Reaction and Transgender Fans. Retrieved March
29, 2016, from http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/caitlyn-jenner-photos-interview-buzz-bissinger
Women come in all shapes and sizes. They can also
be white, Hispanic, African-American, Chinese,
and so on. Women can be obese, skinny, tall, short,
petite, curvy. And women can be lesbian, bisexual, and [transgender]. Society is characterized by
a number of rules that a person should possess or
they are an outcast. By using the obese American
and Caitlyn Jenner by labeling her “Formerly Ken”
(Beeler, 2015) as symbolism in this cartoon, the artist is framing transgender as a modern body type as
more and more individuals speak up and act upon
their sexual orientation regardless of their gender
Beeler, N. (2016, January 28). Barbie Dolls [Cartoon]. Retrieved March 29, 2016, from http://www.caglecartoons.
com/viewimage.asp?ID={B971C245-59A9-4947-BA0E-7C6DFC38552D}
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