The sender of this message is a group on facebook named “Beautiful
and Bald Barbie”. Not much information is given about the sender but the name
suggests this group is aiming to raise awareness of the fact that people
suffering from certain illnesses which may result in hair loss should still be
considered beautiful.
The powerful message is shown through a central image which
is the main focus of this poster, and a few bits of text to support the picture
and make it clear what the intended message is. The words “bald” and “beautiful”
are used frequently in the text and this suggests the main message is that
girls can still be beautiful despite being bald. It states it is for “girls
coping with hair loss” due to various illnesses and this is supported by the
main image as the picture doesn’t fit into conventions associated with the
barbies usually seen in shops. It breaks from the norm as Barbie is usually
considered to be beautiful because of her long hair and ‘perfect’ figure, but
the figure is hidden here and all of the main focus is placed on her head,
where she has lost her hair. Barbie is a conventionally beautiful doll and
well-known by everyone so that is likely to be the reason that this particular
brand of doll is used. Negative opinions about the social norm of beauty in our
culture is represented in this text as they are breaking away from conventions
and producing a doll which would not normally be shown in media. This gives a
suggestion that the sender believes norms of beauty are giving society negative
views towards people who don’t fit into these norms and this should be changed
by allowing everyone to see that bald is still beautiful.
The main audience is people who have joined the facebook
page but it is likely to be seen by a large audience due to people sharing it
over the internet. It was created to make people think so it would most likely
be shared around to others to ensure that it creates an impression. The implied
audience is girls as the colour theme is pink and yellow which are
stereotypical girl colours. A Barbie is used as the main theme which is
generally considered a girls toy and the word “beautiful” is also
stereotypically associated with females. It can be assumed that this is more
aimed at younger people to boost their self-esteem as media generally doesn’t
show cancer patients in magazines/TV shows about beauty. This may make them
feel bad about themselves as they may think they don’t fit into society’s norms
and body image is usually a more important problem for girls and teenagers.
Semiotic Approach:
The Barbie picture is an index as although it’s clear that
the picture is a Barbie it has connotations like unconventional beauty surrounding
it and it has a deeper meaning due to it being placed there to provoke a
response. The yellow ribbon is a symbol which a lot of people know is associated
with cancer, but may be unrecognisable to people who have never come across
this image before. It is arbitrary to some due to it not having any meaning
just by itself. Our culture has attached meaning to it over time and we now
place value in it because it shows support for people trying to overcome
cancer.
