A Brief History
On March 9, 1959, the world of toys was taken by storm in New York City with the introduction of the Barbie Doll by toy manufacturer Mattel at the American International Toy Fair.
Digging Deeper
Said to have been inspired by a German doll called Bild Lilli, it was a woman named Ruth Handler who invented Barbie after she noticed her own daughter playing with dolls in adult roles instead of holding them like a type of surrogate baby.
At first, Barbie was marketed with either blonde or brown hair as a “teen-age fashion model” wearing a zebra pattern swimsuit. From her birth on, the plastic icon has generated tons of criticism of the unrealistic body image imposed on young girls. Her original measurements would translate into her being 5’9” tall, with a 36” bust, an 18” waist and 33” hips. Her accessory bathroom scale was set at 110 pounds. Her appearance constantly evolving, she has undergone several changes such as an eye makeover in 1971, giving her a straight-ahead look instead of the sexy sidelong glance she was “born” with, and, in 1997, her waist was widened.
With over a billion dolls sold in at least 150 countries, Barbie has had quite an impact. In fact, an entire empire has grown up around her. With over 40 pets over the years and an incredible array of clothes, furniture, houses, cars and other accessories, parents certainly have had enough extras to lavish on their daughters and expand their collections. Barbie even comes with many interesting storylines, for example at one point, her long-time boyfriend Ken (Carson) was supplanted by a new love, an “Australian” surfer named Blaine.
Needles to say, the first Barbies were Caucasian, and Mattel’s early attempts at cultural diversity were pathetic with “Colored Francie” being the exact same doll but with darker skin. Today, more representative Hispanic and African-American dolls are offered.
Controversy did not end with measurements and race. Other Barbies that sparked criticism included “Totally Tattoos Barbie” (2009) and “Barbie Video Girl” (2010) that featured a pinhole video camera, which was deemed conducive to creating child pornography. In 2014, Mattel once again faced criticism with the publication of the book I Can Be a Computer Engineer in which Barbie was made to appear incompetent with computers and needing of men to help her.
The name Barbie has become synonymous with a good-looking but empty-headed girl or young woman, and comedians and musicians have had a field day doing skits and parodies at Barbie’s expense. “Gangsta Bitch Barbie and Tupac Ken,” “Dungeon Barbie,” “Barbie Crystal Meth Lab,” the song “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, and “Food Chain Barbie” (she ends up in a blender) are all comedic takes on the hapless doll. Even the enviro-friendly group Greenpeace has gotten in on the act with their own 2011 parody which successfully got Mattel to change their packaging practices. In 1993, a toy terrorist group, “The Barbie Liberation Organization” went to stores and secretly switched out the voice boxes in talking versions of the doll with those from G.I. Joe dolls.
Controversial or not, one heck of a lot of girls love their Barbie dolls. Who can argue with a billion kids? Plus, another 100,000 or so adults are avid collectors of Barbie and her accessories, paying as much as $17,000 for a single doll! That is quite a difference from the $3.00 the first Barbies cost.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Have you ever owned a Barbie doll?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Jennie, D’Amato. Barbie: All Dolled Up: Celebrating 50 Years of Barbie. Running Press Adult, 2009.
