With the new Barbie Movie hitting theatres, let's head into Barbie World and get to know the HERstory of Barbie girl
Who is Barbie?
Barbara Millicent Roberts, aka, Barbie was born on March 9th, 1959. Her mother, Ruth Handler, co-founded the Mattel toy company with her husband. After witnessing her daughter playing with paper dolls, Ruth wanted to create a toy doll for her daughter to play with. Unfortunately, the team at Mattel didn't see the need for a toy doll as children at the time played with baby dolls.
On a trip to Europe, Ruth saw Bild Lilli, a german doll. This doll was from a comic strip in the german newspaper, Bild Zeitung. Initially, Bild Lilli, was created as a gag gift for adults but eventually found popularity amongst children. Inspired by Lilli, Ruth managed to convince Mattel to produce the first barbie doll.
Barbie, who was named after Ruth's real life daughter, debuted at the American Toy Fair in New York City. This was the first doll in America to have a woman's body. The philosophy behind the Barbie doll was to allow little girls to aspire to more than being mothers or caregivers. Barbie represented the idea that girls could chose who and what they wanted to be.
The first Barbie TV ad, aimed at children sang, “Someday I’m gonna be, exactly like you… till then… I’ll make believe I’m you.” Within her first year, Barbie with her black heels, striped bathing suit and gold hoops, sold over 300,000 times.
The Pros and Cons of being a Barbie Girl
Like most women who acquire too fame quickly, Barbie has dealt with her fair share of controversies. First, Mattel was sued by the creators of the Bild Lilli doll for alleged copyright over the two dolls similarities. While Mattel denied infringement, the case was eventually settled. Meanwhile, the opinion that Barbie was 'too' sexy and created unrealistic body standards for young women began to grow-the 1963 doll that came with a doll size 'Don't Eat' diet book, didn't help.
At the 1970 Women's March for Equality, many chanted, "I'm not a Barbie doll" as many deemed her as an anti-feminist role modal. A 2006 psychology study, evaluated the effects that Barbie had on girls aged 5-8. The study found that the youngest girls were negatively effected. The older girls however were not.
While Barbie has had a few missteps, she has always had a job. At the time of her creation, Barbie was a teenage model. Since 1959, she has had over 200 jobs at a time when women couldn't even own their own credit card. Barbie went to the moon four years before the first man did and she continued to break 'plastic' ceilings. Barbie has ran as a candidate in almost every presidential election since 1992.
Are we really living in a Barbie World?
Barbie is sold in 150 countries. Mattel has even launched dolls of the World Collection, showcasing a Barbie for every country in the world. Many in the western world loved Barbie, however, she didn't get the same love in every corner of the world. By the early 2000's, that some countries started to ban Barbie deeming her too 'sexual'.
Barbie was banned in Russia and Saudi Arabia on and off temporarily. In Iran, she is banned permanently. Meanwhile in China and Japan, Barbie's blonde locks remained mostly ignored by the population. In attempts to attract more customers overseas, Mattel has released another doll that was shorter, with darker eye color and darker hair. While this tactic saw more success in Japan, it received some backlash in Mexico. The doll that they released wore a traditional Mexican dress, and came with a Chihuahua.
Even though Barbie has made attempts-some successful and some not-in most countries around the world, other dolls were far more popular. In Nigeria, the Queens of Africa doll dominated the toy market. In Russia the Fulla doll was more successful. While the Barbie doll in Taiwan might not have been as popular as in the United States, but Barbie can add restaurant owner to her list. The Barbie themed restaurant is a fun must-see and must-do-although slightly over-priced-thing to do in Taiwan.
Are we really a Barbie Girl?
From the first time she was on shelves in toy stores, Barbie has been a hit, a even with her controversies, she remained a top selling toy. Since her creation over 60 years ago, Barbie has sold over a billion dolls worldwide. Her sales averaged to about 3 dolls sold per second.
But do sales equal love and admiration? In the 2000's, while Barbie's sales were still good, there were reports that many young girls were treating Barbie 'Barbarically'. Girls, were ripping off limps of Barbie and putting them in the microwave. Some hypothesized it was because these girls were jealous of the perfect Barbie.
Barbie might have been feeling jealous, in 2012, as Frozen dolls were the top selling toy. It was hard for Barbie to 'let it go' as her global sale's started to decline steadily. Things started to look better for Barbie, in 2018 after releasing a diversity line of Barbie dolls in different shapes, sizes, colors and abilities.
The era of Barbie Core
60 years from her conception, Barbie has become synonymous with Pink, Glamour, and femininity. The emergence of Barbiecore has only further cemented Barbie has an icon.
Barbiecore is a Tik Tok hashtag that took off among the Y2K trends and soon after the photos of Margot Robbie as Barbie hit the internet. To achieve Barbiecore is to think pink and create all pink outfits with pretty bows, sparkles, and glitter. From designer labels to fast fashion companies, many have used the pink aesthetic to help girls live out their Barbie dreams.
Of course Barbiecore has played on our nostalgia but Barbiecore has also helped many embrace and be proud of their femininity. Like most women, Barbie has been criticized for her body type, what she wears, and her femininity. In the beginning of her reign, many thought she wasn't a good role model for girls. For women nowadays, Barbie might be the ultimate feminist icon, with help of course of the Barbie movie. The first live action Barbie movie promises to touch on feminism.
Love her or hate her, we can all learn something from the Herstory of Barbie. Barbie is resilient, she is able to adapt, and most importantly she doesn't let society limit what she can or can't do.
Remember if she can do it, you can too. 💋
ความคิดเห็น