The body types of fairies are often depicted in a stereotypically attractive way. Many have an unrealistic and unproportional figure. As seen clearly with Tinkerbell, she has a very defined, unrealistic, hourglass figure. Many other modern stories that include fairies, elves or other female magical creatures, depict them with similar unrealistic body types, like Ariel in the little mermaid or Elina in Barbie: Fairytopia. The Bayala toy line also does this, all of the characters are skinny, with small waists and thin arms. It is interesting as many of these creatures in their original form did not represent humans at all. Only through the fantasy genre which transformed the public perception of many folklore creatures did they come to be as they are now (Leppälahti & Tolley, 2018). Once they transformed to a more human-like physique many transformed into having a very stereotypical shape, especially the female, magical ones. This depiction is lacking diversity in body type representation, which is especially not good for the children who are so enchanted by them, as it can affect their own body image.
Similar body image issues also emerge when discussing children's toys, especially with human-like dolls and figurines. Many dolls create a false idea of female bodies, especially their figures and proportions. This can lead to low self esteem and body image, especially in young children as they grow up to believe these things are the norm (Nesbitt, 2019). Eyela and the Bayala figurines fit into this rhetoric, most of the dolls have a thin figure. They have thin arms and waist, small features and perfect hair. There is a lack of variety and representation of other body shapes in the collection. Some fairies in it, namely Feya, even perpetuate the stereotype, in her case by beauty being her most important feature and it being documented that everyone loves her because of it. This is concerning when taking young children and their body image into account, as they are socialised with the perception that beauty and outward appearance are a woman’s most precious features.
It has been discovered that girls, after playing with skinny dolls, were less satisfied with their own bodies, but after playing with dolls with more realistic body shapes this was not an issue, the body satisfaction in this case did not lower (Boothroyd et. al., 2021). Additionally in studies children have been shown to ascribe more positive characteristics to skinny dolls and negative ones to fatter dolls (Worobey & Worobey, 2014). This points to young children having unrealistic body ideals already and that these ideals are related to the toys they play with. Social comparison theory ties into this issue, people are known to compare themselves to others, if children compare themselves to those that dont look like them it can lead to them thinking there is something wrong with their own body (Nesbitt, 2019). Therefore it can be argued that there is importance to having a wider variety of body shapes to represent different children.
To sum up, Eyela has a very interesting history. Her story goes back deep into the history of humankind, connected to phenomena of nature and myths. Since then, exciting stories of elves and fairies emerged and until today, they are for instance appreciated as toys for kids. The world of Bayala is very diverse and alway developing. To find out more about it, let’s dive into the next tour!